Tom Foster has his life planned out, and he's systematically pursuing his goals. At twenty-two, he's been organist and choirmaster at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd for three years, he's working on his doctoral thesis, and he's beginning a secondary career performing in concert. There is no room in his schedule for romance ... until Noah Webster, a gorgeous green-eyed blond, walks into the church one evening to audition for the choir.<br><br>What starts as an arrangement of convenience -- Tom's usual page turner is unavailable, and Noah agrees to do the job-soon turns into a fast friendship. Then Noah, who is saddled with an obnoxious roommate, rents the spare bedroom in Tom's house, and ultimately the two men become lovers and partners in life.<br><br>But before they can ride off into the sunset together, they must face one major obstacle: Noah's violent, homophobic Southern Baptist father.

Love Turns the Page

Christmas dinner with Noah’s family was okay, and everyone got along. For once, his grandfather had accompanied Grandma to his parents’ home. The only bump in an otherwise pleasant day came when Noah casually mentioned to his grandmother that he’d signed up for the confirmation class and was planning to join the Episcopal church.


That had prompted a minor tirade from his father. Grandma, bless her heart, put a stop to it, saying, “Good Lord, William, you’re acting as though Noah had just told you he was planning to worship with a satanic cult. There’s nothing wrong with the Episcopal church. In fact, his great-great-grandparents were Episcopal, as were their parents all the way back to the time they came over from England.”


Noah should have kept his mouth shut at that, but something compelled him to say, “Thank you, Grandma. The members of that church are a wonderful bunch of people, and I’ve never felt so much Christian love and fellowship anywhere.”


Chapter 33