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

So he left. And Dan came to me, wanted to hold me, wanted to comfort me and I wouldn’t let him. I pushed him away, held him at arm’s length, told him to leave me alone. Just leave me alone…


And it took a sixteen year old girl to point it out to me.


I pat her arm and this time she doesn’t shrug away. “We’ll be alright,” I assure her. We will be, this isn’t the end. “We’ll get through this, Caitlin. Cat.” Hoping to make her laugh, I wink and ask, “Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right?”


Her eyes narrow into thin raccoon slits. “He’s fucking awesome,” she grumbles. “If you lose him because you’re moping about that geek you used to freak back in the day, hell, I’llkill you.”


I have to stifle a grin. “Didn’t I say it wasn’t any of your business?” I ask.


Caitlin glares at me and shoves me away. I stumble back to the house, giggling and giddy for the first time since my dad stole Dan from me this morning. 27: Never Go to Bed Angry


Chapter 88