Sergi forked his pasta, eagerly slurping a big chunk of noodle. “One word of advice: don’t mess with the mayor’s boy. It’s just not worth it,” Sergi said.

His boyfriend, Ty nodded his head. “People here have nothing to lose,” Ty said. “It’s better to hang your head low and go about your day.”

I chewed the rest of my pasta and set down my fork. “Guys, when have I ever done that?” I asked. Rowan laughed with me.

Sergi looked worried. “These aren’t just normal townsfolk,” he said. “These guys live at the other end of the lake, past the trails.”

Rowan shared a glance with the two. “I don’t think my dad is serious,” my son said. Once Rowan saw my eyes shift downward, he leaned forward. “Wait. You’re not serious, are you, dad?”

I scooted my plate away from me. “What’s the matter? They aren’t going to kill me,” I said.

“You don’t know that!” Rowan argued. He was a passionate young man, and when something ticked him off, he went full force. “Dad, these guys are freakin’ crazy heads!”

“Exactly. They’re unorganized,” I argued.

Rowan threw his napkin at the table and stood up. “I love you, dad. But you’re acting like a massive idiot right now,” he said. Rowan ran toward the front of the house.

“Come on, son,” I said. “Don’t leave. I’ll dial it back.”

Rowan slammed the door loudly, forcing my body to tense up. “Shit,” I whispered, glancing at Ty and Sergi. “I’m sorry, guys. I guess I took it too far there.”

Sergi stood up and patted my back. “You’ve had a rough week. Listen to your boy. A beta cop can’t help you if Sid’s entire crew comes at you,” he said.

I nodded. Sergi was level-headed, and I knew that he was right in his judgment. “I’m going to head out,” I said. “I owe Rowan some one on one time.”

“Hey, man. We got through the dinner. It’s totally fine. I’ll see you at the job site,” Sergi said.

I hugged the couple and walked outside. Rowan was sitting on top of the hood, silently brooding. “Hey, bud. I’m sorry,” I said.

Rowan jumped off of the car and opened the passenger door. “It’s fine,” he said, stepping in.

I got in the car with him, but I didn’t turn the keys yet. Rowan was growing up too fast. Yesterday, he was a little kid. But that kid turned into a conflicted man. I needed to spend more time with him.

Rowan was fumbling with his hands. He couldn’t look me in the eye. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he whispered, “I just don’t want you getting hurt. I already lost one dad, remember?”

Seeing my kid reflect on what happened was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced. The squelching, emotional pain hit me in the bottom of my throat, forcing tears to push past my eyelids.

“I thought you told me not to be sad,” I said, trying to laugh.

Rowan set his annoyance aside and hugged me tightly. “I didn’t mean to bring it up, but it scares me when you talk about those things,” he said.

“I know, son. But they keep harassing us. They’re harassing you. And when someone messes with my boy, it makes me go crazy,” I said. “I won’t mess around, okay? I promise.”

Rowan laughed and parted his hair. “Okay. Just let the beta cop figure it out. That’s his job, anyway,” he said.

I wasn’t sure if Elliot could crack Sid, but my son was giving me some sound advice. I needed to focus on my family. “Hey,” I said. “I have a fun idea.”

“What? Pizza and a movie?” Rowan asked.

I shook my head and slid the key in the ignition. I started driving. “Nope,” I said.

“What then?” Rowan asked.

“It’s Friday. Let’s grab a few sodas and stay up all night fishing,” I said.

“Really?” Rowan’s eyes lit up. “We can take the old boat out? We haven’t done that in years.”

“I know. I think it’s about time. Don’t you?” I asked.

“I’ve been waiting forever! I’m ready,” Rowan said, flexing his arms.

Back in the day, we’d always go out at night to fish. Even though I barely knew how to play, I’d bring the old guitar out on the boat and strum quietly, while my son tried his best to catch a fat flathead.

It was our bonding time, but that slowly went away after the accident. The boat sat on the side of the house for years, just collecting dust.

I pulled into my dirt driveway and parked the car. Rowan dashed out of the vehicle, toward the boat. “Hold your horses, son. You’re not going to get that thing started by yourself,” I said, laughing.

“Sure, I am!” Rowan yelled. I heard him try to start the engine a few times with no luck. “Dumb fucking thing,” he whispered.

“Watch your language, Rowan!” I called out. I ran to grab my guitar, as well as some refreshing sodas.

I climbed back down toward the lake, playing an old southern tune that my dad used to play for me. Rowan looked back at me and smiled wistfully. “I haven’t heard you play that in years,” he said.

I fumbled at the strings, trying my best to remember the song. “I forgot the notes!” I laughed and set down the guitar on the deck. I let the bag of sodas ease off my shoulder.

“Engine won’t start,” Rowan said.

“Let me take a look,” I said. I walked over to the engine. Of course, it was empty. I grabbed the only gas container I had and filled it up, hoping that it would do the trick. I primed the engine. “Alright! Give it a go!” I said.

Rowan started the engine, and it roared with power. “Yes!” he cried out.

“That-a-boy!” I walked back to the middle of the boat and waved him forward. “Go ahead. Drive it to the left bank of the lake,” I said.

Rowan looked pleased. “Me? Are you sure? I’ve only driven this thing once, dad,” he said.

“Well, if you don’t want to…” I stepped forward, but Rowan gripped the wheel harder.

“No. I’ve got this,” Rowan said.

I smirked and sat back as he drove the boat toward the left bank of the lake. “There you go. Slow down a little. You’re coming up fast,” I said.

My son slowed the boat down. When we were situated, I threw my anchor into the water. Rowan came from behind me and handed me a bottle of Coke.

“All set. Right, dad?” he asked.

“All set,” I said. I motioned for him to grab the poles. All we had for bait was a couple pieces of meat. We weren’t going to catch anything, but that wasn’t the point. I wanted to feel closer to my son.

I left my fishing pole attached to the boat. Every so often, I’d see a nudge, but it would quickly stop, and then I’d have to reattach some meat.

“Play that song again,” Rowan said.

I smiled and picked up the old Fender acoustic. I started to strum. I wasn’t the best singer in the world, but I tried my best to hum the tune as best I knew.

“Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright. In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight… remember the name of that good Rueben James.”

“What’s a Rueben James?” Rowan asked.

I chuckled. “It’s a battleship, I guess. It sank in World War I. My father used to sing that to me when I was a kid,” I said.

I loved the atmosphere on the lake at night. The quiet splashing sounds from the dark water spurred something untamable and pure inside of me.

“I miss dad,” Rowan whispered.

“Me too,” I said. The water was endless around us. “I always feel him. People don’t leave the world when they die. I’m sure of it.”

“They don’t?” he asked me. He was turning into a man, but these moments between us felt pivotal.

“You know me. I’m not overly spiritual, but there are some things I can’t deny. When I feel him, I feel him. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, right? If that’s true, he’s here,” I said.

“I like that. Even if it’s not true, I’m going to hold onto it,” Rowan said.

“It’s true,” I said.

It wasn’t denial. I knew that my husband was gone from this world, but I refused to accept that the world had to forget their dead. We honored our missing family member every single day, and we wouldn’t stop.

“I still want you to meet somebody,” Rowan said. “You’re getting too complacent, and I’m getting older.”

I set down my Coke and kicked my feet up onto the railing of the boat. “I think I’m the opposite of complacent,” I said.

Rowan laughed and nodded. “Well, you’re getting complacent with your non-complacency. What’s going to happen when I move out?”

“You’re thirteen, Rowan. You’re not moving out anytime soon,” I said.

“I’ll be eighteen eventually,” he argued.

That idea scared the shit out of me, but I didn’t want to alarm him. Time passed by way too fast. “I suppose I’ll just do the same stuff I do now. I’ll just be a little older,” I said, shrugging.

“Dad, stop. Picturing you alone here breaks my heart,” Rowan said. “What about the beta? Elliot, right?”

I blushed, but he couldn’t see the red color amongst the dark shadows on my cheeks. “What about him? He’s a beta. A friend,” I said.

Rowan rolled his eyes and dramatically groaned. “He’s not a beta, first of all. Not really, anyway. Second, who cares? You like him,” Rowan said. “Why are you adults so obsessed with societal norms?”

“Wait. What’re you talking about, kid? What do you mean when you say that he’s not a beta?” I asked him.

“He’s not a beta. It’s not like I have facts to back this up, dad. It’s just a feeling I have. He has the scent of an omega. The way he looks at you… it mimics omega behavior,” Rowan said.

I chuckled, but the thought remained stuck in mind. What if he wasn’t really a beta? What if he was an omega and didn’t even know it?

“I guess it’s possible. There are omegas that find out later in life. It’s rare, though,” I said.

“It’s been happening more and more in the cities. People talk about it online all of the time,” Rowan said.

I felt my stomach tighten with excitement, but I had no idea why. Elliot was cute, but I wasn’t looking to find another life partner. “Well, it doesn’t matter. We’re friends,” I said.

“More like partners at this point.” Rowan laughed. I ruffled his hair and grabbed him. “Hey!”

I kissed the top of his head. “I’m not going to be alone forever, okay? You don’t need to worry about me. I’m a grown man,” I said.

“Okay,” Rowan whispered.

In the distance, a set of lights beamed at us, three times. I ran to the front of the boat and strained my eyes to see. “We should get out of here,” I said.

“Who is that, dad?” Rowan asked.

My heart started beating rapidly. My throat tightened. “I don’t know,” I muttered, pulling the anchor out of the water. “But I’m not staying to find out. Too many people have been messing with us lately.”

I had officially become paranoid, but this place could be treacherous at night. I didn’t want to become a statistic.

This time, I jumped up to steer the boat back to shallow waters. The other vessel in the distance shined its light on us again. Then, the boat went dark. Whoever was driving that thing had turned off its lights.

“Dad,” Rowan whispered.

“I know, son,” I whispered back.

I just kept driving, but I couldn’t see where it went. When we floated near our dock, I slowed my boat down. I tried to see where the other vehicle went. “He’s gone,” Rowan said.

“Let’s get inside.” My heart throbbed within my chest. I had to kneel down because my body felt weakened by the cold shock. I caught my breath before lifting myself back up.

“I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack,” I admitted.

“You’re just freaking yourself out, dad,” Rowan said. But I caught him looking back as we walked inside.

I grabbed my cell phone. “I’m calling him,” I said, shutting the glass door, and drawing the blinds.

Rowan smirked. “Of course you are,” he said. “You’re in love, right?”

I was just about to hit the “send” button, but I lowered the phone back down. “Boy, you better brush your teeth before I tickle you to death,” I said, smiling. Rowan scoffed at me, but he quickly walked to the bathroom.

I wasn’t in love with him. Between Sergi, and my boy’s constant poking, I couldn’t catch a break. I could control myself. I didn’t need a man in my life.

Of course, once I snuggled into bed with my book, I couldn’t help but grab my phone between every turn of the page. “Fuck it,” I whispered. I started typing. “Hey. Do you want to do something this week?”

I stared at that sentence for at least five minutes, groaning to myself. “God. I sound desperate,” I whispered.

I deleted the text and remembered that I invited him to dinner. I didn’t want to sound too eager, but sometimes a strong alpha needs some validation.

I set my alarm and tried to calm myself down. I’d likely feel clearer-headed in the morning. I took off my clothes and closed my eyes.

Then, I felt my phone buzz against my pillow. “You awake?” Elliot!

I sat up in bed and squinted against the light of my phone. Act normal, Tate. Don’t answer too quickly.

I waited a full two minutes before typing, “Just in bed. What’s up?”

I felt my cock twitch against the bed sheets. I reached down and grabbed my shaft, stroking downward. I thought of his handsome pink lips, and his tight ass pressed against his uniform.

The excitement was going to my head. It was all so new to me. I had to admit it to myself: I wanted Elliot.

“Not much. Just lonely, I guess. I shouldn’t have texted so late,” he said.

I felt the excitement pulse inside my cock. I stroked faster, just thinking about him. I decided to call him. “Hey. Come over,” I said.

I was forward about the situation. Lately, Elliot was all I thought about. Whether something was going to happen between us remained up in the air, but I wanted to see him, and I knew he felt the same.

I braced as I heard his breath hit the receiver. “Well,” he whispered. My hands were shaking. “Okay. I’m on my way.”