When his snobbish future in-laws travel all the way from Boston to visit, wise-cracking Southerner Wiley Cantrell learns gay marriage is not without its disadvantages. He’s preoccupied by concerns over the health of his special needs son Noah, a meth baby who was not expected to live yet is now on the cusp of puberty, and the antics of Wiley's outrageous would-be mother-in-law and severely conservative father-in-law strain his relationship with Jackson Ledbetter, a pediatric nurse who poses problems of his own. As their respective families meet and greet, each just as meddlesome and inflexible as the other, North meets South and the fireworks and cultural misunderstandings are plenty.<br><br>Then a tornado blows through the small Mississippi town where Wiley's mother lives, wrecking his mother's house and leaving their lives in disarray. And Jackson's secret drug addiction comes to light, devastating Wiley and Noah. With so many stones in the road, Wiley and Jackson find their dream of becoming a real family falling apart. Though Wiley relies on humor to cope, he'll need something more to keep his happily ever after from slipping away.

Stones in the Road

“Wiley, I hope you believe me when I say I’m sorry about everything. I really am. I fucked up big time.”


“Are you ever going to forgive me?”


“It’s nice to see you making jokes. You can be a little scary when you’re mad—I hope I never see you like that again. Remember the first time we argued?”


“I bought you chocolate and flowers, and you dumped them in the parking lot at Food World and walked away. Man, what a bitch! But I deserved it.”


“You certainly did,” I agreed. “And if I remember, it was for the same reason.”


He said nothing further. Instead he put his arm around me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder and let him hold me. He rubbed at my back, the way I did with Noah, comforting me, telling me that he was there, that it was all right, that everything was going to be all right.


Chapter 98