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

Tony liked being outdoors. I realized that as we walked. He went out of his way to kick little snowdrifts, or slide on slippery patches of sidewalk, or race around barren trees that shivered and shuddered under a bright but cold sky. He seemed content. More, he seemed to enjoy himself, and not in his controlled, careful way, but in a carefree, spontaneous way that was good to see


As we neared the school, he ran to the wrought-iron fence that separated the playground from the sidewalk and looked at the swings and merry-go-round and monkey bars with a certain sort of fondness.


Children began to swarm as a bell rang and school buses lined up at the curb.


Tony’s mood changed as the children streamed out of the school. He moved closer to me, as if he wanted me to hide him. He gripped my pocket and lowered his eyes.


“How was your day, pumpkin?” I asked.


“Pumpkin?” she repeated, rolling her eyes in incredulous disbelief.


Chapter 77