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

Neil stopped walking towards the kitchen and turned around. “Hm?”


Austin dug at the corners of his eyes to clear them. “I mean, are we just friends? I guess I’ll be living here until I can find somewhere else to stay, so are we roommates? Or…since we both like each other, are we…”


Neil shrugged. “We aren’t dating, and we aren’t a couple, if that’s what you’re asking. We are friends, and I’m happy with that. I’m not expecting anything else, and I’ll gladly give you space if you need it. I don’t want you making decisions based on my feelings if they aren’t also in your best interest.”


That made Neil look away. “Maybe this isn’t the best time to talk about it.”


“No, I want to know. It’ll help me decide where to go from here.”


Chapter 38