The Twisted Oak

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

Lance

Lance had known Wade would be surprised by his suggestion of marriage, but seeing him fly out of the room as if running for his life wasn’t exactly the response he’d hoped for. It certainly didn’t bode well for their future, faux marriage or not.

Everyone was talking at once and it wasn’t until Wade had been gone for a few minutes that anyone else realized he was missing.

“Where the hell did he go?” Casey demanded, his gaze searching the room.

“He took off, but I have a feeling I know where he went,” Lance told him. He’d hoped Wade would come right back, but apparently Lance was going to have to chase him down.

“The tree?”

Lance nodded. “Can I ride Jasper?”

Casey rubbed his hand over his face. “Of course. But tell him to get his ass back here. We have a lot to discuss.”

Damn right they had a lot to discuss. First on the list was convincing Wade to marry him. Lance knew the guy was stubborn, but he’d made up his mind to do this, and by God, Wade was going to agree.

He was mounted on a horse named Jasper and riding on the property in minutes, his gaze sweeping the open land for Wade. When he’d arrived at the barn and saw Stardust missing, he’d known he was on the right track.

In all the time Lance had known the Dwyer family, there was one thing he could always count on. If Wade was upset, or dealing with something, or even just wanted to be alone, he rode off on his horse, flying across the land. For years, Lance had wondered if he just rode the property, or if he had a specific spot he visited, but he’d never asked Casey for fear of revealing his feelings for his best friend’s younger brother. It wasn’t until Casey let it slip that Wade was probably out at “his tree” one day that he figured things out.

As children, they’d all loved the large, twisted oak on the Dwyer ranch, spending countless hours climbing it and swinging on the old tire they’d roped up. It was far enough out that you couldn’t be seen from the main house, but not far enough away that you felt completely alone. Lance had even followed Wade once, late at night when he was sleeping over at the Dwyer house. He’d been young and knew he shouldn’t have done it, but even as a teen, the pull to Wade had been intense. Long before Lance had come to terms with his sexuality, he’d found Wade fascinating, and as they grew into men, his attraction to Wade had only increased.

Wade had gone through a growth spurt in high school, until he was well over Lance’s five-eleven by at least four inches. After years of working on the ranch, Wade’s broad shoulders and chest were chiseled and his arms were solid muscle. And his thighs—good God, the man’s thighs were long and muscular and looked incredible encased in a pair of faded denim jeans. The few times Lance had caught a glimpse of him over the last couple of years, he’d thought Wade looked like a warrior, albeit one in a Stetson. He wasn’t even going to admit how many times he’d fantasized about Wade.

Lance definitely had a thing for strong, alpha men, but it was those honey brown eyes that always did him in. One look from Wade and Lance would have told him anything, had he asked. Before Wade had started avoiding him years ago, Lance had taken to wearing oversized T-shirts whenever he’d stayed here so nobody would see the bulge he got when Wade was around.

How many years had he imagined what it would be like to kiss him? When Lance finally did get a taste, it had shattered all fantasies to pieces. But Lance had f****d it up and it was a regret he’d had to live with. He’d wanted to tell Wade so many times over the years, but the timing had never been right.

He snorted. Like this was the right time? s**t, if anyone knew how he really felt about Wade, they might think he was taking advantage of the situation. But in his heart, he knew it was the right thing to do. He had to help his best friend, Casey. He had to help all of them.

Lance spied a rider in the distance and his heart skipped at knowing Wade was okay. Today’s news had probably shaken him to the core. Hell, it would rattle anyone. He urged Jasper to pick up the pace and they sprinted after him. Cool winds blew through him and he shivered, wishing he’d thought to grab his coat. He’d left so quickly, his mission to find Wade and bring him back to the house the only thing on his mind.

Jasper moved smoothly across the ground, putting more distance between them and the house. As they glided over the fields, the clouds seemed to pick up speed with him, chasing away the few rays of sunshine, but he pushed on, closing the gap between him and Wade.

He watched as Wade slowed Stardust to a walk and Lance breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d run off his anger.

Not that Lance blamed him for being angry. What his father had done was unconscionable. Lance had always known there was tension between Kenneth and Wade, but it wasn’t until he’d witnessed the old man writing his will that he’d understood the true vitriol in him. Kenneth’s hatred for his own son had sickened Lance, and knowing about the clause and keeping quiet had nearly killed him. It hadn’t helped that every time he saw the old man, he’d shot him a wink, as if Lance were complicit in the inevitable shattering of Wade’s universe.

The day finally arrived just two days ago when Kenneth had died of a massive heart attack. When Lance had heard the news, the first thing he did was contact Patricia. Now that had been one hell of a conversation. It had taken some doing, but he’d finally convinced her he was serious about Kenneth Dwyer being her father. Kenneth had an old paternal DNA test from years ago when she’d been born. Apparently, once it had been proven he was the father, he’d ended up paying Patricia’s mother a lump sum of money to get her to “go away,” as he’d so elegantly stated.

Yeah, the man was a class act.

Now, the moment of truth was upon him as he slowed Jasper to a trot. Wade glanced over this shoulder, his eyes widening upon seeing Lance. Lance pulled up next to Wade, leaving several feet between them, and nodded, not quite sure what to say now that he was there.

Wade looked ashen, his eyelashes wet as he continued to stare at Lance. “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you. And your brother wants you back at the house.”

Wade rolled his eyes. “Casey can wait a little while. I just…needed to clear my head.”

Lance nodded as Jasper grew impatient with the wind. “I know. Heading to the twisted oak, right?”

“How the hell did you know that?” Wade narrowed his eyes at him.

“Seriously? I’ve known you since we were kids.”

Stardust began to prance in place and Wade pulled on the reins. “She can feel the tension in me and she wants to run.”

“Want to race back to the house?” They’d done that as children too many times to count. Wade almost always won. He was a natural on a horse.

Wade shook his head and patted Stardust. “Good girl.”

Lance watched him reassure his horse, his heart twisting. This was a good man and he’d been dealt a pretty horrific hand. “I know it’s hard to take it all in, Wade.”

Wade looked at him, his eyes a little wild as the wind whipped his chestnut hair. He leaned forward, his hands on his thighs as his breath came out in ragged pants. “I can’t…can’t lose my family, Lance. And I can’t be the reason they lose the ranch.”

As he watched the reality of what was happening hit Wade in the gut, he turned Jasper and moved closer until their horses stood side-by-side facing opposite directions, allowing the men to look at each other. Lance found himself studying those beautiful brown eyes that could bring him to his knees. Eyes that he’d never been able to forget. Wade’s breathing leveled out as they stared at each other and finally he was able to take a long, deep breath without coughing.

When Lance patted his arm, Wade didn’t pull away like he had back at the house, but he turned his gaze to the horizon.

“Hey…Wade? Look at me. That’s not going to happen. You’re not going to lose anyone. And nobody’s going to lose the ranch. Your family will get through this. You will get through this.”

Wade shook his head and raised his face to the sky as a smattering of tiny raindrops began to fall. He wiped at his face, brushing away the tears as well as the rain before he looked back at Lance.

“Can you just trust me?” Please trust me. Raindrops blew across his skin as Lance held his breath, waiting for Wade to reply. When the guy finally nodded, Lance’s heart swelled and he fought the urge to raise his fist in the air.

“Why are you doing this?”

Lance sat quietly, worrying his lower lip. Then he caught Wade’s gaze on his thighs. Wade’s cheeks pinked up as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A warmth spread through Lance that only strengthened his resolve to go forward with his plan. “Let’s just say I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do.”

Wade’s eyes narrowed again. “What the f**k do you mean? You don’t owe me anything.”

That got his back up and he glared at Wade. “That’s not what I meant. Jesus Christ, don’t you recognize when someone is trying to do something because they care?” His raised voice unsettled the horses and they both began to paw at the ground.

“You know this is a really stupid plan,” Wade told him as the rain picked up.

“Wow, negative much?” He’d always known Wade was stubborn, but this was pissing him off. And the cold rain was starting to soak through his shirt.

“Isn’t there any other way to beat the will?”

Lance shook his head. “I’ve researched it for years, even discussing with a few other attorneys—without giving them names, of course. The general consensus is that if you and your family want to continue living here, you need to be married by the end of the year.”

“For one year?”

“Twelve short months.”

Wade shook his head and wiped the water from his face. “Did my father really think this would turn me straight? It’s a ridiculous will.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. He was a hateful man. I always knew he wasn’t nice, but it wasn’t until he had his will drawn up that I understood the depths of his hatred.”

Wade leaned back to look at the sky.

Lance turned his gaze upward, too. The small raindrops were cold on his skin, but he knew those clouds were going to open up and release a torrent of rain any minute—they’d been threatening to all day. But he wasn’t about to move until Wade was ready.

“I always knew he hated me,” Wade admitted. “But to try and destroy my brothers’ lives because of it?” He looked back at Lance. “Actually, my sister’s life, too, huh?”

“So, you’re on board, then? We’ve got a lot of details to cover.”

Wade shook his head. “Seriously. This is going to backfire.”

Lance chuckled. “So is that a ‘yes’ to my proposal?”

A smile slowly spread across Wade’s face. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Lance grinned and turned his horse so they could ride back to the house.

They barely made it to the barn before the heavens opened up, releasing sheets of heavy rain.