“Yes! There it is!” Max pointed.

A smudge on the ocean became a golden shadow that swiftly took shape.

Isla Paraíso: a wedge-shaped island covered in golden grasses that rippled in the eternal west wind. The wide end of the wedge lay to the east, where a series of pocket beaches glowed with soft sands and gentle waves. From there the island rose, a strong slope ascending to the west side where high cliffs dropped into the aggressive ocean. The surf there ripped and roared in constant fury, trying to bring down the rock that dared challenge it.

Rae scooted forward as far as her seat belt would let her to gaze out the window.

Max dipped down as they got closer and took a wide circuit that offered a bird’s-eye view. “The geologists tell us that this massive hunk of rock separated from the coast and drifted out to sea.” His voice was warm and instructive. “But they don’t know why.”

Listening to him, Kellen smiled and relaxed. He was such a nerd. He knew a lot about the things he loved, and he loved geology, loved the earth’s movements and earthquakes and volcanoes that had created his family’s Mediterranean homeland and America’s West Coast.

He began a wide circle around the island. “See there? The caves dug into the cliffs, facing west? Those are the World War II military installations that watched for a Japanese invasion. The military burrowed into the cliffs with dynamite and concrete. Some of the caves have collapsed, but I’ve heard some are still there and you can still go down and sit in the watch rooms and scan for submarines and planes.”

“Wasn’t World War II like a thousand years ago?” Rae asked.

“A thousand years ago, like when Grandma was born,” Max said with a straight face.

“Max,” Kellen said.

“That’s what I thought.” Rae believed him.

“Max!” Kellen said.

He grinned at her, then faced forward again.

As the helicopter flew over a stand of redwoods, a herd of deer fled the sanctuary of the branches and galloped through the grasses.

Their beauty made Kellen’s breath catch.

Max said, “The environmentalists want the Di Lucas to turn this island into a wildlife sanctuary. Isla Paraíso is twenty-four square miles of unique plants, birds and mammals. There are species on the island that exist nowhere else in the world. Every year we have an intern come from UC San Diego to catalog the birds, animals and marine life.” He hovered above a cluster of rocks near one of the eastern beaches. “He camps there, in Paradise Cove. It puts him close to his work and it’s protected from the worst of the winds.”

“I assume he’s got a tent to keep off the rains?” Kellen asked.