Years have gone by since the death of Noah his special needs son, and Wiley Cantrell realizes it’s time to move on. He and his husband Jackson try to adopt little Tony Gorzola, a deaf boy with HIV who is emotionally traumatized.<br><br>Difficulties quickly set in. Tony is a sweet boy but very damaged by abuse and neglect. And Tony’s mother, in prison, is unwilling to relinquish her parental rights. No sooner do they get the go ahead to foster Tony when another child they had considered becomes available -- the daughter Jackson always wanted.<br><br>With two children on their hands, life is complicated -- wonderfully so. But just as things begin to settle down, Tony, his immune system compromised, falls ill with pneumonia ... and Wiley and Jackson find their little family faced with crisis once again.

Go Tell It on the Mountains

There was a chorus of ooohswhen the champagne classes went flying and crashed to the floor.


Tony ran for the large staircase, scrambling up those stairs like he had a devil on his tail.


I scrambled after him in full view of the partygoers, knowing I must look like some wild-ass Southern yahoo.


I heard Jackson behind me somewhere, calling out my name.


“Tony!” I cried, feeling embarrassed as I huffed up the marble steps after him.


He raced to his room, slammed the door, the sound of it like a shotgun in the quiet hall. I turned the handle on the door and met with some resistance, but not much. Tony was trying to prevent me from following. I forced the door open as gently as I could, not wanting to accidentally hurt him.


He scurried away to the window, put his hands on the sill, sobbing.


I went to stand next to him, panting now, not as young as I used to be when Noah had his little meltdowns and gave me a run for my money.


Chapter 14