Sophie

Previously

…She looked at the pouch, then at Thomas, whose eyes held the same rugged hope as the day they arrived. They had endured the first harsh winter, proved the soil was loyal, and established a stronghold against the wilderness. The grand adventure had settled into the demanding, rewarding reality of home. The promise of that distant wedding day was being kept, day by relentless day, written in the fresh saplings they planted along the boundary lines and the strong, steady beat of their shared heartbeat in the quiet heart of the woods.