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

Wade pulled back like he’d been burned, breaking free of his grasp. He raised his eyes to Lance’s. “Thank you,” he said, his voice rough. “I-I need to…to talk to Lorna.”


“Sure. Okay,” Lance murmured and stepped aside, sympathetic eyes still on Wade’s face.


Wade pushed past him without another word, focusing on the various pictures from his childhood hanging on the wall and trying hard to slow his heart rate. He was acting like the smitten teenager he used to be, not the confident adult he was.


Lorna stood at the marble-topped island that took up much of the kitchen area, fussing over the many serving platters piled high with mini sandwiches, deviled eggs, crackers, perfectly cut vegetables with a variety of dips, and sliced breads and rolls, as well as a massive casserole dish full of Wade’s favorite scalloped potatoes. All were ready to be taken to the buffet tables set up in the dining room.


Chapter 7