"Don't give them too much now," I chide Jack with a grin as Macha and Shannon immediately wolf down the fries Jack tosses their way. Digging into the basket again, I pull out the little box of maple leaf-decorated dog cookies. "I made 'em special dog treats and I don't want you ruinin' their appetite." I hand him two of the cookies so he can give them to the pups; I know how much Jack loves spoiling them.

"And of course I did!" I laugh, nodding down at it. "I wanted to. Though, it comes with the caveat that we can return it for one you like better since I hardly had any idea what I was doin' when I went lookin' for it. Go on now," I tell him, nudging the box in his direction with a wider smile, excitement prickling under my skin. "Open it!"