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

“Yes, Sir,” Steve said. “We’ve been talking about it for a long time, and last night we decided to go for it.”


“Breakfast is strictly DIY,” Philip said.


Philip and I spent most of the day stretched out on the deck, soaking up the sun. The boys joined us in between trips to the surf to play with Lance. We had a late dinner and sat around the table for a while watching the sunset.


“Anybody want to go skinny-dipping after we clean up the kitchen?” I said.


“Can you do that here?” Steve said.


“All the neighbors are pretty open-minded,” I said, “and we all sort of look the other way when necessary. Nobody minds as long as it’s very early in the morning or late in the evening and you aren’t too noisy late at night.”


Chapter 54