The boys found that encouraging.

Over the following week, he sent exactly two more messages.

Neither asked for a quick meeting or a dramatic reunion.

He answered questions about his favorite food and whether he’d ever gotten lost hiking.

Meanwhile, I contacted a family-law attorney in Boise.

I wanted a clear plan for establishing legal parentage and assessing any past and future financial responsibilities without turning the boys’ lives into a battlefield.

“There’s no shortcut,” she told me.