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

“Just a minute!” Neil said something calming to Bunny before opening the door. He was dressed casually, a pair of loose jeans and a brick-red T-shirt that was more form fitting than his fatigues. Austin realized he had never seen Neil out of uniform. The smile was the same. “Hey!” he said, holding onto Bunny’s collar while she tried to jump on Austin. “Come on in!”


“Thanks.” Austin pictured greeting Neil with kisses the way they did in Europe and gauging how into it Neil became. He decided against that at the last minute, but he was already leaned in and somehow it turned into a hug. Neil smelled even better than usual.


Chapter 28