Chapter 186

Silvia Three years later. "Just a little further up the trail, Orion," Sherman called, his powerful silhouette outlined against the afternoon sun filtering through the forest canopy. "Stay where I can see you." Our three-year-old son giggled in response, his little legs carrying him enthusiastically over fallen logs and around boulders. Even from several yards away, I could see his wild hair bouncing with each determined step. "Why are the trees so big, Daddy ?" Orion shouted back, his face turned upward in awe at the towering pines. Sherman smiled indulgently. "Because they've been growing for hundreds of years, pup." "But why do they grow so tall ?" "To reach the sunlight." "But why do they need sunlight ?" I laughed, catching up to Sherman and sliding my arm through his. "The endless 'why' questions have officially begun," I whispered, leaning against his solid warmth. He chuckled, a deep rumble in his chest that I felt more than heard. "Our son's got a curious mind. Like his mother