Chapter 13: The Children of the Mill
Five years passed.
The White Salmon River Joinery expanded to include *The Cascade Heritage Timber Academy*—a non-profit vocational sanctuary providing free, accredited apprenticeships in traditional timber framing, historic architectural restoration, and sustainable forestry for young people aging out of the foster care system across Oregon and Washington.
Clara had completed her doctoral credentials in river watershed conservation, directing the academy’s ecological research programs while managing the salmon habitat restoration along the river.
In the timber workshop beside the mill, Silas Thorne—now eighty—continued to teach the incoming classes of young apprentices how to read the grain of seasoned wood.
On a warm, sunny morning in June, the workshop floor was alive with the sweet scent of cedar shavings and the sound of children's laughter.
Sitting in a pile of clean pine shavings was four-year-old Silas—Lucas and Clara’s son—named in memory of the master builder who had given Lucas shelter.
Little Silas wore tiny canvas overalls, holding a small wooden sanding block, carefully polishing the rounded edge of a toy wooden sailboat Lucas had shaped for him from scrap cherry wood.
""Grandpa Silas! Look!"" the boy shouted, holding up the toy boat with both hands. ""It’s smooth! It’s ready for the water!""
Old Silas knelt down slowly in the shavings, inspecting the wood with a proud, loving grin.
""That is master-grade joinery, little builder,"" Silas smiled, tapping the boy's nose with a wood shaving. ""Just like your father frames his bridges.""
Clara walked into the workshop carrying a basket of fresh red strawberries from the garden, her face glowing with radiant, enduring health. She leaned against the heavy maple workbench, resting her hand over her abdomen where their second child was growing beneath the warm morning light.
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Her soul was completely at peace.
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