Fear of the Father

David Allen Crockett, a disability retired police officer, simply wanted to be left alone. His seclusion is shattered by a phone call from his lesbian friend and ex-therapist, Ruby LaCost. At Ruby’s request, Crockett agrees to teach one of her clients, Rachael Moore, a troubled woman in fear for her life, how to use a handgun. During the course of those lessons, Crockett and Rachael are drawn out of their respective shells and, as Ruby knew they would, begin an intimate relationship. When Rachael dies of an apparent suicide, Crockett is shattered, and Ruby begins the loving work of putting him back together.

During Crockett’s recovery, he is contacted by Rachael’s aunt, who believes the suicide was murder. Together, Crockett and Ruby begin an investigation that leads them into a world of treachery, deceit, and death. Intertwined throughout the story is the discovery that, while love between a straight man and a gay woman may not overcome homosexuality, it can, at least, make it something less than a deal breaker.