It’s a beautiful day in the park and I feel pretty fucking good.

The sun is shining, the air is cool, and my baby seems pretty happy as I carry him strapped to my chest in one of those baby Bjorn things. He has a big floppy hat to protect him from the sun and he seems pretty content looking out over the landscape as we hike.

I’ve never brought Noah outside like this, at least not on a hike before. I wasn’t sure how he’d do, so I have a backpack with all of the necessities strapped over my shoulders. I’m carrying like an extra fifty pounds in baby stuff plus a baby, but that’s nothing compared to what I used to carry with me when I was a SEAL.

Part of me expected to run into Mia, and I’d be lying if that weren’t a big reason why I decided to take Noah to the preserve. Alice gave me the day off for some reason, I think just to reward me for finally finding a woman worth pursuing. It’s a little weird but I’m not complaining.

I don’t see Mia at the front office. There’s an older guy working the visitor’s desk, probably a volunteer, but I don’t bother asking him where Mia’s hiding. I don’t want to look like a crazy stalker. Plus, she’s probably busy at work.

So I just go on a hike with my son. Although he’s still my focus right now, I can’t help but think about Mia. That afternoon by the lake, fucking her up against that tree, it was incredible. I’ve been with a fair number of women in my life, fucked and left plenty of them, but I’ve never experienced what I did that afternoon. I’ve never felt so strongly about someone before, never felt such intense desire and pleasure.

The girl is built for it. Her tight little pussy is soaking wet and delicious. I can’t believe how gorgeous she is, even though I didn’t get to fully undress her. And she loves what I can do to her. She gets off on fucking in public, which probably isn’t something she even realized.

And she called me Daddy. I can’t help but think about that as I round a bend and we spot the stream ahead.

When she called me Daddy, it felt like my whole world fucking expanded and then contracted. It went from the size of the universe down to this single person, just Mia, only her. I knew in that moment that I couldn’t do anything but have her. I had to make her feel the same way, had to get her off and make her come. I needed to feel her body shudder against mine, her skin sliding gently against mine, her lips soft and wet as I bit them gently, smirking against her neck.

That’s what I fucking live for. It’s that feeling, that fucking rush. I used to get it on the battlefield, and ever since I moved back home and became a civilian, I’ve been craving it. Because I’m a father now, I haven’t been able to seek it out in destructive ways, which is a good thing. A lot of guys I know would start taking drugs or fucking random women just to get a taste of that excitement again. It’s normally a pale shadow of that feeling you get on the battlefield, but at least it’s something.

With Mia, I felt it all. Everything came rushing back, every intense feeling, every powerful emotion. Fear, desire, love, it all mingled inside of me as I fucked her there out in the open.

“What do you think, little guy?” I ask Noah as we walk along the stream’s bank. “Pretty, right?”

He gurgles at me and I smile. He reaches his hands out and I let him grab a low, thin tree branch.

“Tree,” I say.

“Trughhee,” he answers.

I laugh, surprised. It was actually pretty close, though still that garbled baby speak.

“Good job, bud,” I say. “That’s a stream. That’s a rock. This is dirt.” I point at all the things and he laughs, clearly enjoying himself.

Noah is a pretty easy kid, but I’m actually surprised at how good he’s being. I start walking again, pointing at everything I see and saying the word to him. I want to explain it all, describe the world so that he can understand.

I worry about him sometimes. I don’t know what he’s going to grow up to become. I don’t know if I want him to be like me, an ex-SEAL drifting through his days with only one important thing. My entire life was back in the military, but now that I’m out, I don’t know what I am.

It’s a hard question to ask myself. I want to set a good example for Noah. I want to make him a man that I’d be proud of. I want him to be smart, kind, gentle, but still strong and confident. I worry that I’m too rough, too broken.

Being around Mia, though, she makes me want to be better. Noah forced me to grow up and become a father, but Mia makes me want to strive for even more than just being a good father. Sometimes, I’m a little embarrassed that I’m thirty years old and living at home with my stepmother.

She understands why I am, though. She knows that I just got back from the war, and I’m trying to find my footing. Plus, raising a kid is really hard as hell, and I need help. Living with Alice is the perfect arrangement.

But I know it’s not permanent. I want more. I want my own place, my own business. I want it for Mia, to impress her and make her see what kind of man I am, but I also want it for Noah. I want to set a great example for him.

I spend the rest of the day like that, wandering the preserve and showing Noah things. He only cries twice, once to let me know that he needed to be changed, and another time because he was hungry.

We spend about three hours in the preserve. I walk around for about two of them, and for an hour we sit in the shade of a huge tree and I let Noah play with some toys while I make my lunch. It’s after his naptime and getting close to his dinnertime, which means I better hurry home before he gets cranky.

Besides, it’s five o’clock and I’m guessing Mia gets off work right around now. I pack the things up and strap Noah in before standing and heading back toward the front office.

I feel damn good as I approach. The trail leads down a hill and I can see the parking lot in the near distance. I feel like I had a good afternoon with my son, played with him, taught him some things, but I also got a chance to get away from everything and just think about my life. I feel like I’m finally getting my shit together and figuring out what I want to do with myself.

That’s such an important feeling. It’s something you lose when you come back from the military. When I was a SEAL, I had a purpose every single day and I never had to worry if I was doing the right thing. I was told what to do and when to do it, and I followed my orders to the best of my ability. I was damn good, and that made my life so much more rewarding. But outside of the structure of the military, I have to define my own life, my own desires, and figure out how to give myself meaning and purpose.

Noah is one way. Mia is maybe another. I want both of those things, and I can see, just briefly in the deep region of my mind’s eye, the man that I can become if I follow that path.

But that image disappears and I’m drawn up short as I catch sight of Mia stepping into the parking lot. She looks beautiful, so fucking gorgeous, and I want to yell her name.

I don’t, though. Something stops me. I don’t know what it is, but I have a bad feeling in my stomach, like I should turn away. Like I shouldn’t be seeing this.

I watch as an expensive-looking black sedan drives up the gravel road and pulls up in front of Mia. It parks and she stands there, a strange look on her face. The driver’s door opens, and Caleb Carter steps out.

I feel like I’m going to fucking puke. I watch with horror as he opens the door for Mia and she climbs into his car. He walks back around to the other side, gets in, and they drive away together.

I stare after the car, not sure what the fuck just happened. Why the hell would Mia get into the car with Caleb Carter? She hates that fucking creep. I got into a fight with that piece of shit because of how much of an asshole he is. She talked about how much he scares her, and how much she despises him, and yet there she is, climbing into his car. What the hell is happening?

I walk slowly toward the lot. The day suddenly feels darker. All of the joy is sucked out of me, and the future suddenly shifts. I thought I was becoming one thing, but suddenly I’m afraid I’m going to become something else.

Rage flows through me. The sickness I felt at first is replaced by an incredible and powerful anger that I haven’t felt since the war. Fear, terror, and blind hatred all mingle into this unfathomable rage.

I don’t think. I put Noah back into his car seat, making sure he’s safe, before starting my truck’s engine and pulling out.

The plan forms itself loosely in my mind. I know it’s stupid, but I can’t help myself. I know where the Carters live, everyone in town does. Their house is this enormous fucking mansion right in the heart of downtown. It’s a stupid and ostentatious display of their wealth, and it’s not far from here.

I don’t let myself think about what I’m doing. I stop off at home, bring Noah inside, and give him to Alice. I’m happy she’s home early from the flower shop.

“What’s going on?” she asks me, noting the look on my face.

“I’ll be back.”

She frowns. “Lucas? What’s wrong?”

“Just watch him,” I say. “I’ll be back.”

The anger inside of me won’t let me turn away. I’m a goddamn slave to it, and I know it. I can’t deny the facts in front of me. I’m going to do something fucking stupid, all because I hate these bastards and feel a righteous rage I can barely describe. I leave my house and my son, and I know Alice is scared for me, but I don’t care. I get back into my truck and I drive.

About ten minutes later, seething the whole ride, stewing in my anger, I finally arrive at the Carter house. I drive around the block, giving myself a moment to back out, but I don’t. I’m not a fucking coward or the type of man to back down.

I park the truck two blocks away. I reach into my glove compartment and grab my gun, slipping it into my jeans, before climbing out and walking toward the Carter house.

There aren’t many people around on this block. It’s a nice neighborhood, really nice, one of those rich and quiet places that you only ever get to drive through briefly. I can’t even imagine the kind of life the people in these houses lead. They’re like little kings in their mansions looking down at the rest of us, laughing at how pathetic we are, at how we struggle. I hate them, every single one of them. I want to tear them from their homes and give their money to people that really deserve it.

The house is surrounded by a stone wall. There’s no barbed wire or anything on top, and it’s pretty damn easy to climb up and over it, landing softly and moving stealthily through the beautifully landscaped outside. I move around, keeping close to the wall. I don’t see any cameras or anything like that, which doesn’t surprise me.

These people feel no fear. Nobody in this town would dare mess with them. They’re the Carters, after all. They employ so many people in this town that they practically own it.

I crouch down near a large bush, looking at their driveway. There are two cars parked there, one is a bright red spots car, and the other is a classic Ford truck, clearly an expensive restored model.

I reach back and clutch the gun tucked into my pants there, but suddenly I stop.

I’m not in a war anymore. And I have a son. If I do something too crazy, I might go to jail and Noah will be left with nothing. I was just thinking about becoming a better man and leaving my violent ways behind me. What am I even doing here, anyway? Do I really think I’m going to kill Caleb Carter?

I release the gun, and some of the anger drains away.

Of course I’m not going to. Fucking hell, I can’t kill someone like this. Maybe he deserves it, but I’m not a murderer or an assassin.

But he is a piece of shit, and he should pay.

I reach into my pocket and slide out my knife. I flip it open, eyeing his car, and grin.

I sneak across the driveway, keeping low, and slash each of the tires. They leak air with a satisfying sound and I laugh to myself.

This is better than killing Caleb. This sends a message. And as far as I can tell, nobody can see me doing it.

I finish slashing his tires and then I get out of there. I don’t linger. I head back the way I came, hop the wall, and stroll back to my truck.

Once inside, I put my gun away and lean back in my seat.

For a second, I thought I was really going to hurt someone. Instead, I slashed that fucker’s tires. Still a little crazy, but not violent or dangerous like I initially intended.

I’m a father now. I have to be better. I can’t let my rage get the best of me anymore. I remember Mia’s words the night that I nearly got killed fighting those five guys, and although I feel betrayed and angry with her, I know she’s right.

I’m a goddamn father now. I can’t be acting like an asshole and getting into fights and doing violent things.

I have to be better. I start my engine. I don’t know what Mia is doing with Caleb, but she’s right about that much at least. I’m going to be better, at least for Noah’s sake.