Charles and Philip Barnett have settled down to raise their children, but their domesticity is disrupted when Philip's nephew Steve is delivered to their doorstep early one morning after being beaten senseless by his homophobic father.<br><br>So the family grows, but of course, that's the easy part. A rabidly fundamentalist sheriff and a gay-bashing incident leave Steve and his new boyfriend in legal hot water and at the mercy of the deputies' harassment, and Charles must once again take up the fight for justice for his loved ones.

Triumph

“Now, we want you to do something for us,” Charles said. “What?”


“Do you remember Lydia from the Christening? She’s the boys’ godmother.”


“Lydia is a psychologist, and she just happens to spend her entire working week helping kids who’ve been abused. I want to have her come by and see you a few times. She is a pro at this kind of thing, and she can help you deal with what happened to you,” he said.


“No, you’re not okay. If you were okay, you wouldn’t start crying at the mere thought of going back to Monroe for any reason. That’s definitely not a symptom of ‘okay’. I’m not saying that we think you should ever go back there if you don’t want to, but Lydia can help you get over being afraid of it. So will you do this one thing for us and help yourself in the process?”


Chapter 10