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

And on the tail end of the words, she fell asleep, or at least seemed to. Mac slipped from the room.


At home, Mac took Barley outside and then brought him back into the kitchen to feed him. When he was done, he asked, “Can I coax you upstairs to my room, Mr. Barley?” Mac laughed as the dog headed for the stairs. It was almost as though he’d understood every word Mac said.


“Oh, you’re just like your daddy—easy.” He trudged up behind Barley, who could almost take the stairs two at a time, despite his relatively smaller size. Mac felt both overjoyed and sad at the same time that the dog seemed so excited to be home and back to their routine.


Chapter 45