Luisa nodded.
“When did you do this?” Sonia asked, genuinely puzzled.
“I don’t know,” Luisa said with a guilty shrug. “You guys have been really busy. I have lots of time to myself without school, so I came here when you were working.”
“Every day?” Ric asked.
“Pretty much.”
“I want to come here every day and see the doggies too!” Emanuel piped in. Sonia shushed him.
“And you clean these cages?” Sonia asked.
“Yes. And I feed the dogs and wash their bowls and talk to them a lot.” She shrugged. “Whatever needs doing, I guess.”
“But—how? Why—” Sonia fixed her eyes on her daughter’s face, as if she’d find answers there. “Why is this so important to you?”
Luisa took a deep breath and looked at Matt, her brow furrowed. Should I tell them everything? she seemed to be asking him. He nodded. She turned to her parents and began to talk.
“I feel at home here,” she said. “It’s, like, the best place in the world—there’s just so much love. Dr. Correa and Alberto care about every single one of the dogs. And there are so many—Mom, Dad, every day there’s a new truckload of animals. It’s so sad. There aren’t enough families for them all, but people should be adopting these dogs because they’re the sweetest . . .” She looked at Matt for backup.
“They’re amazing,” Matt said. “Every one of them just wants to be loved, like Rosita and Scout.” As if on cue, Scout tipped his head to the side, perked up his ears, and opened his mouth for maximum charm.
“But they’re satos, right?” Ric looked through the screen door at the dozens of dogs outside. “Satos are . . . wild.”
“They can be, Dad, but they’re not all like that, I swear. Most of them just want a family, that’s all. They’re not dangerous.”
Ric and Sonia looked at each other. Luisa steadied herself, waiting for them to make their pronouncement.
“We’re very proud of you, Luisa,” Sonia said. Luisa’s eyebrows shot up. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.
“You’re a good kid, Luisa,” Ric said. “Except for this ill-advised adventure with Matt here—” He jerked a thumb in Matt’s direction. “Which I’m going to blame entirely on Matt, at his suggestion.”
Matt knew that was Ric’s way of forgiving him, and he was silently—and deeply—relieved.
“And you’re gifted with animals—always have been,” Ric went on. “We just didn’t know how important this was to you.”
“It’s very generous, what you’ve been doing for these dogs,” Sonia said.
“And brave,” Ric added.
“You really think so?” Luisa asked.
“We do,” Ric said. “And if this is what you want to do with your time, then we’ll support you.”
Luisa’s face lit up. She threw herself at her parents and wrapped them in a hug.
“You too, Matt,” his mom said. “I can see how much you care about these satos, so we’ll figure out a way to help them. Who knows—the next Scout might be one of those dogs out there. And it seems like the rescue organizations can use all the help they can get, so let’s make some calls.”
Matt was overwhelmed, once again, with his mom’s compassion. She always seemed to know what mattered most to him—and always seemed to find a way to support him. He wrapped her in a hug, and she kissed the top of his head. “Thanks, Mom.”
“There’s one more thing,” Sonia said, looking at Ric for confirmation. He hesitated, then nodded slightly begrudgingly, as if he’d lost this one. “Luisa, is there a dog here that you really like? Because you can bring one home.”
“What?” Luisa screamed so loud that Emanuel covered his ears. She hugged her parents again, then jumped up and down cheering. Matt high-fived her with a loud slap!
Scout hopped up on his hind legs and waved his front paws in the air. When he saw Matt and Luisa spinning around the room with glee, he let out a long, loud, happy howl.
27
MATT LEANED BACK AGAINST THE COUCH. Scout lay across his legs. There was barely enough room for Luisa, who was squished at the other end. In her arms lay the brown dog with the black stripe on her head—the one who had reminded Matt of Rosita. Luisa had named her Dulce. She was passed out cold and snoring very loudly.
“Seriously, Scout?” Matt groused, wrapping his arms around Scout and pulling the dog higher onto his lap, giving Luisa and Dulce more room. Scout quickly fell sound asleep, sinking heavily into Matt’s thighs.
Matt couldn’t imagine life without Scout. Wherever Matt went, Scout was there. Whatever Matt did, Scout made it more fun. Whenever Matt was in trouble, Scout saved him. Scout was his constant companion, his shadow, his protector—his best friend.
Every one of those dogs at Dr. Correa’s shelter could be someone’s best friend too, he knew. And every pup there deserved the chance to have someone who loved them back, unconditionally, the way Matt loved Scout.
Matt was going to do everything he could to help make that happen, while he was still in Puerto Rico and after he got back home.
Scout twitched and flapped his paws in his sleep, probably chasing Rosita in a dream.
Matt’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He stretched to reach it, which wasn’t easy without being able to move the lower half of his body—or without waking up the dogs.
He swiped to answer the incoming video call. The screen flashed on to reveal Dev, Amaiya, and Curtis mugging for the camera and shoving each other out of the way. Matt could see water behind them, and a tower of boulders behind that. They were at the ravine, their favorite swimming hole, where the ten-foot jump into the water never failed to get Matt’s heart racing.
“What’s up, Matt!” Dev howled like a TV announcer. “How’s everything?”
“Hey, guys,” Matt said, waving into the camera.
“Come back, man!” Curtis shouted over Dev’s shoulder.
“Matt! Save me from these two dorks!” Amaiya jokingly pleaded. “You’re the only sane one!”
Scout raised his head at the sound of familiar voices. Matt turned the camera toward him, and Scout blinked at the screen nonchalantly.
“Hi, Scout!” the kids called out. Scout yawned in reply.
“Guys, meet Luisa.” Matt tipped the phone up so his friends at home could meet his friend on the island. “And Dulce.”
“Hi, everyone.” Luisa waved at the phone. “I’ve heard a ton about you guys.”
“Hi, Luisa!” Amaiya said warmly.
“Oh, hey,” Curtis said shyly. Then, “Oh my God, Dulce’s so cute!”
“Whatever you do, Luisa,” Dev said drily, “run, don’t walk, away from Matt. You hear me?”
“Why didn’t you tell me this last week?” Luisa laughed. “Before he got us into a ton of trouble?”
Matt turned the phone back around. “Okay, that’s enough out of you two.”
“I’m just making sure she knows the truth,” Dev said. “Just kidding, Luisa!” he shouted into the phone so she could hear. “Matt is the best—send him back, would you?”
“He’s all yours,” Luisa called out.
“Admit that you miss us, dude,” Dev said to Matt.
“I admit it,” Matt said. He hadn’t had time to think about how much he missed his friends, although now that he saw their faces, he knew it was true.
But he had things to do in Puerto Rico, and he wasn’t ready to go home just yet.
“So what’ve you and Scout and Luisa been up to?” Amaiya asked. “Anything fun?”
“Well,” Matt replied with a mischievous grin, “who wants me to bring them home a sato puppy?”
Acknowledgments
The butterball currently asleep on my couch was once a sato like Rosita, and my family and I are so lucky to have her. We named her Vida because she’s full of life—and adds so much to ours. She also chews our things, steals my side of the bed, and suckers everyone into giving her too many treats, but we don’t mind.
&nb
sp; Brian and the goons, thank you for putting up with all this and loving me anyway. LYTS. Virginia Wing, we know you secretly love the dog, but we promise not to tell her. Thank you for so, so much. Kunsang Bhuti and Tenzin Dekyi, thanks for your endless kindness. Susan Friedman, thank you for all the books all these years! Three cheers to the Society for Animal Care and the amazing fourth graders who dedicate recess to helping our furry, scaly, and slithery friends.
Thank you to the Scout Pack: Margaret Anastas at Harper; Les Morgenstein, Josh Bank, and Sara Shandler at Alloy; Katelyn Hales at the Robin Straus Agency; and the Harper sales, marketing, and publicity groups.
Luana Horry, Hayley Wagreich, Romy Golan, and Robin Straus—forgive me for repeating myself, but you guys are truly the best. Thank you. Adriana M. Martínez Figueroa, thank you for the keen eye and thoughtful guidance.
Thanks to Animal Lighthouse Rescue, The Sato Project, and all the rescue organizations for your hard work. You bring joy to many people!
About the Author
Photo by Johannes Kroemer
JENNIFER LI SHOTZ is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Max: Best Friend. Hero. Marine., about the coolest war dog ever. She is also the author of the Scout and Hero series. Among other things, Jen has written about sugar addiction, stinky shoes, and sports-related concussions. A Los Angeles native, she graduated from Vassar and has an MFA in nonfiction from Columbia. She lives with her family and dog, Vida, in Brooklyn. For the occasional tweet, follow her @jenshotz.
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Copyright
The Scout team is a proud supporter of The Sato Project, a dog rescue organization in Puerto Rico.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
SCOUT: STORM DOG. Copyright © 2019 by Alloy Entertainment. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover photos © 2019 by Shutterstock.com and Allied Global Marketing
Photo illustration © 2019 by Allied Global Marketing
Cover design by Rick Farley
Produced by Alloy Entertainment
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019933497
Digital Edition JUNE 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-280265-1
ISBN 978-0-06-280264-4 (paperback)
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-280263-7 (hardcover)
1920212223PC/BRR10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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