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

“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about Quake and implied you weren’t good at intimacy or whatever. I shouldn’t have taken him at his word and I shouldn’t have brought it up. We may not agree on how the work should get done, but you do important work. You’re strong, and you’re devoted.”


Gin scowled and turned his head. “I don’t need my ego fluffed. It’s big enough as it is.”


Smoke laughed, a genuine laugh from his belly. “Dude. Under the circumstances, I think it could stand a little fluffing. And I actually did mean it. I’m kind of annoyed that no one’s said it to you before, but I’m not trying to judge or anything. I suspect you haven’t been great about letting them in to offer, am I right?”


Gin sniffed. “Just go to sleep, Smoke.” Then a little smile broke out, just a tiny one. “I appreciate you trying to make me feel good. I really do. We’ve both had a long day, and we’re both tired. I don’t think either of us wants to say or do anything we’d regret later on.”


Chapter 10