Thom Baron has been struggling with social anxiety his entire life. He's taken the medications, gone to the therapists, followed the programs, and concluded his best life is a solitary one. When he comes across a dog in obvious need at his local market, it rekindles the desire to have some company around. It may come with a dishevelled coat, a notched ear, and a refusal to respond to anything but its given name "Ugly," but it could still be a friend.<br><br>However, Thom's new fur buddy has no such need to keep to itself and immediately befriends the man Thom has secretly coveted since he moved in -- Justin, Thom's gorgeous, bright-eyed neighbour. No matter how Thom tries to evade the man, the dog keeps drawing them back into each other's lives, and it doesn't take Thom long to recognize it's simply pursuing the demands of Thom's own heart. With the dog giving him the courage to try, Thom reaches out to return the love being offered.<br><br>Until a stranger shows up insisting the dog is his and demanding its immediate return ... a loss Thom knows will take all of his efforts and newfound confidence with it.

But by the Grace of Dog

Dog coughed and Thom nodded. “Yeah, I know, right?”


He watched Justin bounce-walk back into the house and continued to look for several minutes beyond that. By the time Thom backed away from the window and coaxed Dog to the floor, he could hear the garbage truck creaking and clanging at his left-side neighbour’s and he knew he didn’t have a chance in hell of making it to the garage, getting the door open, and muscling his own bin to the sidewalk in time. Instead of using Justin’s trip to the curb as a reminder to take out his own garbage, he’d missed the opportunity altogether. “Good thing a single guy and one dog doesn’t make a lot of trash.”


Thom eyed Dog, who immediately dropped his tongue out of the side of his mouth and gave Thom a lopsided smile. “You know something, Dog?”


Dog shook his head, though whether he was arguing the name or saying he didn’t know, Thom couldn’t say.


Chapter 17