Sun Catch Her (Book 1: Three Rivers Deep series) COMPLETE

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Can you toss over the photo squares?"

Setting down the stack of pictures I was thumbing through, I picked up the small box and ripped off the slippery paper ribbon already stripped of adhesive squares before tossing it across the bed to Reese.

She caught it with her usual happy grin. "Thanks!"

"Mmm hmm." I turned and aimed the wad of paper at the trashcan, my foot bobbing to the music pulsing from the stereo.

Reese's bedroom was an eclectic mixture of childhood nostalgia and teenage angst, the vibrating bass testing the tape that held up memorabilia. We'd already twice picked up the movie poster of the film I never did see. There was a fishbowl sitting on the middle shelf of a bookcase, acting as bookend to a long lineup of novels interlaced with Little Golden children's books. The fancy-tailed goldfish didn't seem to mind the loud music, making me think it was used to the volume-induced ripples. Reese's other pet, however, was another story.

"No Sergeant!" she scolded. She vaulted up after the young gray and white tabby as it frantically latched onto a curtain when the song's tempo shifted. "Bad kitty!"

Amused, I watched my friend struggle to catch the longhaired furball as he somehow managed to twist and leap for the bookshelf, spindly legs moving fast to stay inches ahead of her reach. The water in the fishbowl sloshed when he sprinted across the shelf above, brushing the books to make them shift. The book on the end was knocked to the floor. It landed cover up.

Hmm, Pokey the Puppy. I noted the cover illustration of a white and brown spotted pup searching for his pudding. The gold sheen of the book spine caught the bedroom light to remind me of the twin golden brick smokestacks at sunset. Reese captured the cat by the scruff of the neck before he could make it under the bed.

"It's okay, sweetie," my animal-loving friend soothed, pulling Sergeant Snuggle-Tails into her lap as she sat on the bed to gently cradle him. The bell on his collar jingled when she jostled it, scratching his tiny chin. The cat gazed up with large amber eyes, tongue darting out to curl over his nose after she poked it with a finger. "That's my pretty boy. Do you want a treat?" Reese set Sergeant on the floor where he twined between her ankles.

I picked up the stack of photos again, giving the cat a quick salute when he stared my way and meowed. At ease, Snuggle-Tails.

"This is a nice one of you two." I held up a photo of Reese and Dandoy stooped over a fallen notebook in front of her locker. It was a candid shot, taken by Trevor, who had gotten hold of the camera.

"Yeah," my friend said, smiling as she dropped a few treat pieces on the floor for Sergeant. "Aaron was trying to help, and Trevor was being an unhelpful ass." She laughed, taking the photo from me. Using four photo corners, she positioned it next to the one I took of her standing with Trevor in his hockey uniform. "I can hardly believe the autumn dance is tomorrow night! This week has simply flown by."

"I know what you mean," I agreed, rummaging through the stack again while Reese searched through the standard-issue stickers that came with the scrapbook.

It had been nearly a week since Micah confessed his love for me. Sighing, I withdrew a Ninja Turtle Band-Aid from my pocket and stripped it from its paper sheath. It would look more appropriate on the page than the remaining stars and flowers from the sticker sheet. Reese picked out the next photo, giggling as she recalled another memory, and I found myself missing Micah. Which is silly, I thought, balling up the bandage wrapper to toss it into the trash. It had only been an hour since he dropped me off at Reese's. He'd gone to check on the valley's defenses while we spent the evening working on her scrapbook.