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

A mist rises around the car where the rain hits it and bounces up. I bump into the passenger side, the rainwater seeping through the front of my sweater, my jeans, in an instant, leaving me deliciously cold. Dan’s right behind me and I roll away, still laughing, so he can unlock the door. “Hurry!” I tell him between giggles. “I’m all wet.”


The look he throws my way grabs me below the belt and squeezes until I’m hard and aching all over again. “I thought you wanted to wait until tonight,” he jokes, opening the door. I have no answer for that, but fortunately he stands aside as he holds the door so I can slide into my seat.


Chapter 117