title: Father Steve's Dilemma
author: DeGroot, Jacqueline
description: Father Steve became a priest because he had to. Now, years later those reasons no longer apply and he is having serious doubts about spending the rest of his life in the priesthood. Although he loves teaching at a Catholic university, he is not sure this is the life meant for him. The uncertainties that weigh heavily on his mind escalate after he discovers that one of his favorite students has been masquerading as a boy. An innocent brush during a pickup basketball game jolts his senses and he instantly realizes that Micky, who has been posing as a young man, is really Michelle. When Micky becomes the housekeeper and is moved into the rectory, he is sorely tempted to turn the innocent waif into an indoctrinated woman. Late one night, in the rectory kitchen, when he discovers her hand-me-down nightgown is more than twice her size (as well as transparent when backlit), he decides to buy her one of her own. He knows he's in trouble when, sans collar for this venture, he is not able to touch the smooth satins and cool silks without imagining her petite curves underneath. During the semester he and Micky share many confidences, and soon they are sharing more than just their thoughts. His body, denied satiation for so long, burns for hers. However, it is not just his body that can't be denied, it is also his heart. But all is not what it seems in this college town. With so many parish priests, what are the odds that he'd be the one to hear the confession of the serial rapist who murdered his mother and sister so many years ago? How can he keep the sanctity of his vows while every fiber in his being is calling for him to kill the man who had destroyed his life? As he retreats to Assisi to deal with conflicting emotions about leaving the priesthood and the intense feelings he has for the woman he is coming to love, a chance encounter with Micky makes her the murderer's next target. When Father Steve discovers she is in danger, the sacredness of his vocation no longer concerns him; all he cares about is her. Father Steve's Dilemma, my politically incorrect, push-the-envelope, bold, erotic love story, is perfect for the times. It is the story of a man who became a priest for all the wrong reasons. He'd always known that, but stayed anyway, until a man in a confessional and a female university student drove the message home that some of life's decisions not only can be changed, but also must be changed.