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

Lance hung on to that as he pushed away all other thoughts. Wade could pretend all he wanted, but that kiss had been true. There were no ulterior motives behind it. Just two men attracted to each other. But if Wade wasn’t ready to deal with it, Lance could wait. Fuck, he had almost a year to figure it out.


For the most part, they ate in companionable silence, although they talked some about the lost cattle and Milton Randle.


As Wade paid the bill, Lance set out a few dollars on the table for tip. They waved at Katie and made their way back to the sidewalk. Once again, Wade grabbed his hand, but this time squeezed and smiled at him. He wasn’t sure what was going through Wade’s mind, but he was willing to take the time to find out—and enjoy himself along the way. 11


Dinner was much more festive than breakfast. The meeting with CPS had gone well for Casey and they were fast-tracking him to become Jake’s foster parent.


Chapter 44