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 try to wrest my hand from his but he’s too strong and we’re already at the car, he holds on tighter as if afraid I’ll run away. Without a word, he pulls my keys from his pocket, unlocks the door, holds it open and gives me that look of his that defies argument. “Get in,” he tells me.


His face is a mask of anger—the lips I love to kiss set in a harsh frown, the eyes I could drown in storm-tossed. “Dan,” I whisper. Did I do this to him? When did I let things get this bad between us? I had no clue…tentatively I touch his cheek, the skin taut beneath my fingers. “Baby, what—”


He closes his eyes, hiding from me the sparkle of unshed tears. His jaw clenches, his teeth grind together. “Please,” he sighs. “If you love me, Michael, please just get in the car.”


Chapter 106