Beaten by the IT recession, Justin has come back to his hometown where he’s inherited a small house from his mother. Surely Barry, his old crush and sometime nemesis, is long gone. Jobs are scarce, so impulsively Justin seeks to buy into a pet grooming business. But when he has to visit the local bank for a loan, who sits behind the big desk but Barry?<br><br>Justin’s appearance jolts Barry out of his miserable rut of a life. What if they were to pick up where a brief boyhood attraction abruptly ended? Then his mother’s sudden stroke throws his whole life into a tumbled ruin.<br><br>Juggling business and pleasure can be a complex, risky endeavor. Will Justin resist Barry’s charms and flee again, or will fate give them a new leash on life?

A New Leash on Life

“You know, Murphy, I think we’ve both got a new leash on life. It’s good not to be alone.” No sooner had the words left his lips than he knew he had a name for his business. Cassandra’s Carousel was going to become A New Leash on Life.


Barry sneaked a glance across the table at his mother. Although he avoided it when he could, she had a thing about family dinners. When he was growing up, the evening meal was always on the table exactly half an hour after his dad got home from work—mostly at the bank during the years he recalled. Dad had been gone for eight years, and now it was Barry who came in and met the polite question Mom had posed for more years than he could recall.


“How was your day, dear? Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes. You’ll have time to take off your tie and read the paper.”


Chapter 8