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

Dan pokes at my cheek. “You’ve made him blush,” he says, and that just deepens the color that burns my skin. My lover plants a quick peck in the spot below my eye where my jaw connects—that sets the girls to giggling again. He whispers into my ear, “You’re cute.”


“Damn,” Caitlin laughs. “You’re red as hell.”


I push past her into the house. “Hey everyone, it’s let’s pick on Michael night,” I mutter.


Dan holds onto my hand, trailing behind me as I shove my way through the people gathered in the kitchen. “Baby, wait,” he says. I don’t slow down, don’t stop. I can still hear those girls laughing at that kiss, I can see Caitlin’s smirk burning behind my eyes. Try to be nice, I think, and this is what you get. “Michael, hold up. Mike—”


Chapter 57