When they were teenagers, Quinn MacGregor and Aaron Larsen fell in love over the course of one magical summer. It ended in bloodshed and tragedy. Now, ten years later, Quinn is back in Spruce Creek, Nevada, to inherit his family’s criminal cartel. His cousin Jimmy has been making friends -- and enemies -- in dangerous places, but that doesn’t mean he’s happy to hand over leadership to Quinn. And Jimmy might not be the only one who wants Quinn out of the way for good, especially if Quinn’s secret comes out. Aaron Larsen is back in Spruce Creek to sell his former family home. Aaron lost a leg in Afghanistan, and he’s drinking too much and battling depression and PTSD. The last thing he needs is for Quinn MacGregor to drop back into his miserable life. But when Quinn is shaken by the news that he left more behind in Spruce Creek than his bad memories, he turns to Aaron like it’s old times, and Aaron doesn’t know how to say no. The events of ten years ago cast a long shadow, and in a town where they can’t trust anyone else, Quinn and Aaron just might have to learn to trust each other again.

A Desperate Man

Aaron’s shaking fingers found a seam in the wallpaper, and he levered it up with the edge of the paint scraper.


It was time. It was time to stop wallowing. It was time to stand up straight again. It was time to move forward into a new life, even if he didn’t know yet what shape that new life would take. It was time to come to terms with his past, both here in Spruce Creek and in Afghanistan, and to stop letting it drown him. Hell, maybe it was even time to stop drinking.


His mouth quirked into a bitter smile at the thought. Well, baby steps, right? Because he had an idea that he’d really be able to use a beer after today. A beer, and probably at least one of those unopened bottles of whiskey he’d stashed upstairs where Uncle Will wouldn’t find them. Because after tearing the scab off this wound, oblivion sounded good.


He thought again of how his parents had put this wallpaper up, long before he was even born. Thought of how they’d bought this little house and made it their own.


Chapter 14