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

I continued to keep my distance from Rafe, basically out of self-preservation. He was unsure around me now, which made it easy to stay away. I gave him space. No matter what, I didn’t want him to feel so uncomfortable in my company that I jeopardized his relationship with Serge.


I also didn’t want to consider what my best friend had theorized, but the thing was, I had thought about it in the past. And now, there was the kiss. Watching this new, uncertain Rafe, who no longer made lame “woman” jokes and was mostly tongue-tied in my presence, had me at a loss. I figured I’d endured enough pain and trauma in my life to not have to deal with this, too.


Chapter 11