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

Jessie glances into the rearview mirror as if to make sure the paper’s safe and says again, softly, “No one told me, Mike. It isMichael, right? Laura’s boy?” When I nod, she asks, “How’s she doing, anyway?”


I force a laugh. “You picked the wrong son to kidnap if you want the inside scoop on my mom,” I tell her.


“I didn’t kidnap you,” she points out. I can feel her looking at me so I keep my face turned studiously away, my gaze on the houses we drive by. “You got in the car willingly enough. I’m just giving you a ride back to the house, that’s all. Nothing to get excited about.”


Chapter 100