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

“This is a hell of a thing,” he said at last, very softly.


Hamburger obviously didn’t agree, because he walked away from the humans and then trotted down the steps. He found a patch of alluring sun on the grass, curled once, and lay down in it. Mac couldn’t help it. He grinned.


“I’m gonna miss the little guy.” Again, he felt he had to steel himself for just a few more minutes. He clenched both his fists and his teeth. Once they were gone, he could release the onslaught of emotions simmering inside, just below the surface. He would barricade himself in his room and cry as he hadn’t done since he was a little boy.


Chapter 18