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

“Wait, did you just say Rafeasked you over for dinner?” Serge asked Sunday morning as we ate breakfast. He’d stayed away until late in the evening on Saturday, so we hadn’t had a chance to talk.


“Yup. Weird, right? And don’t think I didn’t know what you were up to yesterday. You thought you were slick.”


“So it was obvious. Sue me. It needed to be done. Rafe’s been looking mopey and miserable for weeks. Anyway, back to tonight. You realize this is a date, right?”


“No way, man. We’re just buds hanging out like we used to before the ‘incident.’ But he did say something about fighting feelings for someone in the past…maybe he wants to talk about that. He’s newly out, at least to himself and us, after all. I dunno.”


I chewed on a blueberry pancake and pointed my fork at him. “Learned from the best.”


“It’s a date, dufus. He has feelings for you. You’re in denial.”


I shook my head. “It’s just too hard to believe. After all this time? Come on.”


Chapter 13