Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Lucy Gilmore | Exclusive Excerpt: RUFF AND TUMBLE
Author Guest / July 2, 2021

“Oh, you poor honey,” Hailey said, scooping up the tiny bundle and examining him closely. “I was afraid of this.” “What is it? What’s the matter with him?” Cole remained on the other side of the gate—mostly to keep Philip from barging in after him—but there was a sharp note of worry in his voice. Hailey nestled Rufus closer to her neck so he could absorb some of her body warmth. His small body was so delicate, his skin so much like paper, that she could feel each of his bones. “He’s not taking well to the family dynamic,” she said. “He’s always the last to eat and the first to wander away.” “Bess is rejecting him?” Hailey nuzzled the puppy closer, fearful of him overhearing the words and taking them to heart. Which was ridiculous for a lot of reasons, but she couldn’t help it. Rufus needed all the love he could get his tiny paws on. “Not rejecting, exactly,” she said. “She seems to like him just fine when he’s around, but with so many other, stronger, more insistent puppies to look after, he kind of gets lost.” Overlooked. Forgotten. It was no one’s fault, but that didn’t…