Page 3 of Catch the Sun

“Okay.”

McKay makes a loud noise and jabs his violet-stained Popsicle stick into the sand. I giggle before glancing over at Max. “You’re lucky you still live with your brother,” I tell him. “I miss mine.”

I miss Jonah so much.

Mom too.

But especially Jonah.

He’s four years older than me and my greatest protector. One time, he pushed a little kid off a play set because the bully was throwing rocks at me down below and making me cry. The boy broke his ankle and Jonah got in really big trouble. But he did it for me, so that makes him the best big brother in the whole world. We used to pretend we were Winnie the Pooh characters and the woods behind our horse farm were the Hundred Acre Wood, just like in the storybook.

I love stories. I love books.

I love Jonah.

“My brother is a pain sometimes,” Max replies. He watches his brother for a moment before swiveling toward me, his dark eyebrows lifting. “You like me more than McKay, right?”

“Yeah.” My lips pucker as I think about it. “You’re nicer to me and I like your dimples.”

“We look the same,” he reminds me.

“He doesn’t have dimples.”

This seems to satisfy him, and he swings as high as he can one more time before hopping off and dropping to the wood chips. “Come on. Let’s go explore.”

We discard our Popsicle sticks in a trash can and I follow Max to the treeline to search the ground for treasures. Jonah and I used to look for treasure, too—back when I still lived in Nashville last summer. Back when Mom and Dad were together and we were a happy family. I’m not sure why Dad took me away, and why Jonah stayed behind with Mom, but they said it was because of the divorce. Whatever that means. I guess that’s what happens when moms and dads don’t love each other anymore.

It’s not fair that Jonah and I had to get a divorce, too. He was my best friend.

Until Max.

My shoes crunch along sticks and green leaves as we explore the trail. “My brother wrote me a letter yesterday,” I tell Max, crouching down to stare at a weird-looking caterpillar with stripes.

“Yeah? What did it say?”

“I couldn’t read all the words, but Dad read it to me and said Jonah missed me a lot, and he told me about the horses back on the farm. I used to love the horses. Phoenix was my favorite.” I nibble my lip. “Jonah also said he’d beat up any boys who were mean to me. He’s my protector.”

His nose screws up. “You should tell him that I’m here now. I’ll protect you.”

I smile as wide as the sunny sky.

“Does he write you a lot of letters?” Max continues, bending beside me and sticking out his hand to the bug. The funny caterpillar slithers over his finger, then moves to his knuckles.

“Yep. Every week there’s a new letter.”

“That’s cool.” Studying the strange insect, Max relocates it to a nearby branch and we watch as it crawls onto a bright-green leaf. “I bet this little guy will be a butterfly soon. Maybe one of those zebra butterflies.”

“Those are my favorite.”

“Hey, we should find a clearing in the woods and make it our own special hideaway. Dad can help me build a bench for us to sit and read books together. We can talk about our day at school and watch the butterflies flutter by. It’ll be our secret hiding spot.”

I think that’s the best idea ever. Bobbing my head eagerly, I point to a small clearing covered in a canopy of treetops. “Over there is a good spot.”

“Let’s go.”

We spend the next hour in our new secret spot, sitting cross-legged across from each other and telling magical stories. Stories about swinging on vines and drinking water from fresh streams. Eating berries, swimming in lakes, and dancing under a summer sun. Then when night falls, we’ll stare up at the stars instead.

Before we head back to the park, Max holds something out to me. “Look what I found, Ella. It’s pretty cool. Do you like it?” He stretches out his palm to show me a shiny white stone.

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