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

“I’m sorry,” I breathe again. “Dan—”


“It’s okay,” he assures me. “I know, baby, trust me, I do. I’ve been there myself. Just don’t push me away, please. I’m here for you, you know that.”


I nod against his shoulder, his body so warm against my cheek. “I know.”


“So don’t push me away,” he says again. I fist my hands in the back of his shirt and hug him close. No, I can’t do that, I need him too much to let him go now. With the hint of a smile, he tells me, “Anyone else, that’s fine, but not me, you hear?” I grin and kiss his neck. “And probably not Caitlin,” he adds. “I have a feeling you don’t want to be on her bad side.”


That makes me laugh. “Somehow I don’t think that would be a good thing,” I agree. Now I’m going to have to apologize to her, too. Maybe I can just blow it off, act as if nothing ever happened, but I have a hunch that Caitlin doesn’t play that way.


Chapter 67