Page 169 of Catch the Sun

And it only takes two heartbeats for me to figure it out.

I make my choice.

I know exactly what I’m going to do.

Chapter 42

Max

Thunk.

Footsteps clomp along my front porch.

My chin tips up from the book I’m reading, and I glance out the main window just as a shadow bolts by, disappearing before I can make out who it is.

I frown, wondering if it’s Chevy bringing over a bag of groceries like he sometimes does.

Closing the book, I set it down beside me on the couch, slip my shoes on, and pull open the door. It takes a minute for me to notice it as my gaze dances around the yard, across the street, left to right. But when I peer down at the porch, a familiar item stares up at me.

An orange backpack.

I swallow, a sinking feeling swimming through my chest. An engine roars and sputters beside me, coming from Chevy’s property, but I don’t give it much thought.

I’m too focused on the backpack—Ella’s most prized possession.

Crouching to my knees, I unzip the bag and peer inside. It hardly weighs anything at all.

And that’s because it’s only filled with one thing.

A note.

My hand trembles as I reach inside and pluck the folded paper from the bottom of the bag. When I peel it open, another rectangular piece of paper flutters out of it, landing at my feet.

I open the letter, my heart galloping, my breathing unsteady.

And I read.

Dear Max,

You can’t catch the sun, but there’s no shame in chasing its light.

I hope this brings you light.

Thank you for being mine.

Give your father the best care possible.

I love you.

—Sunny

A choking sound falls out as I read over her note, two times, twelve times.

Then my attention falls to the other little piece of paper resting near my shoe. I pick it up and turn it over. And I almost fucking die when I see what it is.

A check.

A check for $200,000.

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