34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Four
Carson
“Ithought I’d find you down here,” I tell Luna, hopping rocks to join her on the other side of the stream.
“Hey,” she says shyly when I sit down beside her.
“How was your day?”
“Good.” Her attention goes back to her book.
“What are you reading?”
“Charlotte’s Web,” she mumbles, giving me that cute little annoyed look she gets when she’s into something and I’m disturbing her.
“I remember that one. It’s basically proof that somebody can show up out of nowhere and matter more than you ever expected them to.”
Luna slowly closes the book. “You’ve read it?”
“I like to read,” I tell her.
She lies back beside me. “There’s still so much we don’t know about each other.”
“We learned a lot in Ireland.”
“I don’t want to lose that here.”
I turn on my side, facing her. “We won’t.”
Luna rolls over, smiling. “I like to save stray animals.”
“Good to know. Good to know. What do you do with them?”
“Well, sometimes I keep them with me for a while until they get stronger, and then I let them go. The wild ones anyway.”
“Oh no. That sounds dangerous.”
“Well, I mean, I don’t pick up rattlesnakes or anything. But I have run into the occasional lizard that needed a good meal, and a little TLC.”
My grin widens. Petey told me Luna paid a visit to Katie. I was worried about what kind of mood I’d find her in.
“What about the domesticated animals?”
“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.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No.” She shrugs. “But I was worried for nothing because Batty fit right in with the other bats there.”
“He had more than one?”
“Oh, he had several.”
“That can’t be legal.”
“Well, I don’t know why not. You probably have bats up in your attic. What’s the difference?”
“No, I don’t!”
She falls back against the grass and grins up at the sky.
“Wait, you’re feeding me full of shit, aren’t you?”
Her smile widens. “You’ll never know.”
“I’m adding storyteller to your list,” I say, leaning over her.
She looks up at me. “List of?”
“Things I love about you.”
Her fingers trail over my face, but I know this position makes her nervous. I don’t want to push her. I want her to know she can stop, start, or change her mind whenever she needs to.
Luna rises to her elbows, but I don’t back away. Her eyes stay on mine as she moves in close, and then she kisses me.
It’s slow, but not hesitant.
It’s as if she’s savoring every moment.
Her mouth becomes hungrier for mine as she pulls me closer. Before I know what is happening, she’s guiding my hand to her breast. She holds it there as we continue to kiss.
I don’t move. I let her direct where this is going and how far.
When she pulls back to look at me, she doesn’t need to say anything. Her eyes say it all. She’s trying but she’s still not there.
That’s okay, because all I need is her spirit.
“You’re my friend too, Luna. And that means more to me than you know,” I whisper.