Chapters (54)
- Cover
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Epilogue
- A Note from the Author
- Discussion Questions
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Acclaim for David Rawlings
- Also by David Rawlings
He flicked to the second photo, which showed all three women in his life. Again, his mother smiled, an arm around Milly. Milly again frowned, and Kelly looked over Daniel’s shoulder as if waiting for someone to enter the room. The same look he’d seen through the viewfinder.
Daniel dropped the photos onto the counter and looked up at Simon with a flash of triumph. “No surprises at all here. Lawyer up, buddy.”
Pure ecstasy flooded through Simon’s face. “All three photos?”
Daniel picked up the envelope and flicked to the final picture. He stood in his own kitchen, an arm around his daughter, who this time was smiling. But the person to Milly’s right wasn’t Kelly.
It was Anna.
Daniel threw the photo into Simon’s face. “Right. That’s it! I will sue you for everything you’ve got.”
Simon clasped his hands behind his back. “The camera never lies, Daniel. It’s showing truth in your life.”
Daniel scoffed. “Truth? All I see is evidence of you manipulating my photos. You will hear from my lawyer when I inform him of your extortion attempt.”
Simon’s face hardened as his voice carried a flint edge. “Extortion? Over what? Showing that your heart is drifting to another and away from your wife? That your daughter is unhappy?” Simon spread his fingers on the counter. “And are you sure you want anyone else to know why the front cover of No Secrets sometimes doesn’t have your name on it?”
Daniel’s mouth slid open.
“Truth cannot simply be avoided, covered up, or ignored, and the camera chooses the truth it shows.”
Daniel found his voice—just. “The camera chooses the truth it shows?”
“Yes, like when people are unhappy but hide behind a smile. Or when they pretend to be someone they’re not to impress people they don’t like anyway.”
Daniel felt his face redden. “So you’ve read my book, then?”
Simon nodded at the copy of No Secrets. “Your book?”
Daniel flushed, feeling an overwhelming urge to punch this Simon guy square in the mouth. But throwing an assault charge on top of everything else was the last thing he needed.
“Yes, my book.” He checked himself. “Well, our book.”
Simon sized him up. “I don’t create the truth that’s there, but I certainly help breathe it into life. If you still think I’ve manipulated your photos, let me prove my innocence.”
He grabbed Gramps’s camera from the counter and then marched to the shelves and reached down for a roll of film. He loaded it into the back of the camera and held it out to Daniel. Then he picked up No Secrets and clasped it to his lab coat with the front cover in full view.
“Take a photo of your book.” He checked himself. “Our book.”
“Why?”