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“Here’s what I can tell you. No matter what Cole and I decide on the future, nothing will change the relationship you’re building with your father.

I can tell you guys are getting close, and I think it’s great.

I don’t want to mess that up. All I know is that Cole and I are working on our relationship, and I’m doing my best to forgive him. ”

“That’s good,” he said with a nod. “I really hope it works out. I want to see you happy.”

I rounded the counter and put an arm around him, shocked at his size. It seemed like only yesterday I’d rocked him to sleep in my arms, and now he was almost big enough to rock me in his arms. I planted a kiss on top of his head.

“You worry about me too much,” I said. “You know teenagers are supposed to be a little self-centered, right? It’s only normal.”

“I love you, Mom. Why wouldn’t I worry about you?”

Blinking back tears, I ruffled his hair. “Yeah. I love you, too.” I stepped back and looked at him, my hand still on his shoulder. “You know, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks flushed. “Don’t get all mushy.”

“Mushy is my job,” I said, hugging him again.

After finishing dinner, we put away the leftovers—Ashton would probably devour them later—and he headed to his room.

“I’m gonna read a graphic novel and go to bed. It’s early, but I’m worn out,” he said.

I could see the exhaustion in his face. The first shift was draining him, and his exhaustion and pain would keep getting worse until the day or night that it finally happened.

“Good night, sweetie,” I said. “Love you.”

“Love you,” he called over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway to his room.

When I finally got into bed a couple hours later, my heart felt heavy. Questions and possibilities bounced around my mind like ping-pong balls. When I drifted off to sleep, it was to dreams of Cole.

M y alarm blared early the next morning, rousing me from a deep sleep.

The early alarm was necessary. I was way behind on work and needed to send in an article before my ten o’clock deadline.

The sun wasn’t even up when I rolled from bed and shuffled down the hall to make coffee.

Soft snores came from Ashton’s room as I returned to mine with a steaming cup in my hand.

After finishing up the article and doing a quick edit, I sent it to my editor along with an invoice.

By the time that was all done, it was nearly nine in the morning.

My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen.

My eyes widened in surprise. Gaige Parker, an old friend from where we’d lived before returning to Harbor Mills.

He was the alpha shifter of a nearby pack who had worked as sort of a surrogate for Ashton as he grew up, even though it hadn’t really taken—not the way we’d all wanted it to, anyway.

He was also a realtor, and I’d tasked him with selling my old home.

“Gaige?” I answered. “It’s early. Is everything okay?”

“Hey, Avery. Sorry. I have a lot going on today, and you were first on my list. Is this a bad time?”

“No, I’ve got a minute. What’s up?”

“Well, I just got to your house. I’ve been keeping an eye on the place like you asked, and it looks like Perry cleared out. And, even better news, he didn’t trash the place in a tantrum.”

“Oh, good,” I said with a sigh. Perry had not been happy with me demanding that he get out, and I’d texted Gaige, asking him to head off anything that might happen.

“All that’s left are a few boxes he packed up. Your name’s scrawled on them. I took a peek, and it looks like personal stuff. I’ll have it shipped to you if you like?”

“Sure, that would be great.” I hadn’t thought Perry would be so gracious as to pack up my things and have them ready to ship out. Maybe he’d realized what a dick he’d been and calmed down.

“Okay. I’ll try to get it sent out today sometime, and then I can start doing showings.”

“Thank you, Gaige.”

“Take it easy, Avery.”

I closed my laptop and returned to the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee. Ashton was still asleep from the sound of it. While I was pouring, I noticed Cole’s truck pull into the driveway. Frowning, I headed to the door to meet him.

Cole was walking up the steps when I opened the door. He smiled and raised a large brown bag.

“Breakfast. Hope you guys haven’t eaten already,” he said.

“Nope,” I replied. “I’ve had some coffee, and Ashton is still asleep. I didn’t know you were coming by this morning.” I stepped aside to let him in.

“Thought I’d surprise you guys. Do you mind?”

“No, it’s fine. Means I don’t have to cook this morning.”

Cole placed the bag on the counter and grinned at me. “See? I’m being chivalrous.”

“Do I smell food?” Ashton stumbled down the hall, rubbing at his eyes, his voice deep and groggy.

“Good Lord, your sense of smell is getting strong,” I said. “Did that really wake you up from a dead sleep?”

He nodded and plopped down at the kitchen table. “I’m starving.”

Cole began pulling wrapped packages out of the bag. “Wasn’t sure what you guys liked, so I got a selection. Sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits, bacon and egg biscuits, a couple sides of hash browns, and a big container of sausage gravy, too.”

Ashton clamped a hand over his stomach. “Oh my God, that sounds amazing.”

He raised his arms, stretching and yawning, and I gaped at his pajamas. The sleeves nearly came down to his elbows. I glanced down. The leg cuffs were halfway up his shin.

“Ashton, are those PJs from a few years ago?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “These are the ones you got me for Christmas.”

“Holy crap. We’re gonna have to get you new clothes,” I said. “Is all your stuff this small?”

Cole handed Ashton a biscuit, and he took a massive bite before answering. “These fit last night. I’m not sure what happened.”

Again, that deep voice. I’d thought it was from being asleep so long, but now I was sure it was at least an octave lower than it had been yesterday. Plus, I was positive that all his clothes had fit fine a few days ago.

“Is this normal?” I asked Cole, freakin out that my baby was changing so rapidly.

Cole was pouring chunky white gravy over his biscuits and shot me a knowing grin. “You remember what I was like. The closer to the first shift, the quicker the changes happen.”

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. Cole burst out laughing.

“It’s probably gonna happen a couple more times before he finally shifts,” Cole said, and took a bite of food. “You better get ready for it. I was six feet tall before I was sixteen.” He pointed a fork at Ashton. “I think he’s gonna have me beat, though.”

Heaving a dejected sigh, I grabbed a biscuit and ate.

Part of me was simply in shock that the changes were happening so fast. The other part of me mourned my baby.

In some ways, it seemed like yesterday when Ashton had been toddling around the house, barely able to string three words together, but it also seemed like that had been decades ago. Now, he was almost a full-grown man.

The rapidly growing teenager grabbed a container for hash browns and dumped gravy on them before devouring them.

“Hey, how about this,” Cole said, as though suddenly thinking of something. “Why don’t the three of us head to town and do some shopping? Ashton obviously needs clothes. What do you say?”

“I need new shoes,” Ashton said between bites.

“Ugh. Shoes, too? Fine,” I said. “Better now than later. At this rate, he’s not gonna fit in anything by dinner.”

After we finished eating, Ashton having devoured anything and everything Cole and I didn’t, we piled into Cole’s truck. Rather than trying to find anything nearby in Harbor Mills, Cole drove the forty minutes to Greenbriar Mall on the outer edges of Atlanta.

“More options here,” he said as he pulled into the parking lot.

The shopping spree began at the shoe store.

Ashton found a couple pairs he liked, and I went ahead and purchased both basketball shoes and leisure sneakers for him.

Against his protests, I got half a size bigger than what he’d tried on.

With the way he was growing, I worried that I should have gone a full size up.

Cole tried swiping his card, but I pushed his hand aside.

“No way,” I said. “You drove. God knows how much gas that giant thing you drive guzzles.”

Cole glanced behind me. “Looks like our boy may need his own wheels in a couple years. He’s gonna have his pick of the girls for dates.”

My neck actually cracked, I turned so fast. Cole was right.

Ashton was checking out a rack of specialty shoelaces, but a small group of girls stood outside the store, whispering, giggling, and pointing at him.

He took after his dad, so I knew my son was very handsome, but this?

Girls ogling my baby? Not only that, he was fourteen, and most of these girls looked at least sixteen.

It raised my hackles, and I wanted to chase them off.

“This is all happening so fast,” I said as the cashier handed me the bag of shoes. “I can barely handle it. It’s like one minute, I had my baby boy, and then a few mornings later, I’ve got a full-grown man who has girls drooling over him.”

Cole chuckled. “I remember you getting pretty territorial over me back in the day when the same thing happened.”

I scoffed. “Daisy Gillies was doing everything she could to get into your pants. What was I supposed to do?”

Cole belted out a laugh. “Well, slugging her in the nose during lunch senior year did get the point across. You got suspended for three days. She still lives in Harbor Mills, by the way. Her nose has, to this day, remained crooked.”

I didn’t want to smile at that, but a grin spread across my lips, anyway. “Is it really still crooked?”

“Yup. From what I’ve heard since being back, she married a lawyer. Surprised she hasn’t talked him into paying for a nose job.”