page_32 < previous page page_32 next page > Page 32 By the time they had all been out and settled back in for the night, with the extra cookie she'd promised them, Melissa returned to the stray. "We'll have to think of something to call you," she told the sleeping dog. "We can't keep calling you, 'The Stray.' Naming a dog is a very important thing, not to be taken lightly." She wondered what Peter would think about naming a dog. She wondered if he was thinking about the dog right now. "From the way he looked at you, he probably is," she told her sleeping charge. Peter had kissed Gert the Goose good night, and Benjamin the Elephant, Senor Lemon the yellow rabbit, Pink Kitty, and all three bears. Then it had been Angie's turn. She flew at him exuberantly, planting wet smacks on his cheek, and as he closed his arms around her she chanted, "I want the biggest bear hug of all," and had practically strangled him with her own biggest bear hug. "I love you, Daddy," she sang out. "I love you too, Angie." It never ceased to amaze him how much. But now, Angie was finally in bed, under the quilt Claire had made for her. Tucked in tight with every one of her stuffed animals. Her six-year-old eyes tired and droopy at last. She'd been asleep at her grandmother's house when Peter arrived to pick her up, but she woke while he was trying to slip her arms into her coat. And when Angie woke up, she was, as usual, cheer- Â < previous page page_32 next page >