Daniel “Deke” Malone was going back home for Thanksgiving. The one place he swore he would never go back to. But the real news is Isaac “Zack” Daniel Ashton, his son, who he just found out about, and he is two and a half years old. Zack’s mother was Violet Ashton a nice woman who liked adventure and photography just like Deke. They had similar backgrounds regarding their fathers. They both decided they never wanted children. They would see each other once every blue moon for a good time. Once their needs were met which was all very clinical as far as the sex.
Nothing romantic at all. Was there friendship and admiration for each of their jobs for work? Yes!
Something happened. Something got lost in translation in the decision, they both made in “no children”. She ended up keeping the baby, and now that he met Zack he wouldn’t change anything, yet Violet never told him. Violet Ashton, she had had his child? The Violet who’d climbed Everest? Who’d ridden camels to Marrakesh? The woman who’d spent a season at the South Pole?
However, she didn’t make it back from a photo shoot in Chile unfortunately, she had drowned. When Zack was left as a seventeen-month-old, Deke was then given the birth certificate, and clearly, Deke’s name was his father. Plus, she had a friend she had told, about who Zack’s father was. Just not him. Now, they were driving from Santa Fe to Montana to see his family. His mom and siblings want to see and meet him. Everybody was coming to the first and undoubtedly, last Malone family Thanksgiving dinner.
The very thought made Deke’s stomach clench. No one held a gun to his head. His parents weren’t even expecting him. No reason for them to be? He hadn’t been home in fifteen years. Because he had, stayed away. He had never met his two brothers-in-law and his twin nieces. They all wanted to meet his son, too. For Deke, the camera had always been an extension of his arm. His father never saw it that way. His belief was the family should be content in putting their all into the grocery store, their bread and butter.
He ate, drank, and breathed the grocery store. But back in the day while at Montana State, not long after he graduated. He had seen a very different life for himself in his future. He saw himself with his camera in hand and going off to Paris to take pictures, work, and maybe take some master classes.
Once his grandpa gave him the camera, and he combined it with his love of the outdoors, horses, and cattle. He got to see the world differently, and it wasn’t in or looking out of the windows of the family grocery store.
His dad disagreed until it came to a head, and Deke walked out. Fifteen years later, and this will be his first time back. Took jobs where he could and photos when he could. Well, he was back in town, and neither of his parents knew he was coming. He knew his mom would be excited, but his dad? His mom was speechless, then excited as Deke introduced them. His father, John Malone, in no way was that man budging an inch. “Don’t go expectin’ your mother to take care of that boy because you haven’t got a wife.”
Deke wondered after all the years that passed, if they would understand each other better. Maybe they both had found peace in their lives and could move on. Did he even want to move on? Or was last night just a shock? What could he expect from his dad on Thanksgiving? Driving to his sister’s, he thought about his best friend Erin Jones from high school, who now lives in Paris, his confidante, his soul mate, his friend. His father had no clue how successful Deke was, and he could buy the family store three times over. However, he doesn't know because all of the family avoids speaking his name.
See how this book takes you on a wild ride of emotions. The characters are solid, and so is the storyline. This author does not sugarcoat, the flaws all families have. The good times, bad times, fun and funny times, as well as the tearful times too.