Wade Dwyer's life is turned upside down when his father dies and he learns he must marry or he and his siblings will lose the ranch. One last jab of the knife from his father. On top of that, his father's only friend knows about the stipulation and is determined to own the property by any means necessary.<br><br>He's facing the very real possibility of being the reason his family loses their home when his brother's best friend, Lance Matthews, offers to walk down the aisle with him. A faux marriage to the man he's loved for years is a torture he isn't sure he can endure.<br><br>Can he keep the ranch ... and the man of his dreams, too?

The Twisted Oak

When he faced the crowd, Casey’s dark eyes scanned the mourners and he cleared his throat as he shuffled a few index cards. His gaze landed on something—or someone—and he nodded, almost imperceptibly. That’s when Wade realized Casey had probably spotted his girlfriend, Allyson. She was always like a balm to his nerves—Allyson centered Casey. It had been like that since they first started dating several years back.


“My father was…a difficult man,” Casey began, his voice rough with emotion. “There’s no getting around that. But he cared in his own way.”


His gaze fell on Wade, then Landon, his lips curved into a small smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes.


Chapter 3