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

“Er, I just didn’t want to move. Sorry, I’m being ridiculous.”


Smoke grabbed his hand. “You’re not being ridiculous. It’s okay to have feelings and stuff. Unless there’s an actual regulation against them…”


“Alter Enforcement Officer Guidebook Regulation 4, Paragraph 27, Subparagraph 62: no officer shall entertain feelings of affection or other weakness under any circumstances, but especially not when recuperating in a cabin in Minnesota.” Gin rested his head against Smoke’s chest. “In all seriousness, I don’t think there’s any real rule against it. I’ve never thought about it. It, er, it hasn’t been an issue before.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, we’re maybe thirty-five miles out of International Falls, Minnesota.”


Smoke stiffened, just a little. “Okay. And we’re going to what, steal a car?”


Gin laughed. “No. Um, I’m pretty sure I can get us there. I mean, it’s International Falls, the iciest city in the continental US. I’ve always kind of wanted to visit, actually.”


Chapter 16