Chapter 41
The narrow trail through the woods was as lovely as Leo remembered. Moss grew up out of the streambed overflowing with snowmelt and rain, close to the shaded dirt path. The steep trail was higher than the one he'd hiked with the dog, so much so that the hardwoods were just starting to bud, flashes of red and pink scattered throughout the towering firs and pines. He winced, wondering if they'd pass by the stump of the one that stood beside Maria's casket for the funeral.
Leo's mind tried to draw away from the fresh reality, but his resistance grew weaker with every beat of his heart. The sacrificed tree would never bloom this spring even though his beloved lived again.
The wagon was far smaller than the ones he'd ridden in the back of, snuggled under a blanket with his wife an
