Sixteen year old Jacob Smithson has quite a temper. He’s picked on by other kids because he likes boys, and recent fighting has kicked him out of public school. As a last resort, his parents have placed him in the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Boarding School for Boys.<br><br>It’s at his first mass at St. Thomas where he sees Avery Dendritch, a senior who serves as altar boy during the service. When they meet, the attraction between them is hard to deny. The two become fast friends, and as the school year progresses, their friendship deepens into something more. For the first time, Jacob has found a place where he belongs ... and someone with whom he’s falling in love.<br><br>But the other students gossip about their growing relationship, and while Avery can ignore them, Jacob cannot. As the rumors and slurs start up again, can he curb his temper, or will his penchant for fighting get him expelled from St. Thomas, as well?

Without Sin

“My grandpa.” Mike sighs, heartbroken. It’s a painful sound. “This evening. Cancer.”


Jacob doesn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry?”


Mike starts to cry. Jacob’s hands twist uselessly in his lap. He doesn’t know what to do. “Mike,” he says. He hopes he sounds sincere. He’s never known anyone who died before. “I’m sorry. I wish…” He lets his voice trail off.


He wishes Mike would stop crying. It’s a horrid sound, blubbering like a little kid. His chest hitches with each breath. Jacob wishes Mike had a friend at this school, someone he could call. He doesn’t know what to do.


Chapter 45