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

“I don’t want to talk about that.” Quinn drew in another lungful of smoke and exhaled it slowly. It hung in the air like a ghost before fading away. “Point is, I was here a while after you’d already gone. And me and Charlie were both pretty fucked up, I guess. We got drunk one night, and, well, it happened. Only once, but I guess once is all it takes, right? So now it turns out I’m a dad.”


“You’re not a dad,” Aaron said, his voice hardening at the word. “You’re a sperm donor. When did you get back into town?”


“Two days ago.” Quinn huffed out a breath. “This kid is nine, Aaron. He’s like his own little person, and I never even suspected he existed. I can’t even wrap my head around it.”


“There’s a bottle of whiskey in the kitchen,” Aaron said.


Aaron let out a burst of laughter. “Since when?”


Quinn held his gaze. “Since I got out of rehab a couple of weeks ago.”


Chapter 20