“The heart has its reasons that reason knows not of,” Bernie said.

“You son of a bitch,” Captain Stine said. “I’ll drink to that.”

Down at the end of the bar Akbar had been dusting bottles, his back turned to us. But now he wheeled around and hurried over our way. A man of that size—and Akbar was enormous—on the move and in fact moving pretty fast is an alarming sight. I got ready for anything.
“Me, too!” he said. Akbar had one of those powerful voices even when, like now, he wasn’t shouting. My paws could feel that voice through the floorboards. He grabbed a glass, banged it down on the bar and filled it to the brim with that top shelf bourbon. “That’s the best damn thing I ever heard and it happened right here in my own bar.” He clinked each of their glasses, some bourbon spilling, a few drops landing on my shoulder. I licked them off. I’d tasted bourbon once or twice in my career and wasn’t a fan but now found that bourbon mixed with a touch of something Chetish was a different story. You can learn things in this life. All you have to do is be there! Anyone can do it.

(coming Aug. 6, preorders welcome)