Unsung by Shannon Richard Page B

brown eyes. But again, Harper had only ever been friends with the man.
    As he was wearing his navy blue uniform pants and a gray polo with the Mirabelle Fire logo, she was guessing he was on duty. He made his way into the room and she noticed he was cradling a rather large ball of white and brown fur in his massive arms.
    The ball of fluff shifted, or should she say balls. There were two puppies in Tripp’s arms, and while one lifted its head from the crook of his elbow, the other burrowed deeper into his chest whining.
    “Didn’t know where else to take them. Someone abandoned these little guys at the station. No one even saw them drop the cardboard box at the door, but we did hear the barking.”
    This was a better alternative than what most people did, which was abandon their unwanted animals on the side of the road. Something Harper would never understand for as long as she lived.
    That was what happened to Luna. She’d been no more than two months old when someone found her wandering through a neighborhood. She had no collar, was starving, and covered in fleabites. Her father had never seen the dog before the day she’d been brought in, so he’d had no idea who the owner was.
    Weeks went by with no one looking for or claiming the puppy. As Harper had been the one fostering her—and had gotten attached faster than it took to blink—the adoption had been obvious.
    As Luna was a purebred French bulldog, Paul always suspected that it was a local breeder who’d just let her go without a care. She was most definitely the runt of the litter and had a slight limp as her left back leg was just a tad bit shorter than the rest.
    Apparently imperfection was a reason that meant someone or something wasn’t worthy to live. All a pile of garbage if you asked her. This was one of the reasons why Harper firmly believed there was a special place in hell reserved for people who were that cruel and heartless.
    “Let me see.” Finn moved closer, holding his hands out.
    “I’d take the girl.” Tripp nodded to the one who was sniffing the air around her. “The boy seems to have clinging issues with me.”
    Finn grabbed the puppy that was mostly white, just a few brown spots on her head and back, and pulled her into his chest. He touched one of her front legs, moving his hand down. “Well, I don’t think they are going to stay little for very long. This one’s paws are pretty big compared to her body.”
    “Definitely a mix,” Paul said, moving forward and taking a look.
    “They’re going to be massive. Probably why someone abandoned them.” Janet moved forward, scratching the chest of the puppy that was in Finn’s hands. She preened, wanting more affection.
    “Can you start lining up a foster family while we get them checked out?” Paul asked Janet.
    “On it.” She nodded as she headed for her desk and pulled out an address book.
    “And if we can’t find a foster family I can take them home,” Finn said.
    “I don’t know if this one is going to let you take him from Tripp’s arms.” Harper reached over and ran her hand down the puppy’s back. Even though she could only see about half of him, he looked to be evenly light brown and white all over his body. “You might just need to adopt him permanently.” She looked up at Tripp and grinned.
    “I don’t think my town house would hold up to this guy. My yard is a postage stamp.”
    “Hey, haven’t you been talking about getting a house? Problem solved.” Finn raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes lighting up like it was the most brilliant plan in the world.
    Tripp’s mouth turned down into a frown as he shook his head. “How about you just get them checked out first before you assign me a new roommate?”
    “You just stopping in to say hello, or did you need anything?” Paul asked Harper.
    “Needed to drop some stuff off for Mom and see if you guys wouldn’t mind watching Luna this weekend,” she said as she gently scratched her nails down the