Chapter 1

"I KNOW. I remember. I'm on my way there right now. Would I disappoint my only niece? And just for the record, it's snowing like hell out here, so remember that the next time I ask you for something." Riley was about to end the call.

"Will that be tomorrow or the day after?" Davis teased.

Riley suppressed the biting retort at the tip of his tongue. "Yeah, look who thinks he's funny," he said instead, borrowing a line from their mother, who had passed away two years ago, leaving each other and Davis's wife and child as their only remaining family. Davis had married just out of college. Less than a year later, he and Stephanie had a daughter, Lilly, now six. Since then they had been trying for a second child, with no luck yet. Though Davis admitted that he was enjoying their efforts. Each time he said it, Stephanie would shrug and then blush big-time. "Seriously, I need to get off the phone so I can pick up Lilly's birthday present and get back there in time."

"Fine. Be safe," Davis said, and the call ended just as the wind blew a wall of white in front of the car.

Riley slowed even further, waiting for it to clear. He was about to turn around when lights shone on the right. He passed a house all lit up with enough twinkle lights to be seen for miles. At the next drive just past it, he turned into a small yard. Riley came to an abrupt halt as a damned lion materialized out of the snow. He thought he had to be seeing things, but no, it was a lion. Riley stared at it through the windshield, and then it turned and went back inside the shelter.

"What the heck?" Riley asked out loud to no one in particular as a man came out of the shelter to greet him. He mustn't have been able to hide his surprise.

"Oh, you met King," he said, chuckling. "Don't worry. He's in an enclosure of his own."

Riley nodded. "Why is he here?"

"I never let an animal suffer for any reason," he said. "I'm Mitchell, and this is my shelter. I'm also a vet, and to answer your question, I got a call a week ago about King here. Someone decided he'd make a good pet, but when he got too big, they just let him go. I had to sedate him to get him here." They both turned toward the now-empty enclosed area. "I have heat lamps inside for him, so he's plenty warm in there."

"But what will you do with him?"

"He's being sent to a zoo just as soon as the weather breaks. I'd love to be able to return him to the wild, but he wasn't raised that way and would never be able to survive." He didn't smile, and his eyes were tinged with sadness. "At least he'll have a good life and will be well cared for." Riley didn't know what to say and stood silently until the wind picked up and Mitchell motioned to the door. "You must be here to pick up Lilly's birthday present."

"Yup." His brother and sister-in-law had picked out just the dog, but she needed to be spayed, and they wanted her to be a surprise.

"Then come on in while I get Princess." Mitchell let him go inside first and closed the door behind them. The old barn was solid and surprisingly warm. The barks and yips of the dogs greeted him excitedly.

While he waited, Riley wandered through, looking at the various enclosures. Some dogs came up to greet him, tails wagging, eyes bright, while others stayed back. One even growled.

"Don't mind him. He's hurting. Whoever had him treated this little guy pretty badly." Mitchell knelt down and spoke softly. "Didn't they? Well, you know I'd never do that, don't you?" He continued speaking softly, and damned if the dog didn't come up to Mitchell, who lifted him gently, stroking his back. "Some of their stories will rip your heart out. I started the shelter as an offshoot of my veterinary practice because people would bring in dogs I could save and ask me to put them to sleep. I couldn't do that, so I started the shelter to give them a place to rest and heal. At least that was my initial thought. Since then I have rescued hundreds of dogs and found them good homes." He held the small dog so gently.

"He really seems to love you," Riley said.

"I know. And one of our dogs passed away a few weeks ago. I'd love to take Ralphy here home, but we have a daughter, and I don't know how well he'd do with her or the other dogs. But I have a lady who is interested in this little guy. She lives alone, and I know they get along. So I'm giving him a chance to heal a little more before placing him with her." Mitchell gently placed Ralphy back in his enclosure and closed the door.

Riley turned down the aisle across from Ralphy, which held the larger dogs. He approached one cage with a nearly all-black dog. He checked for a name tag. "Frederica." Riley watched as the black beauty sat down, tail whirling she was so excited, and pressed her nose right against the wire. When Riley put his hand close, she licked it and stood. Damn, she was big, but those eyes. He stared into them for a minute.

"She's another hard story. This older couple got her from a breeder out in Lancaster." Mitchell looked like he'd eaten something bad. "The place was a puppy mill, and the owner said that she was a miniature schnauzer puppy. As you can see, she's a full-size mix, and she turned out to be way too much dog for the couple, so they brought her here." The hurt in Mitchell's voice echoed through Riley's head. "She needs a place with plenty of space so she can run and use up her energy."

"I bet you do," Riley said to the dog, receiving more licks through the cage. Riley watched her, biting his lower lip. She was a gorgeous dog and incredibly affectionate. He understood why Davis and Stephanie wanted a small dog for Lilly. It made sense. But growing up, they had always had full-size dogs. Riley remembered their collie, Shawn. That dog would play frisbee until he collapsed. He never gave up and was always so ready to play.

"Anyway, Princess is right over here." Michell led Riley up to the front, where a dog carrier sat near the door. "She's all set to go."

Riley peeked inside and was met with the cutest face, a pink tongue, and big dark eyes that blinked back at him. "Do we need to bring the carrier back?"

"No. That's Princess's. Your brother bought it for when they could bring her home." He handed Riley some forms and asked him to sign that he was taking Princess.

"Thank you for this. Lilly is going to be so thrilled."

"You're welcome. You drive carefully on your way back to town. I only have to go next door." Mitchell leaned down. "And you be a good girl and enjoy your new forever family. I'll see you when they bring you in for checkups." He smiled and straightened up again. "Have a great holiday."

"You too," Riley said, leaving the warmth of the barn and stepping out into the snowy early evening. He hurried to the car and got Princess inside out of the wind. Then he started the engine and got the car warming up. The snow was still falling quickly as he put the car in gear, turned around, and headed back toward Carlisle.

"You okay, girl?" Riley asked after they had gone about half a mile. Princess whined softly and then grew quiet. "I know." He smiled to himself as he remembered Frederica's amazing black eyes and expressive face. He swore he could see Frederica deflate and the joy go out of her when he turned away. That was a dog that deserved a forever home. "Dammit." He pulled to a stop and turned into a partially plowed driveway. He nearly got stuck before he managed to back out again and turn around.

He made his way back to the shelter, pulling into the yard as Mitchell pulled the barn door closed. "Did you forget something?"

Riley smiled. "More like someone." He left the engine running and got out. Mitchell opened the door, and Riley walked right up to Frederica's enclosure.

"I thought I saw that spark between you," Mitchell said as he opened the enclosure door. Frederica came right out and up to him. She bounded around and then sat at his feet for about three seconds before bouncing on her front feet. "In schnauzer, that's ‘I'm excited you came back, I love you,' and all those excited, happy doggie feelings."

"She's sweet, but she's so big."

"That's true. She's just over a year old, so she isn't going to get any bigger, and she's wonderful with kids. With some training and attention, she'll be a really good dog, but she hasn't had any up until now. She is housebroken, but that's about all. When she got big, her previous owners gave up on her and tried to make her act like a small dog, which didn't work at all. I will tell you that she gets wound up sometimes, but all she really needs is plenty of exercise and activity."

"That I can do. Most of the year I ride my bike four to five miles a day. Maybe she'd be able to run along with me once she's trained. Exercise isn't an issue. And I have a yard that was fenced by the previous owners for their dog, so she'll have a place to run outside too."

"Okay. If you're serious, I have some paperwork for you to fill out, and there is a small charge to help cover the costs for the shelter." Mitchell seemed excited. "I'm setting aside my usual requirements because of your brother and because I have a really good feeling about you. I also have a really good dog trainer who I've worked with in the past. He's good with both the dogs and the owners, because most of the time when a dog misbehaves, it's the owner's fault." Mitchell continued talking as Riley filled out the form and paid the fee. Then Mitchell gave him a leash and some of the basic dog supplies before walking him out to the car.

Fortunately the wind had died down and the snow had let up, so he was easily able to get Frederica into the back seat. Instantly she tried jumping up front, but Riley was firm and got her to settle in back. He figured he'd set expectations right away—or at least try.

He pulled out of the drive and back on the road as his phone rang. "Where are you?' Davis asked through the Bluetooth connection.

"I'm on my way. It took a little longer at the shelter that I expected, but I should be there in about ten minutes or so. I'll see you then." He hung up and continued driving, the blowing snow becoming less and less prevalent the closer he got to town. By the time he arrived at his brother's, the snow had stopped. He parked out front, and Davis hurried out and opened the back door.

"This isn't Princess, unless someone blew her up," Davis said flatly.

Riley lifted out the carrier and brought it around to his brother. "Here's Lilly's dog. This one is mine." He snapped on the lead and brought Frederica along with him.

"You got a dog?" Davis asked, skepticism dripping off his tongue.

"Yeah, I did." He patted his dog's head, and she leaned against his leg. "Why don't you go inside and take Lilly her birthday present? I don't want to steal your thunder. I'm going to take her for a walk and let her do her business, and I'll be back in a few minutes." He led his dog away and down the sidewalk, where she sniffed at everything and pulled on the leash like it was the devil itself.

"Settle down," Riley said firmly, and she stopped and looked at him with those big doggie eyes before continuing on. They walked to the end of the block and then turned, making it around the entire block before returning to Davis's home. He went inside and was greeted by Lilly with a grin.

"Did you get me a dog too?" she asked.

"No. You have Princess, and I think that's enough for you right now. This is Frederica, and you can play with her when you come to my house."

She made a face. "Fred… who? It's a yucky name." There was no beating around the bush with her. "You need to get her a better name."

Riley took off his coat and brought his dog inside. She settled near the sofa right on the floor. "Then what should we call her?" He wasn't particularly inclined to have a girl named Fred.

"I don't know. Pickles?" she asked.

"I don't think so. I don't like pickles." It was one of his food issues. Pickles and olives—he hated them both.

Lilly put her finger to her mouth. "I know—Frosty."

Riley was floored. "Why Frosty? She's black, and she doesn't have a button nose or two eyes made out of coal."

She shrugged. "Frosty. It's a nice name. And she's nice like Frosty." She hugged the dog, who sat down and soaked in the attention.

"But…."

Lilly looked up at him with that same stare her father had perfected years ago. "Frosty." She hugged the dog once more and then ran out of the room, calling for Frosty, and damn it all if the big black schnauzer didn't follow right behind her like it was exactly what she wanted to be named.

"Great," Riley huffed as Stephanie came into the room and pressed a mug of coffee in his hand.

"You know you are never going to win against her. She is as stubborn as her father and too damned cute to say no to. It's a deadly combination, and I pity your brother when she gets older." She sat down. "What made you decide to get a dog?"

"I guess I looked into her eyes and saw myself reflected back. She's been through a lot and was given up because she got too big." It was like the dog didn't exactly fit the mold and she was rejected for it. Riley knew how that felt… in spades. "What I didn't expect was to end up with Frosty the Schnauzer."

Lilly ran back into the room with Frosty, Princess following right behind. Princess jumped onto the sofa and into Stephanie's arms, and Frosty slid on the rug, thumping the couch to come to a stop before trying to follow the small dog onto Stephanie's already full lap. Riley was definitely going to need to contact that dog trainer—and fast.