Pagan's Father — Michael Arditti

Pagan is a five-year-old girl who has been orphaned by the death of her mother. The identity of her biological father is unknown. She has been left to the care of her mother's best friend, Leo.
Her strait-laced grandparents seek custody of the child. They think that a single man is not the proper person to bring up a little girl. But when, in the course of the custody battle, they discover that Leo is gay, they are horrified.
Leo is just as appalled at the idea of a child he loves being consigned to the care of people who barely know her and who cannot wait to change her name from Pagan to Patience. But he must make great sacrifices if he is to save her, not only from unhappiness, but from what he fears is a far graver threat to her well-being.