Revealing Rod. Ness Trilogy, #3

From when he was a boy, Joe Talbot knew that there were other creatures out there. He even geared his college degree so he could prove to his parents - and maybe the world - some myths were true. Rod please-don't-use-my-full-name Macintosh had to fight his family for them to believe that he didn't want to leave the lake permanently. Yes, it's a parent's job to make their children self-sufficient but why couldn't he do that where he grew up? Besides, his Ness kept telling Rod to be patient, that their mate would come back to them.
Can love be more important to Joe than revealing myths? Rod hopes so because his Ness won't have another, and he didn't think he could live without his Ness.