A Royal Father — Linda Fergerson

Jerusha, a young Jewish widow in first century Jerusalem, needs a father for her sons. Effah, a powerful and dark figure from her childhood, offers marriage. His proposal will save her inheritance from being ripped away by the corrupt Jewish priests. But she cringes at the thought of him being her sons' father. Or her husband.
Antonius, an aloof Roman soldier, with ghosts in his past, befriends her sons and is a follower of the Way. He waits in the shadows for her love, while she wrestles with trusting Father God's mysterious plan?
Will she succumb to Effah and marry a man she despises, to save her sons' inheritance? Or, in a culture where Roman soldiers are hated by Jews, risk the loss of everything by reaching out to the aloof roman soldier.