Page 106 of Carson

“Well, I keep them with me until the universe shows me where they belong.”

“You find them families?”

She tugs at the grass. “Everything deserves a safe space until they find home. I couldn’t very well take them to a shelter. Not that I have anything against them. They serve their purpose. But … this is going to sound strange …”

“Oh, you can’t stop now,” I tease, leaning in and kissing the tip of her nose.

“Okay, but don’t laugh.”

I wiggle my shoulders, letting her know I’m excited to see into her brain.

“Well, I figured if the universe put an animal in my path, it was there for a reason. Same for people, I guess. I’ve just always thought I was there to help.”

“I bet you learned that from your mom.”

She squints up at the sun.

“I suppose. That’s how she ended up with my father. She thought she could help him.”

“I guess when the universe gives you superpowers, you have to wield them carefully.”

She looks at me. “I don’t think it’s a superpower. It’s just called being nice.”

“Not very many people are willing to pick up a lizard off the side of the road.”

“Oh, I bet lots of folks do that.”

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve saved?”

“One time I saved a bat who had gotten caught in an air vent at the hotel I was staying in. The maintenance man thought I was crazy.”

“Has no one ever warned you about rabies?”

A faraway look passes over her face. “I kept it away from others.”

“But what about you?”

“His leg was broken.”

Her words make me realize all over again how soft Luna is. After everything the world has done to her, somehow it never managed to take that from her.

“Anyway, there was no way I could release him back into the wild. But I held faith that I would run into someone who needed him.”

I roll over and laugh. “This is going to be good.”

“Well, I met this man in Louisiana.”

“A vampire?”

“Yes.”

“Of course,” I say, mesmerized by the way the light bounces over her face as the trees sway above us.

“Oh my gosh. He lived in the spookiest house. You should have seen it.”

God, she’s beautiful. I shake my head. “Wait. You went into a stranger’s house?”

“Well, yeah. I didn’t want Batty to be scared the first night. He’d never been inside a house before.”