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O ne week earlier…

Kage

Shadow Wood Rescue.

Wooden sign. Faded lettering.

The sound coming from inside was horrific.

Woeful.

Painful.

I was keen to any sound, my senses overwhelmed. I yanked the folded piece of paper from the passenger seat, staring at the message for the fifth time.

Kage,

Now that you’re settled into your new home, you need a companion. I know you. You’ll find Shadow Wood Rescue full of incredible yet broken babies who need love and care. You need to care about someone, even if only a dog.

Henry

I’d found the envelope next to a brown lunch bag with a new dog toy on the kitchen counter of my uncle’s home the first time I’d walked in. That had been maybe a week after his death.

A similar note had been handed to me when I’d arrived in town by the attorney my uncle had hired to handle his estate.

Uncle Henry. A powerful man I’d barely known.

But he’d left me everything. The note had been frank in strongly suggesting I needed a change in venue. From what I remembered, nightmares had turned the former Navy SEAL into a shadow of his previous self.

Just like what I’d been told was happening to me by the professionals. Fuck the experts. What did they know?

The second note had been waiting for me. While I’d glanced in the bag, I’d shoved them both aside without bothering to find out Henry’s intent.

That had been a few weeks before. But I’d laughed the moment I’d finally become curious enough to tear open the envelope.

After doing so, I’d wallowed in my usual self-pity and anger, but something had made me read the note several times over a half bottle of whiskey.

So here I was.

Taking my estranged uncle’s advice.

I climbed from the truck, wiping my hands on my jeans, still hesitant. What the hell good was this going to do?

Fuck it.

I forced myself to open the door and walk inside. As I scanned the interior, I realized a pair of eyes were staring at me. I slowly turned my head to find the person watching me was obviously nervous.

That was typical when I walked into a room. People were either terrified I was going to rob them or beat them to death.

I’d done one of the two in my life and I was no thief.

“Um. Can I help you? Sir?” Her voice was meek, but she moved closer, still peering over at me from behind the safety of her counter.

“You a rescue?”

“Yes, sir. Are you looking for a new pet?”

I glanced at the pictures of happy people on the walls, couples and families who’d obviously adopted from the facility. “Yeah.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place. Dog or cat? Although we do have two adorable bunnies.” She was still nervous even though she smiled.

“Dog. A big dog.” I wasn’t much into conversation. There was no reason to placate anyone with bullshit.

“Oh, wow. I can see that.”

When I slowly turned my head toward her, she swallowed visibly.

“I mean because you’re a big guy. A nice-looking man.” Her eyes were open wide.

“Can I see them?”

“Sure. Absolutely. Let me get Margie to help you. She knows the most about their backgrounds. I’ll be right back.”

I hadn’t been in town long enough for anyone to know who the fuck I was. At this point, the poor girl might be calling the cops. I’d had that happen more than once as well. Fuck them if they did. I had nothing to hide.

God, these places gave me the creeps. I loved dogs. Always had. Now was the right time for a companion. I’d been trying to convince myself my uncle was right, although I didn’t know if I’d be good for another human being. Not the way I’d become.

As the door to the back opened again, another woman moved from behind the counter. She was older and not nearly as timid. When she noticed the ink on my arm, she smiled. “Hi. I’m Margie. You’re a Navy man.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you for your service. My husband was Marines.”

I nodded, uncertain what I was supposed to say.

“I understand you’re interested in adopting a large breed dog.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“You know what? I think I have the perfect dog for you.”

The edgy part of me wanted to be riled. What was she doing, profiling me? But I sensed by her kind expression and soft voice she wasn’t fucking with me.

I trailed behind her, the noise as at least two dozen dogs barked at me from cages echoing in my ears.

It was almost too much, but I gritted my teeth and trailed behind her to the last cage.

Curled in a tight ball in the back corner was a black dog.

As we approached, he lifted his head briefly, sadness spilling from his deep chocolate eyes.

There was a dog’s bed on the opposite side of the cage that he’d ignored. There was just something about him that screamed loneliness. I could relate.

“What’s his name?”

“Jake, although that was the name we gave him,” she answered.

“A stray?”

“No, he was brought in by someone and left.”

How could anyone do that to an animal?

“Sadly, we don’t know much about him, although he appears to be under two years old. We think mostly a pure black lab. Maybe a little German Shepherd in him. He’s completely house trained, but he hasn’t responded to anyone since he’s been here.”

“How long?”

“Five months.”

I gritted my teeth. His tail wasn’t thumping. People were fickle. They wanted dogs who acted happy to see them.

“Is it alright if I sit with him for a little while?”

“Of course. Take your time. We’ll be closing in about an hour. You can open the cage if you want. Just see how he responds. I’d love for him to find a good home.”

Yeah, well, I wasn’t certain I could be considered good for anyone. As she walked away, I crouched down, staring at his sweet face. “Well, Jake. What do you think?”

He offered no response nor did he come close to the door. I opened the cage anyway, resisting reaching inside. If he was comfortable, he’d come to me.

He didn’t.

So I sat on the floor. Minutes ticked by and he wasn’t curious in the least. At least I’d managed to drown out the other noise, doing nothing more than concentrating on my breathing.

When I finally looked at my watch, I realized the rescue facility would be closing soon.

I wasn’t sure the fit was right. I shifted, almost getting up when he did instead.

He came to me slowly, still in a timid position, fear rolling off his huge body.

I returned to the way I’d been sitting before with my long legs stuck out. Just waiting.

Jake finally crawled from his cage just enough to be able to lay his head on my thigh. I slowly placed my hand on his muzzle, stroking behind his ear. His sigh was heavy, but he closed his eyes almost immediately.

A smile broke across my face, something that hadn’t happened in a very long time.

We sat together for a few minutes until the same lady walked back toward us. I could tell by the look in her eyes she believed this was a fit.

“Should I get the paperwork ready?” Margie asked.

Jake lifted his head once again and I nodded. “Yeah. Please do.”