Austin Inverness loves dogs and his wife, Erika. Erika was the only girlfriend Austin ever had who didn’t judge him for being bisexual, and dogs never judge, period. Unfortunately, Erika isn’t much of a dog person. Airman Neil Stafford has been deployed to Turkey for a six-month tour and he enrolls his schipper-poo, Bunny, in the Fosters for Fighters program that arranges fostering for soldiers' pets. There he meets Austin, who will foster Bunny while Neil is overseas. The two men keep in touch via Skype and Austin is delighted by how well they get along. Erika, on the other hand, is delighted by how little she has to do to take care of Bunny. That is, until Bunny needs an emergency trip to the vet. By the time Neil returns home, Austin has noticed key differences between his wife and the new friend he can’t stop thinking about. As for Neil, he knows for sure he wants Austin in his life, but not at the cost of his friend's marriage. When Austin realizes Erika questions his bisexuality, the cracks in their relationship quickly spread and Austin questions everything, including if he can make the right choice. Will Austin and Neil be able to overcome the bumps on the road to happiness?

Fostered Affections

It was a nice day at the park. Bunny perked up at the sound of other dogs. Many people were there with their pets, or just hanging out by the nearby pond that was off-limits for the dogs. Austin took Bunny by the leash and led her to the fenced-in area where the dogs were allowed to run. She had a blast. Erika found a place to sit, looking as cute in the casual clothes she had changed into as she had when she left for work that morning.


Austin plopped next to her with a happy sigh. “See? Now you can tell buyers with a dog about this place. Maybe we should sample all the dog parks.” His eyes lit up with excitement. “I could write an article about it! I’m gonna write an article about it! And you can tell your buyers to read it!” He took her hand and kissed it. “I’m so glad you picked this place.” He tried to spring up and leave, but Erika gripped his hand tightly.


“Austin,” she reprimanded. “Are you going to go shove your phone in people’s faces to ask for anecdotes?”


Chapter 5