became an analysis in public approval.
Sunshine was truly cowering now.
“There’s Jem,” Beck said. “Let’s go meet her by the parking lot.”
“Is she…” I stopped, suddenly worried I was going to cry. “Beck, is Sunshine going to be okay?”
He studied me for a moment. “Yeah. I think she is. I know it’s hard, seeing them like this. It keeps me awake at night sometimes, Luna.”
“I can see why,” I said, voice tight.
He reached out and squeezed my shoulder—a truly comforting gesture I felt all the way to my toes. “We have to hope though. What else is there?”
“Is that our girl?”
Beck and I whirled around and I was never so happy to see Jem in my life. Her lime-green mohawk scraped the top of the Lucky Dog truck as she climbed out, smiling when she saw Sunshine.
“Luna grabbed her from the ocean,” Beck said.
“Right on,” Jem said, giving me a shy smile. “I knew you’d be a natural.”
“What happens now?” I asked. Beck was rummaging around in the back of the truck, and when he emerged, he held a giant white shirt toward me.
“I’ll crate her with lots of food and get her to our vet immediately to do a full medical work-up,” Jem said. “It’ll be scary for her for a while, but once she’s settled back at the campus, the rehabilitation will begin. And we’ll start her on a high-calorie diet.”
I watched as Beck, speaking in low tones, lifted Sunshine into the crate. She whipped around, snapped at him, but he dodged her teeth and deposited her gently. I crouched down, looked at her face, tried to think about hope.
“She’s a fighter,” Jem said. “Don’t worry.”
I knew then, standing on this beach with this terrified dog, that I’d do literally anything to help Lucky Dog: money, advocacy, time, contacts, resources. That tiny voice my parents had always taught me to trust was all but yodeling at me, directing my attention toward the animal I’d just held in my arms. This was why I was a vegan, why Wild Heart could change the world if I could manage to get it back on track.
“You can wear my shirt if you want,” Beck said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I didn’t want you to get cold or anything.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said, laughing a little. “This thing is basically the size of a tent.”
“I’m… big,” he said.
“I noticed.”
It might have been the high heat of the day, but his cheeks colored.
“Hey, Luna,” Jem said, “I tried that white bean and kale salad the other day. It was great.”
“Yay,” I cheered. “I’ll have my chef make an extra batch and bring it to you next week.”
“Feels like you work at Lucky Dog now,” she said.
I pursed my lips. “Things are pretty hard at Wild Heart. Part of me wishes I did work with you.”
Jem was trying to get Sunshine to sniff her hand, so she missed the pensive look Beck flashed my way.
“I’ll hit the road and text you updates.” Jem checked her watch. “You calling it quits, boss?”
“I should probably head back later tonight,” Beck said. “But you head home after dropping her off.”
Jem turned to me. “Luna, you want a ride? Or will your driver pick you up?”
I glanced at Beck, who was staring out at the ocean.
What I wanted?
Well.
I wanted to keep spending time with Beck.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said, waving her off. “Beck can always give me a ride home on his bike, right?”
Jem looked between Beck and me. Looked hard at me. Widened her eyes in a move I recognized as girl code for what’s going on between you two?
I gave her the old headshake. Nothing, I mouthed.
She widened her eyes again. Made a sound in the back of her throat.
Stop, I mouthed, starting to giggle.
“What is happening between you two?” Beck said gruffly.
She shook her head, grinning. “Aw, nothing boss. You two have fun.”
And then she drove off, leaving us alone. And maybe it was our sexy ride over here, and rescuing the dog, and the earnest way he’d told me to hope…
But looking at Beck Mason was giving me butterflies.
Huge, gigantic ones.
“Thanks again for the shirt,” I said, tearing off my tank top and bending over to wring out my sopping wet hair. I shook it out, and when I flipped back up, Beck looked away so fast I worried he’d break his neck.
“I grew up in a hippie neighborhood where my neighbors were pretty open about the human body,” I told him. “There’s nothing