Chapter Sixteen

Catherine's POV:

"Julia!" I called at the top of my voice before pushing out of the lounge chair I was seated on. She'd been playing with Jason who was still concentrating on the Lego house he was building before the flutters of a bird's wings pulled her attention.

And now, she was on her feet, going in the direction of the open gates of the pool and not even watching her steps as her only focus was on the bird.

I let the book fall to the chair before I hurried over to where she stood and pulled her out of the way before she could dive right into the water.

"Julia!" I cried, breathing heavily. "You nearly fell into the water."

She clutched her puppet to her chest, her eyes still trained on the bird that seemed to be more concerned about pecking the tree trunk than a little girl who was intrigued by it. "That's a woodpecker. I've only ever seen it in cartoons. I want to hold it." She turned to look at me, her lips forming a pout.

Sighing, I place my hand on