When Michael Knapp brings his lover Dan Biggs home to meet his parents, he doesn't expect things to go smoothly. His mother's been trying to marry him off for years, and sometimes he isn't even sure his father knows he exists. He has always felt like the shadow son, competing with his terminally stupid older brother and smart-mouthed little sister for his parents' attention. Coming out to them over dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally get noticed.<br><br>But an unexpected phone call interrupts his announcement -- Aunt Evie, the family matriarch, is dead. With Dan in tow, Michael follows his family to Sugar Creek, where he spent his summers growing up, to prepare for the funeral.<br><br>Amid an overabundance of memories and relatives, Michael's world begins to slip. His dysfunctional family, Evie's death, and an old friend's confession all threaten to smother him. Worse, in his grief and confusion he seems determined to inadvertently push everyone away, including his lover. Can he and Dan move beyond his family and his past to a new life together, before Michael's insecurities tear them apart?

It's All Relative

And I don’t want Dan to go after those boys in the bathroom. They’re just playing around, probably don’t even knowwhat a faggot is. A bundle of sticks,I think, and for some reason that makes me want to laugh. No, Caitlin managed to scare them enough for one day. Anything Dan might say won’t compare to the scene my sister caused. So I give him my most disarming smile and assure him, “They’re just kids, Dan. Just talking shit, you know how kids can be.”


“And what if they weren’t just talking?” he asks, but he follows me to the car, at least. “What if one of them had a gun, or a tire iron? I don’t think I could’ve made it to you in time—”


“I’m fine,” I tell him. “Jesus, Dan, they weren’t going to attack me.”


“You don’t know that.” He glares around us and actually walks me to the passenger side of the car. Holding the door for me as I slide into the seat, he says, “You’re just not careful enough, babe. They could have hurt you.”


Chapter 33