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

Good morning, I signed, smiling at the sight of him.


He stared at me with solemn eyes, did not respond.


How are you this morning?I asked, sitting up and stretching. Sleeping in the chair had been hell on my back and neck.


I followed him into my own room, where we found Jackson getting dressed in a running suit.


“Good morning, gorgeous,” he said, smiling at me.


“We went swimming. We’re not going to sleep our lives away like some people I know.”


“I was tired,” I said in my defense.


“It’s only a two-hour difference!”


“So y’all are getting along?” I asked.


“You’re not the only deaf-child whisperer in our house, Mr. Cantrell.”


“We had some breakfast, took our medicine, went swimming, did some bonding. He said he likes your hair.”


Chapter 17