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

“I do hope you’ll make an old lady happy and come visit me in Boston.”


“Are you calling yourself an old lady?” I asked.


“I was talking about the housekeeper. She’ll be thrilled.”


“You’re not going to hug me, are you?” she asked.


“Of course,” I said, “because that’s just what we do down here in this cesspool of history. Come on. You know you want it. You can’t lie. You can’t come down to the state of Mississippi and not have folks loving on you, because that’s what we do whether you deserve it or not.”


“I wish I could take Jackie back to the stork and exchange him for you, darling,” she said, planting the merest hint of a kiss on my cheek as she shyly allowed me to hug her.


“I suppose you’re all right,” she said to him, treating him to a similar goodbye kiss.


“Bye!” Noah said too loudly, a bright smile on his face.


Chapter 107