Zoey ran after Ruby. "Wait," she called, the wind whipping her words back into her face. "Talk to me," she called again.
Ruby slowed her stride and dropped down onto the sand, sobbing. Zoey kneeled beside her, wrapping her arm around her. Celeste caught up to them, shaking the sand from her butterfly sandals.
"I can't believe it," Ruby cried. "How could we not have seen it? Why didn't he tell us?" She looked up, her cheeks raw from her tears. "Now we've lost him too. It isn't fair."
"I know," Zoey soothed her. "Try not to think of it that way. Think about how he was always there for us." Zoey looked into her eyes. "Remember? Every birthday, Christmas, skinned knee. He was there for us. Who fed us when Aunt Flory wasn't around? Who taught us everything we know about nature?" She looked u
