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

“Look at Heartstring. I’m literally the only person on earth he can’t control. You cannot put him in front of a jury—they wouldn’t only acquit him, they’d hold the judge hostage until the judge brought charges against the guy who accused him in the first place. If by some miracle you could bypass the jury, he’d control the prison guards and the prisoners. The only way to get rid of a monster like him is to kill him.”


“First of all, you’re hardly the only one who’s immune to Heartstring’s ability.” Gin closed his eyes again. He was already exhausted, and if he had to look at Smoke’s handsome face while he spoke he’d agree to something he shouldn’t.


Was that how Quake had fallen? Gin could understand it now, if so. He didn’t want to, but it wasn’t hard to see the logic. Smoke had that slender build that hid so much strength, and that messy sandy blond hair a man could run his fingers through.


Chapter 7