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Ashton smiled faintly. “Yeah, I guess so. I’m still happy that she tries so hard. Sometimes, I feel guilty, though.”

“Why?” I didn’t like the sadness in his eyes.

“Anything I ever want to do, she tries her best to make it happen. A lot of the time, I have to think about whether it’s something I really want before asking. I don’t want to stress her out, you know?”

I did know, but he was far too young to think that way.

He was way more mature than I’d been at fourteen.

Most kids just asked and asked and asked, hoping the answer would always be yes.

The fact that he was always weighing and measuring his wants and needs against his mother’s stress and happiness spoke to the kind of kid he was.

“She hates that goofy magazine she works for, but it pays well and keeps us going,” Ashton said. “She really wants to write her own stuff, but it seems like she never has the time. I get the feeling she’d really like to write a book or something cool like that.”

In high school, Avery had filled notebooks with ideas, character profiles, and short stories.

She’d always wanted to be a writer, and it was what she’d gone to college for.

The fact that I hadn’t been there to help her raise Ashton, that she’d had to leave her dream behind to work a job that didn’t fill her with joy, only added to the mountain of regret already inside me.

Avery reappeared a few minutes later. All she’d done was change clothes, brush her hair, and maybe put on a tiny bit of makeup, but I was still completely enamored with her. She looked gorgeous, and I had to avert my eyes to keep from staring.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

“I suppose,” Avery replied, casting an annoyed look at Ashton.

“Al and Betty’s, here we come,” I said.

Avery glanced sideways at me as she got into the front seat. “Al and Betty are still running the diner? They were old enough to retire when I left Harbor Mills.”

I shrugged and started the car. “They did. Al Junior runs it now, but he kept the name.”

“What the heck is Al and Betty’s?” Ashton asked.

“The best hamburger you’ll ever have, buddy,” I said.

“Yes!” He groaned. “I’m wasting away back here.”

“Oh my God, Ash,” Avery said, twisting in her seat to look at him. “You act like I never feed you.”

“He’s a growing boy,” I said. “I remember how hungry I got when I got close to shifting. His body is using tons of energy resources. It’ll probably get worse before it gets better. You remember what I was like, don’t you?”

Avery nodded but didn’t meet my eye. “I remember. I guess I’ll need to take a second job to afford groceries for this one,” she said, pointing a thumb back at Ashton.

Even though she was being sarcastic, the words irked me.

Shamed me, actually. I truly did remember what it was like when I was that age.

All this time, she’d been handling things on her own.

They were my family. My mate and my child.

Even though I’d left, it didn’t change how my wolf and I viewed them.

If anything, it made me angrier at myself for everything I’d put them through by walking away all those years ago.

“You say the word, and I’ll put in a call at the grocery store. The owner is a member of the pack. I’ll put down a line of credit on my name you can use. No reason you should go bankrupt. It’s the least I could do. After everything,” I added lamely.

Avery studied me, as though judging my offer. Finally, she smiled. “I don’t think it’ll come to that, but I’ll call you if I need it. I appreciate that, Cole.”

My wolf gave a happy growl deep in my mind, and I had to suppress a smile.

We arrived at the diner right before the lunch rush and settled into a booth at the back. Ashton scanned the menu.

“I want the double bacon cheeseburger. Add jalapeno and grilled onions. I also want french fries and a side of ranch dressing. I gotta go to the bathroom,” he said, jumping up, then striding to the restroom.

Once Ashton was gone, I tapped Avery’s hand. “I’m really proud of you.”

She glanced up from her own menu, a surprised look on her face. “Proud of what?”

“Everything. I can’t imagine what it was like for you. Your shithead boyfriend leaving you to handle a baby by yourself. You still managed to finish school, raise a fucking amazing kid, and start a career. What’s not to be proud of?”

“You aren’t a shithead,” Avery said, then shrugged and grinned. “Most of the time, anyway.”

“I’ll take that,” I said. “Also? Thank you.”

“For what?”

I nodded toward the restrooms. “Him. You did—” I shook my head in awe “—a fantastic job raising him.”

Avery blushed, looking down at her menu. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“No, it was,” I insisted. “You had a choice. You could have given him up for adoption or ended the pregnancy. If you’d done either of those things, I’d have understood.

But you didn’t. You took the challenge and ran with it, even though I wasn’t there.

You molded him into a good person. You also…

” I tried to find the right words, but couldn’t think of any way to say it other than the blunt truth.

“You also didn’t make him hate me. It could have been easy to tell him his father was a piece of shit who ran out on you.

If you’d done that, I don’t think he’d want anything to do with me.

I can’t thank you enough for that. He’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten.

It hurts I missed so much, but I’m here now, in his life. And I thank you for that.”

Avery stared at me for a few seconds, her face unreadable. Just as I started to worry I’d said the wrong thing, her eyes grew misty, and she wiped at them.

She chuckled. “I don’t care what you did in the past, Cole. I’d never let my son believe his father didn’t want him. Now that I know it wasn’t true, I’m happy I didn’t. He can be in your life now, and I’m glad about that.”

I stared into her eyes, wishing I could be the one to wipe her tears away.

“Ashton isn’t the only one I want in my life,” I finally said.

A ghost of a smile crossed her lips, but before either of us could say more, her eyes twitched toward the door, her brow furrowing. I caught a strange scent, and my wolf growled. A threat. The scent of evil.

I spun in my seat, pinning my eyes on the grinning man standing by the door. He was balding and beefy. I recognized him from Avery’s description.

Kyle Alexander.