“Dad says you and Muffin are destined for each other,” Abigail said with a big roll of her eyes. “Told me I had to be over lickety-split before you could second-guess things.” She pressed a leash into Harmony’s palm and closed her fingers around it tightly before stepping back and regarding Harmony with a grin. “So, here you go, this is Muffin.”

The little dog barked, perhaps to say hello, perhaps because he was equally confused about their sudden arrangement. One thing was for sure: Pastor Adam really, really wanted her to have this dog… and how could she say no to the man who had given her so much over the years?

Well, crud. It looked like Harmony had herself a dog.

Chapter 4

Harmony

Harmony stooped down to let the fawn and white Chihuahua sniff her hand. She’d been around enough dogs growing up to know that this little gesture of peace went a long way when it came to convincing a dog not to bite you.

Not that the pastor would foist a vicious dog upon her, but still… up until a few minutes ago, she hadn’t expected him to foist any dog upon her at all.

Muffin licked her hand enthusiastically and didn’t stop lapping at it until Harmony pulled back.

“She sure is friendly, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about dogs.” There it was, her final attempt to say no. Too bad she already knew it would fall upon deaf ears.

“Muffin’s a he,” Abigail corrected. “I know it sounds a little silly, but the Sunday school kids named all the puppies, and—well—they went with a bakery theme. Someday I’ll have to introduce you to his siblings Cookie, Brownie, and Cupcake.”

“And who’s this?” Harmony looked toward the other dog who sat at attention beside Abigail. It was plumper than Muffin, but otherwise looked very much the same.

“This is Muffin’s mother.” She stared at both dogs lovingly, as if they, too, were her children. “We call her Mama Mary. You know, since she gave birth in a manger?”

Harmony couldn’t contain her laughter. Truly she was in the presence of the holy family—or at least the canine version of it.

“You arrived just as I was getting to the good part,” Pastor Adam said to his daughter, then jumped straight back into his animated tale of how the Church Dogs of Charleston had come to be.

By the time he reached the end, Harmony suspected her jaw might be hanging wide open. Even though it was terribly rude, she just couldn’t help herself. This litter of pups had been through a lot, almost as much as Harmony herself, but she still didn’t understand one very important thing…

“I can see they’re an incredible group of dogs, but why do you want to give one to me? Shouldn’t they stay with the church?”

“Not giving, loaning,” the pastor corrected with a wag of his finger. “And Muffin is staying with the church. He’s staying with you. We both know that the church is made up of people, not bricks and mortar. Keep coming back each Sunday, and maybe Tuesdays, too, for a bit of counseling. What say you, Miss King?”