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

We were approaching the entrance to the sunroom, so I changed the subject and said, “Philip needs to take you to get an X-ray this afternoon. We promised the doctor that we would, and he isn’t going to release you to try for the swim team until he sees one.”


I took over nursery duty for the weekend so Philip could entertain Steve. Getting the X-rays taken care of and a trip to a mall for school supplies and some casual clothing occupied the rest of Saturday. Most of Sunday was dedicated to showing Atlanta to Steve, including the Cyclorama and a brief visit to Stone Mountain.


Early Monday morning I had the digital camera ready when Steve emerged wearing his school uniform and took a number of photos for Philip to send to Marie. Philip took Steve to school, leaving just before I went to work. That evening, I arrived home anxious to hear Steve’s reaction to his first day at the Academy.


Chapter 20