Woodrow “Woody” Anker is an 28 legend -- the boy who lived. Orphaned at the age of three due to a car accident that killed his parents, Woody is taken in by the Zumpano family. He becomes best friends with Serge, the youngest boy, and looks up to Rafe, the oldest. As the years go by, Woody’s feelings for Rafe change into something else entirely. Except, Rafe is straight. And in denial about his alcohol abuse.<br><br>Rafe Zumpano, now the town Sherriff and Lothario-extraordinaire has been a heavy drinker since his teens, and it’s getting worse. He’s got a secret that he drinks away every night, but when the truth finally comes out, it ruins everything.<br><br>It will take a lot for both men to move beyond alcohol-fueled vitriol, self-doubt, and internalized homophobia to get to the part where they stop throwing punches and have their happy ending.

Norwegian Woody

It took an hour of yelling and things being tossed around, from what I could hear—someone would be fixing what was broken and it wouldn’t be me—before the two men came outside. Rafe had a black eye and a busted lip. Serge had a bruise on his cheek. They weren’t smiling, but at least they were communicating now, one way or another.


“Food’s ready,” I said and made myself a plate before sitting down to stare out at the ocean below us. Rafe and Serge murmured their thanks and made themselves comfortable.


I was glad they were at least speaking to each other. As for Rafe and me, I wasn’t sure we could go back to what we were before all this, since I really didn’t know who he was anymore. Did he?


Later on, I left the brothers to play Frisbee without me and went to the workshop to take out my frustrations on the headboard. I turned on the overhead light after the sun set and carved more of the design I’d created specifically for this piece.


Chapter 10