Page 43 of Blue Moon

“You stole his voice?” My hands balled into fists. “You stole his freaking voice?”

“Whoa, no, no, no. Not me. I’m fostering him for the shelter. Someone dumped him in the desert six weeks ago, and he was so thin that we weren’t even sure if he’d make it. But he’s doing much better now.”

“Can I pet him?”

“Sure. He loves people, which is amazing after all he’s been through.”

I scratched his head the way Shani had done, and he leaned against my leg. Until I went to San Gallicano, I hadn’t been the biggest fan of dogs, mainly because Mom always said they were dirty and dangerous, but there had been a dog at the turtle sanctuary, and I’d learned that was just one more thing Mom had lied about. Dogs were sweet and loyal and protective. Everything a girl could wish for, really.

“What’s his name?”

“Rocky. He’s a fighter.”

“I could buy him a cake?”

“He’s actually only allowed tiny pieces, and definitely not chocolate cake, but he’d love some doggy treats. Sure you don’t want a coffee?”

“Do you have syrup?”

“Caramel, hazelnut, or gingerbread?”

“Caramel.” Then I added a “please” because I didn’t have to go full-on diva with these folks.

Shani came back a few minutes later with coffee for both of us, slices of cake that definitely weren’t small, and a bowl of dog cookies. Rocky settled beside me, and when he rested his head on my foot, my heart swelled in my chest.

“Did you teach him to do that?”

“Do what?” Shani asked.

I pointed down at him. “Be so cute.”

She laughed. “No, that’s all him. He likes you.”

“I like him too.”

Animals were much easier to like than humans. Their love was pure, unlike that of people. People always let you down. They were confusing, and annoying, and sometimes downright cruel.

“Why isn’t anyone staring at me?” I blurted.

Shani paused with a forkful of cake halfway to her mouth. “Uh…do you want people to stare at you?”

“No! But they usually do, and apart from the receptionist who was shooting daggers from her eyes, people are mostly ignoring me. It’s weird.”

“Donna was shooting daggers at Randall, not you. He skipped the whole signing-in procedure, and she’s a stickler for the rules.”

“Why’d he skip it? Should I go back and sign in?”

“He figured you’d had your photo taken enough times already today. And forget about it—I smoothed things over with Donna. We found a photo on your Instagram account, she made you a visitor badge, and I dropped it in the trash on the way up here. If there’s a fire drill, just follow me out of the building.”

I liked Shani as well as Rocky. She wasn’t gushing over me, but nor was she doing that weird thing where people pretended so hard that they didn’t know who I was, even though they obviously did. She was treating me like a regular person. We ate cake, drank coffee, and taught Rocky how to give a paw in return for a treat.

And then Ryder was there.

I looked up from stroking Rocky to see him standing in the doorway, watching us with a soft smile on his face, hands in his pockets.

“I might have known Shani would corrupt you,” he said.

“Are you okay? Everything’s really all right?”

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