Tate D’Angelo always thought he knew who his father was: beloved doctor, devoted husband and father ... Everyone at the funeral shared the same glowing stories of a kind soul. So when his father’s old college buddy, Randy, approaches him after the service, Tate expects to hear echoes of the same.<br><br>Instead, he gets a lifetime’s worth of letters that tell a different tale and cause him to view his father -- and his family -- in a whole new light.<br><br>The truth, about a secret romance kept buried for decades, astonishes him. Overwhelmed by grief and confusion, Tate’s unsure if he can bear learning how the lives of two men entwined over the years, but he reads on anyway, discovering more to value, more to respect, and most importantly, more to love about the man who raised him.

Family Obligations

“Where the hell are you going?” Smoke jogged after him.


“There’s a break in the ice up this way, not too far. I’m not sure what it is, and if we can’t make it, we’ll dig you a snow shelter.”


“A what the what now?” Smoke did a double take, grabbing Gin’s shoulder as he did. This small contact made Gin twist, which caused a visible wince. “I’m fixing to freeze to death and you want to bury me in the snow?”


Gin composed his handsome features back into their typical neutral mask and stared at Smoke for a few seconds. “You’ve never actually been out of New York City, have you?”


“It’s the greatest city in the world. Why would I leave? And let’s get back to the real issue here. Why would you bury me in snow?”


Chapter 4