Prologue

"As the parade of graduates approach, we salute the states and territories whose sons and daughters will graduate today! Delaware. Maryland. New Hampshire. New York. Pennsylvania. Texas."

The roar of cheering coming from the bottom row of seating was louder than the rest and ended with a hoot of Carson's name.

Carson Malone bit back his grin. He could pick out the voices of his family members in the huge crowd of people gathered to celebrate the graduates of Navy boot camp. Though he couldn't pick out the distinct tones of his father, his sister or any of his five brothers, he knew they contributed to that cheer.

He couldn't detect his sweetheart's either, but she would be among them. She wouldn't miss the biggest day of his life.

In a rigid march, the large group of new sailors moved forward. The low rumble of the drums swelled, rolling across the auditorium. Each beat echoed through the auditorium, through his chest.

He was the first of his family to graduate high school, and against his old man's wishes, enlist in the military. Moving to the drum cadence, he stared straight ahead rather than searching the bleachers for her .

Layne London couldn't be called his high school sweetheart, since they didn't attend the same school or even live in the same state. His summer girlfriend, then. For the past three years that he and Layne's family visited their respective ranches in Wyoming, Carson could hardly wait to set eyes on her. The months when they didn't see each other seemed to grow longer and more difficult.

The group came to a halt and split up. He stood front and center, saluting the American flag.

He scanned the front row. Easily, he picked out his family. His little sister was forced between two of his brothers, unspoken protocol in the Malone family. The brothers were all very protective of Willow.

He scanned the row once…twice. Where was his father sitting?

Where was Layne?

The drums stopped. An order was given, and he dropped his arm to his side.

Graduation ceremony was a blur. Every chance Carson got, he searched the crowd for Layne. At this point, he didn't give a damn if his father came to see him graduate. All of the Malone kids despised the asshole who preferred a bottle of rotgut to his own flesh and blood.

Layne was another story. The beautiful girl who'd won his heart should be here.

But she hadn't written to him during the last ten weeks. Not one letter.

He'd written her dozens.

Their plans to spend two weeks together in Wyoming before he left for the Navy were smashed when he got notice that he had six hours to board a plane.

When he didn't receive any letters, he thought she was just ticked off that he didn't show up. The minute he could write to her, he did, explaining the situation. As the big graduation day neared, he asked his brother to let Layne know when to be there.

If his brother, Oaks, forgot to tell her, Carson was going to kick his ass.

The room grew hot. Even if it was the start of his military career, Carson couldn't wait for the ceremony to end. He needed to find Layne.

After it was finally over, he pushed through the crowd. He stood an entire head taller than most of his fellow sailors, which gave him an advantage. He picked the Malones out of the crowd and made a beeline to them.

Oaks's face lit up with a grin. He thrust out his hand, and Carson gripped it. "Congratulations, Carson. Well done, brother."

Down the line in ages, his siblings crowded in to clap him on the back or shake his hand. Youngest of all, Willow wasn't so reserved—she threw her arms around him, and he plucked her off her feet, swaying her gently before setting her down.

With that out of the way, he looked to Oaks. "Where's Layne?"

Oaks pursed his lips.

Not the right answer.

"You were supposed to invite her for me when you went to Wyoming."

His siblings traded glances.

Colt shifted from foot to foot. Gray didn't meet Carson's gaze.

He swung his gaze back to Oaks. His brother was fifteen months younger than Carson. They were tight. Oaks wouldn't pull any punches with him. He'd tell him straight.

"What the hell's going on?" Carson demanded.

His brother met his stare. "Dear old Daddy went on a bender after you left for the Navy."

"What's new about that?"

"He got on a bucking bronco and blitzed his back."

He felt his eyebrow hike up. The drinking and stupidity went hand in hand when it came to their father. They all would have been better off if the old man had taken off years ago.

Oaks leaned in, voice pitched low. "You know what a bastard he is with the bottle. He sank into depression after he was laid up with his injury. The doctor gave him pain pills. Now he's hooked on those too."

"Jesus fucking Christ, Oaks."

"It's been a rough couple months. It's why we never went to Wyoming. We never saw Layne."

This explained so much . Carson never showed up, and neither did his family. No wonder she wasn't answering his letters or phone calls. She probably believed that he'd dumped her.

He'd promised to protect her. Hell, he'd carried her the entire way home when she broke her leg. And she thought he'd abandon her so easily?

"Malone."

Every one of his siblings snapped their heads up at the sound of their name. He spotted his commanding officer weaving through the crowd to reach him.

He twitched his head for Carson to follow.

When they faced each other, Carson stood at attention. "Lieutenant."

"I have orders for you."

He blinked. "So soon, sir? I'm supposed to have a couple weeks' leave before I head to the Naval Academy."

"That's on the back burner now, Malone. I have orders to create a team from the best of the best of our graduates. That's you."

Pride straightened his spine even more. "When do I leave?"

"One hour. You have just enough time to say goodbye to your family before you board a plane with five other seamen from your class."

He didn't need to glance around to know exactly who those men were. The six of them had been at the top of every challenge they faced. They'd discussed going to BUD/s training after the academy.

His attention swung back to his family grouped a few feet away, watching him.

Dammit, Layne should be here.

Now he wouldn't have time to explain or make things right with her.

It turned out that he never got the chance. Carson became a SEAL. A decade passed, then another. The only thing that mattered to him was serving his country.

His summer sweetheart was the only woman he ever would have made time for. If he didn't have Layne in his life, he didn't want anybody.