So far the notion of getting any work done was a bust. Logan struggled to get through next week’s food and booze order and that wasn’t like him. His mind kept going back to Faith and he found himself staring off into space with a stupid grin on his face. Maybe he should have given today a miss, should have played hooky with her. Any thought that he would be tired of her by now evaporated in the face of the possessive desire he felt for her. He’d had to force it down this morning when she told him she was going to go hang out with Bill.

She was making friends, well one at least, and Logan hoped it was a sign that she was starting to make her life here. Deep down it was what he wanted, and he sighed as he put his pen aside.

There was no way there was going to be any more work done in this office today. Things were going so well with Faith that he was starting to think about a future with her. But what did that mean for his pack? Could he walk away from them, could he turn away from his obligations to them as alpha, in order to make himself happy as a man?

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no answers, and fortunately he still had some time to come up with one. The truth of the matter was he still wasn’t sure if a future with him was what Faith wanted. It was the one thing they never talked about. The only planning that went on had to do with what they would do tomorrow and went no further than that. They were only half way through the summer and he would not have to give his decision to the council until fall. He wasn’t going to make a move either way until he was sure.

There was a knock on his office door and he sighed. It looked like he couldn’t pack it in just yet. It was tempting to tell whoever was on the other side to go away so he could call Faith and tell her to meet him at home. He bid them to enter and as soon as his father walked in the door and shut it behind him Logan wished he’d given into the impulse to tell him to fuck off before he’d walked in.

“What do you want?” It was rare for his father to come to town, and rarer still for him to set foot in here. Logan had no idea what had happened to his father to turn him into a bitter recluse. It didn’t really matter because Logan had given up trying to understand his father a long time ago. If his father wanted to turn his back on everything he’d once stood for, there was little Logan could do about it unless his father reached out to him, and Mike Sawyer showed no signs of extending a hand toward him.

“Such a nice greeting from a son to a father.” Mike’s mouth gave a sour twist and he plunked down in the seat in front of Logan’s desk. “Maybe I wanted to catch up and see how things are going.”

“You never come just to chat and I’m not in the mood for your bullshit today. What do you want?”

“When are you going to announce that you are mating with that East Brook she wolf? I’ve been waiting and while there are rumors going around town there has been nothing from you about it.”

The muscle in Logan’s jaw tightened. “I’ll decide what to announce to the pack. I’m still negotiating with East Brook but as soon as I know something the pack will know something.”

It was a lie, of course, he’d already had a talk with Grace about their situation and she was prepared to go through with it. The only sticking point was him and what he was starting to feel for Faith.

“According to the talk around town, the pack knows plenty already. Why not make it official?”

Why was his father pushing him? When he’d lost his place as alpha years ago he’d locked himself in that trailer in the woods and was working on destroying his liver. But ever since Logan had won the challenge to become alpha he hung around like a stink that wouldn’t go away. If it had been a few years ago Logan might have welcomed his advice, but not now. Not with knowing that his father had kept him from finding out about Connor.

“I’ll tell the pack in my own good time.”

His father’s eyes narrowed and Logan looked at him, almost daring him to say something.

“Is she worth throwing your pack away over? Rumor has it she and the boy are shacked up nice and cozy in that house of yours.”

“I’m not throwing my pack away over her and she’s is there because I want to get to know my son. You remember him don’t you? The child you knew was coming and neglected to tell me about.”

His father rolled his eyes. “You always did know how to nurse a grudge.”

Logan closed his eyes and counted to ten. He could feel his blood pressure going up as the vein throbbed in his neck. The old man was goading him on purpose so that he would be wrong footed and reveal something that he didn’t want to.

“She and my son are staying for the summer. I want to be a part of my son’s life and the best way to do that is if they are staying with me.” There was a lot more to it than that, but it was none of his father’s business.

“Well you’re a grown man and I can’t make you listen to some fatherly advice. I just hope that chasing that—”

“Careful.” Logan pulled his upper lip back as he growled at his father. There was enough venom on his father’s face to tell him that he was going to call Faith something nasty and Logan didn’t think he could contain himself if he did. He was barely holding onto his temper as it was. If a filthy word in reference to Faith crossed his father’s lips he didn’t think he could keep from jumping over his desk and throttling the old man.

“I just hope that getting in deeper with your son’s mother is worth the price you’ll have to pay when it all goes to shit. You’ll lose your pack over it.”

“Don't play the concerned parent at this late date. You don’t know her and you don’t know me, not anymore. Mind your own business.”

His father’s mouth pressed into a thin white line as he got to his feet. The chair he was sitting on scraped across the floor and Logan could see that he wasn’t the only one holding onto his temper. It struck him then, that ever since he’d become alpha, his father had talked to him more than he had in years. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“You mind me, boy. Do what’s good for the pack, otherwise someone might take over when it becomes obvious that you aren’t fit to be alpha.”

Logan shot to his feet. His father was pushing him a little too far and it was time to put a stop to his horse shit.

“I’m the alpha of this pack and I’ll run it how I see fit. If anyone think’s I’m unfit to lead they are more than welcome to challenge me. I want you to listen carefully because I’m only going to say this once. If you were under any delusions that you were going to run this pack through me, you need to wake up. I don’t give a shit if you are my father, if you interfere with my running of this pack, you will be treated like any other member who crosses the alpha. Keep your bitterness and your poison to yourself or I will bury you.”

His father stared him in the eyes, and there was something dark in there, something that went beyond mere bitterness. It didn’t matter what it was as long as the old man heeded the warning he was giving him.

His father was the first one to look away as he turned and walked toward the door. Logan remained standing as his father reached for the door handle. Mike turned his head and Logan knew that his father wasn’t going to be able to resist giving him one last parting shot.

“I hope you know what you’re doing. But don’t come crying to me when she bails on you at the end of the summer and you got nothing left. No woman, no pack, no nothing.”

Logan didn’t bother to acknowledge what the old man had said as he stared through him. He must have realized that he wasn’t going to get a rise out of his son, so he yanked the door opened and slammed it behind him.

With a growl Logan shot his hand out and swept everything off his desk. As everything on the top crashed to the floor he gripped the edge, with the wood biting into his palms. His father was full of poison and he couldn’t let it find a home inside his head.

* * *

“Watch me, Mom.” Connor’s excited voice carried to where she sat under the shade of a tree and Logan and Connor played in the lake. It was so peaceful here and they had the spot to themselves. There was a more public beach down on the other side of the small lake, but Logan told her that this one was better. She had to admit that it was a beautiful spot.

“I am watching, honey.” She shaded her eyes so he could see she was watching. Connor turned to his father and nodded to him. Logan went under the water and Connor wiggled around until he started rising out of the water. Logan stood up to his impressive height while Connor was standing on his broad shoulders. If it was anyone else in the water with Connor like that her heart would be in her throat. She saw that Logan’s large hands were holding his son around the ankles and she knew that he was a safe as he was when he was tucked up in his own bed.

Connor put his hands together up over his head and dove in the water. He made a big splash when he entered the water and it went right into Logan’s face. Faith started laughing as he looked wryly at her.

“Come on in the water. It’s great.” His voice carried to her as he gave her the smile he’d been wearing a lot lately. She wasn’t sure she believeed him because she had heard Connor howling about how cold it was when he’d first gone in. What could she say? She was a wimp. She shook her head and Connor bobbed above the surface. Logan bent close to him and said something in his ear. Connor turned to look at her with a speculative look on his face.

“Whatever it is you two are planning you can forget it.” The words she called out didn’t deter them as the two men in her life moved through the water toward her. “I mean it. Stop right there.”

Her words fell on deaf ears as Logan and Connor raced toward her.

“Prepare yourself, woman.” Logan had a wicked gleam in his eyes and it was matched by the same one his son sported. The pair of devils were going to put her in the water despite what she said.

She scrambled up to her feet and tried to jam her feet in her flip flops but they were on her before she had the chance to get away. She let out a scream of laughter as Logan’s cold hands grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder.

“Don’t you dare.” She wiggled and squirmed as Logan waded back in the water accompanied by the delighted laugher of their son. She only had a second to drag in a lung full of air as he ignored her words, lifted her off his shoulder and dropped her in the water.

The water was as cold as she knew it was going to be and she scrambled to her feet, sputtering as she broke through the surface. Her hair hung in a wet curtain in front of her face. She tipped her head back to clear it away and turned to glare at them.

“Isn’t the water refreshing, Mom.” Connor grinned at her and she swept her hand out to playfully splash him.

“That’s one word for it.” Now that she was in, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. She wouldn’t say it was as warm as bathwater, but it wasn't quite like swimming in the Arctic. “So now that you got me in here, what did you have in mind?”

“I want you to dive off Dad’s shoulders like I did.”

Faith froze for a second as Logan looked at her. He’d heard it too. Up until now Connor had been referring to him as Logan, and this was the first time that he’d actually called him “dad”. She moved toward Logan in the water, trying to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. If Connor was going to be casual about it, then so would they.

“It’s too shallow here for that, bud.” The water only came up to Logan’s waist and they were further in than he’d been with Connor earlier.

“Okay. I’ll stay here and you take her deeper. I’m going to be the diving judge.”

Faith and Logan turned as one and went deeper into the water. Once it was up to Logan’s chest they stopped and he turned to face her.

“Did you hear that? He’s never called me dad before.” She could see the pride in his eyes and she knew just how much it meant to him to have his boy call him that. She felt a lump rise in her throat for a second and she had to say something to ease the moment, otherwise she was going to start blubbering.

“I heard it, but don’t think it gets you off the hook for dunking me. You’ll be getting some pay back tonight.”

Logan’s eyes flared for a second and he moved closer. “I can’t wait. Just make sure you’re gentle when you take me.”

She rolled her eyes at him as she turned around to face away from him. She looked over at Connor who gave her the thumbs up and she heard Logan go under the water. His hand groped her bottom on the way down, and she had to press her lips together to keep a startled yelp from escaping her. That damn man was an incorrigible pervert.

She lifted her feet up in the water, and he came up under her. She clutched at his head as he rose in the water and once he was above the surface she realized just how tall he was now that she was crouched on his shoulders.

“Oh God. I can’t do this. What if I fall?”

“I won’t let you fall. If Connor can do it, so can you. Up you get.”

She unsealed her fingers from his hair as he grasped her around her calves. She felt shaky and unsteady but unfolded her frame and stood up on his shoulders.

“I’m too heavy for this.”

“You’re as light as a feather. Now get into a dive position and whatever you do, don’t let it turn into a belly flop.”

“You can do it, Mom.”

Faith didn’t know why she’d agreed to this craziness but she closed her eyes for a second and slowly raised her arms in a dive position. Logan was steady underneath her and she might as well have been on dry land. She bend her knees a little and as she pushed off he gave her a boost so that she dove into the water without the risk of slapping her stomach against the surface.

She was laughing when she broke the surface. Logan swam over to her and put his hand on her waist.

“Do you want to go again?” His eyes moved down to her lips, but she knew he wouldn’t kiss her with Connor watching so closely.

“I think once was enough. Let’s go back and join our son.”

They played in the water for a little longer, until Connor’s rumbling stomach told them it was time to go home for dinner. Logan manned the grill while she made the salads and Connor talked and made jokes in a happy, excited voice.

Finally, just as the sun was going down and mosquitos were coming out, Connor let out a big yawn that indicated he was ready for bed. After he got changed and his father had tucked him in, she went over to the side of his bed and kissed him on the cheek.

“It was a good day today, wasn't it, Mom?” His eyes were heavy and she knew it was only a matter of time before he would be asleep.

“Yes it was, honey. I’m sure tomorrow will be another good one.”

Connor snuggled deeper into the covers and closed his eyes. “I love our family.”

Faith straightened and swallowed hard. She looked at Logan and saw that he heard what Connor had said. She didn’t want to read too much into it, but he held his hand out to her and she took it.

He led her out and shut the door to his son’s room. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if he’d been waiting his entire life to do it. By the time he pulled back and looked in her eyes her desire for him was so strong that she couldn’t wait any longer to get into his bed. She didn’t want to say anything to shatter the spell that the day had cast over them all. But in her head, she agreed with Connor. She loved their family and didn’t want to say goodbye to it come September.

She said none of this to Logan, but in her passioned response to his caresses as he pleasured her in that huge king sized bed, she hoped she sent him the message that she didn’t want any of this to end.