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

“No,” Mac mumbled. “My name’s Mac. Mac Bowersox.” He scraped the toe of his Converse on the sidewalk. “Maybe you misheard me. Mac, Mike, Max…”


“Sure,” Flynn said stiffly. “Are you gonna let us come and see the dog or not?’


Do I have a choice?Mac wondered. Of course he did. One always had a choice. He could be an asshole and simply refuse. Stand his ground. Try to be a baby and just run from them again. He shook his head. “The house is, uh, just around the corner down here.” He gestured toward Green Lake, which shimmered innocently in the summer sun just below them. Mac thought there should be storm clouds gathering above the water. He turned away from Flynn and Clara, trying to mentally prepare himself for what was to come.


Chapter 16