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

“So I’ve heard.” Smoke rolled onto his back and stared at the rough-hewn ceiling for a moment. Then he sat up with an audible groan. “It’s good you’re a morning person. It makes you less likable.”


“Now that should have come up in all your research.” Gin ambled over to the supply of canned goods. “I’m not a morning person at all. I just don’t do ‘idle’ well, especially not when I’m worked up about something.”


“And that something would be the exceptionally attractive super hero in the room?” Smoke approached the fire.


Gin grinned for real. Smoke didn’t need to know how close he’d come to hitting the mark. “Keep telling yourself that if it keeps you warm. I wonder who owns this place? The decor screams ‘cold war,’ but the food isn’t expired yet.” He grabbed them some peaches and, after a moment’s consideration, canned beef hash. He didn’t know if Smoke ate meat, but if Gin didn’t get some protein he’d take longer to heal.


Chapter 11