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

Not one to be left out, Caitlin nudges the back of my leg with one knee. My own knee buckles but I catch myself and tell Stephen, “You know my sister. Caitlin?”


Stephen nods but doesn’t offer her a hand to shake, which is good. She’s the type to leave him hanging. “This is Stephen,” I tell her. “You remember him—he was always over here. God, I’ve known him forever.” Lowering my voice, I wink and add, “My first kiss, even.”


That makes him blush, thin pink color rising in his pale cheeks, and he ducks his head, scuffs his feet on the carpet. “Mike,” he warns, but there’s laughter in his eyes and a hint of something more in his voice, and all of a sudden I’m glad Caitlin’s here with us. I have a funny feeling he didn’t just come over to say he’s sorry that Evie’s gone.


Chapter 74