Suncatcher and the Golden Laugh: Book Twelve (Painted Path Series 12)

In this upper middle grade tale of healing and hope, a quiet boy finds his voice through the trust of a golden Haflinger who just might speak.

Twelve-year-old Steve doesn’t laugh anymore.

Not since the accident. Not since the silence that followed. His world has faded into quiet grays—where smiles feel dishonest, and joy feels like a betrayal of everything he lost. At the ranch where he’s been sent for “healing,” Steve stays to the side, doing his chores, avoiding connection, keeping his heart hidden.

But then a golden Haflinger named Suncatcher arrives—radiant, watchful, and impossible to ignore. Where Steve holds everything in, Suncatcher radiates presence. He is not like the other horses. He moves with purpose. He waits with intention. And somehow, in a way that no adult can manage, Suncatcher sees straight through the walls Steve has built.

Something unspoken passes between them—tentative at first, then steady. A trust too delicate for words begins to take root. Suncatcher doesn’t rush Steve. He simply shows up, again and again, asking nothing… except honesty. And slowly, the boy who believed he had nothing left to feel, begins to feel everything.

This is not a loud story. It is not about wild gallops across open fields or quick fixes to broken hearts. It is about a boy learning that joy does not erase pain. It lives beside it. And laughter, when it returns, does so not as a stranger—but as something sacred.

When Suncatcher finally speaks—truly speaks—his voice is for Steve alone. No one else hears it. No one else needs to. Because some gifts are too rare, too precious, too true to ever be explained.

A golden horse, a grieving boy, and a bond so quiet it speaks only to the heart.

The Painted Path Series continues with this quiet, luminous tale of trust, healing, and the mysterious bond between a boy and a golden horse. Woven with tenderness and magic, this is a story for anyone who has forgotten how to laugh—and longs to remember.

If you’ve ever believed that animals can heal the heart… if you’ve ever wondered whether sorrow could transform into something light… if you’ve ever needed a story to remind you that happiness is still possible—this book is for you.

For anyone who’s forgotten how to laugh—and longs to remember.