Northstar Vale I can shoot a shotgun, I can catch a fish

He caught the smile just before it moved away, and Phox smiled a little sadly in return. He couldn't say if he had loved Camilla or not, but he'd had plenty of affection for her. And he'd gotten two crazy, wonderful kids from their short time together. Not only that, but Towhee had been an excellent mother, and he remembered somebody recently wondering if Towhee was Fennec's biological mother.

I always had your mom, he replied. Even when he had left to find Niamh, Phox had always known he would come back to Towhee. If Niamh had survived, insisted on keeping his kids from him, he would have gone back to his sister, because she was his rock. No matter how many curveballs the world threw at him, Towhee was there to pick up the pieces.

Now it was his turn.

Is that boy of yours turning two this year? he asked, truly foggy on the details of his grandson's age.