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

A kerosene lamp hung from the ceiling. Smoke considered letting them sit in the dark until they figured out a plan, but he opted to put a light on instead. Gin might be the enemy, but he’d found the building.


When he lit the lamp, Smoke saw a few more details. Whoever owned this place had left behind some canned food. They’d left some wood behind too. The place even had a fireplace.


Gin lowered himself onto a bench, which had been placed against a wall. He closed his eyes for a second. “Do you need help starting the fire?” he asked finally. “How are your hands?”


Smoke glanced at the wood. “If this was a stolen car, I’d be fine.”


Chapter 5