On a bright autumn day, Flynn Marlowe lost his best friend, a beagle named Barley, while out on a hike in Seattle’s Discovery Park. On a cold winter day, Mac Bowersox found his best friend, a lost, scared, and emaciated beagle, on the streets of Seattle. Two men. One dog. When Flynn and Mac meet by chance in a park the next summer, there’s a problem -- who does Barley really belong to? Flynn wants him back, but he can see that Mac rescued him and loves him just as much as he does. Mac wants to keep the dog, and he can imagine how heartbreaking losing him would be -- but that's just what Flynn experienced. A “shared custody” compromise might be just the way to work things out. But will the arrangement be successful? Mac and Flynn are willing to try it ... and along the way, they just might fall in love.

Lost and Found

“Flynn? You’re not telling me something.”


“He insisted the dog, whom he called Hamburger, if you can believe that, was his. Said he had him since he was a puppy, but he mixed up the town where he got him when he mentioned it a second time, which does not bode well for the truth. I could tell he was lying through his teeth too. He didn’t exactly have the best poker face, if you know what I mean.”


“And you allowed him to go on his way.” Clara sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to blame you, not at all. I’d be a really shitty friend if I did that. Did you at least get his name?”


“He said it was Mike. I didn’t get a last name.” Flynn practically whispered the last part, he was so embarrassed and felt so, well, dumb.


“Well, how many Mikes can there be in Seattle? Wait! Don’t answer that.”


Chapter 8