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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Good decision? Bad?

Martin Davis gripped his steering wheel as he eyed the shelter’s Time For Paws neon sign glowing in the dusk. He’d never thought he would darken the doors of a dog shelter, but here he was. Now the question hung in his mind. Was it a good decision or bad one? He’d become lonely without Suzette, his Bouvier, but he hadn’t been able to handle her. Sometimes he wondered what he could handle. Not dogs or women, apparently.

So if he couldn’t deal with Suzette, why come here to look for another dog? He released his grip on the steering wheel, fell back against the seat, and rubbed his temples. Because he couldn’t bear coming home to an empty house any longer. He’d been a failure as a husband. Cats were too aloof. Dogs? He had hopes.

Martin ran his fingers through his hair. He’d been alone for eight years since his wife walked out on him. The loneliness had faded, he thought, but since his brother, Nick, married, he had stopped popping by for visits. That was the whole of it. Being alone wasn’t for Martin anymore.

He turned the thought over in his mind. He recalled Steph and Nick talking about the unconditional love a dog provided. He’d never been one to worry about love or the lack of it, but unconditional love meant someone would be excited to greet him when he came home. A dog’s happy yips and wagging tail filled the bill, and a dog wouldn’t care if he were preoccupied with his business or even a little edgy at times.

Unconditional love. He shook his head. He sounded like a poet or a psychiatrist. The thought rallied an uneasy grin. Martin turned off the ignition and pushed open the door. If nothing more, he could take a look.

He slipped out of his car and gazed at the gray concrete building, once his friend Brent Runyan’s unoccupied factory until Molly wheedled away his building and his heart. They’d married, too. Everyone had gotten tangled in that web of “two by two.” He wondered if Noah had any idea what he started when he filled that ark.

Drawing up his shoulders, he headed for the door. The bell jingled as he stepped inside, and in the distance he heard dogs making a ruckus. He glanced at his watch. Dinner time, he guessed. His own stomach gave a rumble.

No one stood behind the desk. He waited, his impatience growing each second. He tapped his foot, staring at the doorway. Maybe this was a dumb decision. It could be God’s way of telling him to go home. But maybe not. It might just be bad customer service. Or his impatience. If he asked Nick, that’s what his brother would tell him. He had no patience.

Frustrated, he returned to the entrance and swung the door open and closed. The small bell jingled again. With no response, he walked deeper into the room and aimed his gaze at the door standing ajar. Through the opening, he could see a young woman at the far end of a long aisle, but before he could call to her, she turned and headed his way. Her dark hair brushed against her shoulders, her arms swinging past her trim hips as if she had nothing better to do. But he did.

Finally she noticed him and picked up her stride. When she came through the door, the woman paused, a look of curiosity on her face. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

About five minutes came to mind, but Martin didn’t offer one of his biting comments. Instead he wondered why she gave him that questioning look.

She stepped closer. “What can I do for you?”

He motioned to the door. “You might change that bell to a siren.”

Don’t you love that last line? Sounds like another winner from Author Gail Gaymer Martin!