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

“Yes, I know about the will.” Wade managed to sound civil through his gritted teeth. “I’m here because we need to see if some of our cattle may have wandered onto your land.”


“Hell, no, you aren’t gonna traipse all over my land. Should’ve kept a better eye on your herd.”


Wade’s eyes narrowed as he leaned in some. “Hard to do that when someone vandalizesthe fence.”


“You accusin’ me of something?” he sputtered, pushing at the door.


Wade stepped back, giving him enough room to step outside. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at the old man. “Not at all. Just stating a fact. Somebody broke our fence. Along yourland.” He raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t know who could have done anything like that, would you?”


Wade saw movement at the window, just to the left of the door, and spied Mrs. Randle stepping out of sight. He sighed. He didn’t want to cause a scene and worry the poor woman more. He knew she had a hard enough life living with Milton.


Chapter 23