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

“It’s going to get better, sweetie,” I said, reaching out to rub a hand across her back. “You’ll see. It’s going to take some time, but it’s not always going to feel like this. Someday it’s going to feel better.”


“It helps to have a good cry,” I added. “Get it out of your system. Clear the decks, so to speak. Better out than in, I always say.”


“That’s so sad,” she said softly.


“What you said about Tony. Why didn’t his mama help him?”


“I don’t know, sweetie. People do things. I don’t know what to tell you. There’s some mean mothers out there.”


“Don’t feel sorry. Just be his big sister. I think he likes you, even though you beat him at checkers.”


“I know you and Mr. Jack want to be my parents, but you’re not my parents, and it’s weird.”


Chapter 69