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

If Dan hears the crisp rustle of the leaves, he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t come over to me, doesn’t wrap his arms around my shoulders, doesn’t pull me into a strong embrace. He just stands there, waiting. For what, me to come to him? I need him now, can’t he see that? I need him to love me, I need his words to drown out Stephen’s, his lips to erase the thin press of my friend’s mouth still caught in the corner of mine. I’m not strong, he knowsthis. I need him to tell me I didn’t just throw away the last bit of Sugar Creek that meant anything to me. First Aunt Evie, then Stephen. After the funeral on Wednesday, I have no reason to come back here ever again.


“I was in the middle of something,” he says softly. I look up and take in the set of his chin, the thin line his lips make, the hard glint to his eyes. Like he’s mad at me. Like he has reasonto be. “I was on my way, babe. I had to finish up—”


Chapter 80