Chapter 1

Lincoln Glover straightened his tie, his eyes roaming from his throat to his eyes. A sigh slipped through his lips, and he turned away from his reflection. He'd let his hair grow out since the New Year, and now it hung almost to his collar despite his momma's frowns every time she saw him.

She'd brighten afterward, but the way she tucked his hair behind his ear and let her fingers linger there told him plenty. She still smiled at him, and still loved him, and Link simply needed something different in his life than every other cowboy he saw around him here in Three Rivers.

He left his bedroom and found Mitch decked out in his fancy clothes too. "Ready?" he asked, making the sign for his cousin.

Mitch put another bite of cold cereal in his mouth and nodded, a dribble of milk sliding down his chin. Link grinned at him and tossed him a paper towel. He hadn't eaten, because Alex Baxter and Nicki Johnston were serving a full dinner at their wedding that night.

Link had been out on several double dates with Alex and Nicki, but his plus-one that night was Mitch.

He wished it was Misty Granger, but Link hadn't spoken to the woman who'd dominated his autumn and winter, but it turned out that he didn't know how to do casual dating. His parents had started asking about Misty, and Link wanted to bring her up to the ranch to meet them.

But apparently, that wasn't casual behavior, and Link had decided he wanted more than that. Misty still didn't, and while his heart had been smashed, flattened, and nearly ripped out between two ribs, Link had broken up with her.

If he could even break-up with someone he wasn't really dating.

Link turned away from Mitch and his thoughts and went to get a drink out of the fridge. After all, another June had arrived, and that meant the summer dances Link refused to attend, as well as the Texas heat.

So the drive from Shiloh Ridge Ranch to the apple orchards on the east side of Three Rivers, where Alex and Nicki were tying the knot, required a Gatorade in Link's favorite flavor. He twisted the lid and guzzled the cherry-flavored liquid before facing Mitch again.

His cousin stood and put his bowl in the sink, then picked up his jacket and shrugged into it. He'd dated Lily Ryders for a while, which for Mitch was three or four months. But they had a pretty big barrier in their communication, and Mitch had finally ended things with her. He hated typing or writing everything out, and if someone didn't know sign language, that was how he had to talk.

Link wouldn't be surprised if this was the last summer Mitch stayed on the ranch, truth be told. He'd been talking more and more about going back to Virginia and working at his deaf school, training hearing dogs, and trying to meet a woman who knew how to talk to him. Who he could talk to more easily.

Link wanted that for him, but he missed his cousin already. If Mitch moved out, another cowboy would move in, and then Link would have to navigate how to live with that person. He'd started thinking about where he should be in a more permanent way, and while he wanted his life to be here at Shiloh Ridge, he didn't want to live in the cowboy cabins forever.

He knew that if he went to Daddy, or Uncle Ward, or Uncle Preacher, or Uncle Bishop, and said, "I want a place of my own," they'd be meeting the next day to go over blueprints and where the house should be.

Link knew that, and he hadn't done it yet, because he wasn't sure he truly deserved it. He wasn't a Glover by birth. He had no Glover blood in his veins, though the lot of them treated him like he did.

Mitch handed Link his truck keys and led the way out of the cabin. Link followed him, ready to breathe in apple-scented air, and smile at the flickering candles, and congratulate his friends on their wedding.

Like his daddy said, he only had to wear the teddy bear skin for a couple of hours, and then he could relax the muscles in his face, come home, and try to figure out what to do this summer that would ward off the boredom.

Since he had to drive, he couldn't swipe on his phone, flirting with the idea of using Two Cents to find his next date. Uncle Ranger had added a Connections Center a few years ago, and now the app not only boasted the best places to eat in Three Rivers, or ranked the favored activities around town, but men and women could connect with each other over their votes and choices.

He scoffed lightly as he thought, I should tell Uncle Ranger to put in a section for how serious someone wants to be when they're dating.

He wouldn't. Absolutely would not, because he wouldn't even say anything to Mitch about it. Everyone knew he'd broken up with Misty, but Link had been pretty clammed up as to why.

With the radio on loud, he drove himself and Mitch off the ranch and down out of the gentle hills to the apple orchards. Plenty of other cars and trucks were arriving, as Alex owned a one-man family ranch that he'd been running himself since his sister Edith had married Finn Ackerman only a couple of months ago.

The cowboys on all the ranches—big or small—around Three Rivers pitched in and helped one another when needed, so Alex knew all the ranch owners, all the cowboys, and most people in Three Rivers that had anything to do with ranching.

Link parked and looked over to Mitch. Maybe we'll meet some pretty women here, he signed, his smile wide, and he got out of the truck before Link could respond. Link's response was, "Yeah, right," because he knew everyone in Three Rivers too.

He'd been back from his two-year college stint in Amarillo for six years now. Six years. Working the ranch. Running his momma's errands. Eating Sabbath Day lunch with his family. The summer bonfires here at the ranch. The dances. The Christmas traditions.

Link had lived all of it for six years, and the only blip in the monotony of it had been Misty Granger.

"Gotta move past her," he muttered to himself as he got out of the truck. He'd broken up with her five months ago, and he vowed not to let another one go by with him sighing like a lovesick schoolgirl while he flipped through the old photos on his phone. He could choose to act a different way. He could choose to delete those photos. He could choose to have the same attitude as Mitch—maybe he'd meet a pretty woman here tonight, sweep her off her feet, and be married by the holidays.

Link joined his cousin as they went under the welcoming arch and deeper into the orchards. Not really too deep, though, because the Apple Valley Orchards had a reception center specifically designed for big groups, and plenty of people got married here.

So the path was well-kept and lined with railings to keep people away from the apple trees, and Link found himself getting spit out into a tea-light-lit area with a tent roof wafting overhead. Fans blew air here, and misters kept things cool in the shade, and twinkling music filled the air, and Link looked around in wonder.

It almost felt like he'd stepped into another time and place, and he found himself smiling at the thought. Just like his video games with portals to other worlds, where he played as a character he got to design and name.

He could be anyone here, as he often thought about who he'd be in a group of people who didn't know him, didn't know the last name Glover, had never heard of him or his family.

"Howdy, fellas," a young woman said, and Link automatically signed it for Mitch. The woman glittered and grinned and giggled and she added, "Names?"

"Lincoln and Mitch Glover," Link said.

The woman couldn't be older than Link, and in fact, she was probably a few years younger. She looked down at her clipboard, then glanced back up. "You're this way, please." She turned and walked into the crowd, and Mitch once again led the way as he followed her. Link wished he could live his life that fearlessly, because if that woman said anything to Mitch, he wouldn't be able to communicate with her.

She led them to a table that seated eight but only had one couple sitting there, and Link smiled at John and Nina Malone. He owned both hardware stores in town, and he nodded over to Link and Mitch.

"You're here," the woman said. "You can sit anywhere, but the tables are full tonight, so we ask that you don't leave a single seat between couples." She smiled over to Mitch, who stood there with a smile on his face. "My brother and Nicki are so glad you could join them tonight."

Ah, so she was Alex's sister, and definitely one of the younger ones. Alex and Edith had several siblings that Link knew of, but they all lived in Florida still. Of course they'd make the trip to Three Rivers for their brother's wedding, and Link pulled out a chair across from the Malones and sat down.

Mitch sat beside him, and Link had deliberately put his back to the rest of the party. He didn't want to look around at everyone walking in, holding glasses of champagne, and making small talk. He was just fine, sitting here and talking to Mitch.

Too young for you, Link said with a smile, and Mitch laughed.

You're right, he said. She's pretty though.

You think everyone is pretty.

Mitch didn't wipe away his grin, but he did shake his head. Glass half full, brother.

Sure, Link said. Then he leaned forward, and with his hands still moving so Mitch could keep up with the conversation, he asked, "How are you, Mister Malone? How are things in the paint shop?" He added a smile to his questions, because Momma would've.

John Malone smiled, his relief not hard to see and feel. "It's going great, Link." He glanced over to Mitch as Link signed what he'd said. "How're you boys up at Shiloh Ridge? Don't suppose you need more of that blue paint for that barn?" His eyes shone like bright lights on a dark night.

Link chuckled and shook his head. "Uncle Bishop just had it redone last year, Mister Malone. I don't reckon he'll do it again anytime soon."

Mitch tugged on his sleeve, and Link turned to look at him. What about wrapping my truck? Could he do that?

Link relayed the question to John, who looked right at Mitch as he said, "Not me, Mitchell. If you want to wrap your truck, you've got to take it to Ginny at the sign shop."

The sign shop?Mitch asked.

"Yep," John said with a slow nod. "Now, if you want me to paint your truck, I could get you in touch with Barry, a new mechanic in town who customizes in…." He looked over to his wife. "What did he say?"

They grinned at one another. "Tricking out vehicles," Nina Malone said as she lifted her wine glass to her lips.

"Tricking out vehicles," John said, and Link laughed as he signed it to Mitch. "Does that even make sense to you young cowboys?"

"Sure does," Link said with a grin, glad he'd decided not to sit here silently.

"Glad it does for someone." John chuckled as another couple arrived, and Link looked up at the pair of women. Mitch lurched to his feet, his hands smoothing down his tie and buttoning his jacket.

He clapped his hand on Link's shoulder as Alex's sister gave them the same spiel about where to sit, and they looked at the two chairs between Link and John, and then the two between Mitch and Nina.

"What about over there, Abby?" one said, and they moved to go around Link and Mitch. To Link, it felt like a complete stab in the fleshiest part of his heart, because they'd clearly chosen Mitch over him.

Nothing new, but still. Didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Hi," Abby said as she sat next to Mitch. She had the dark hair he liked, and he positively beamed from every pore. He touched his chest and signed, and Link leaned forward a bit.

"He's Mitch," he said. "I'm Link." He looked over to the other woman, and they looked like sisters. Cousins. Something. They were probably relations of Alex's too, or maybe Nicki, though the Johnston's had been living in Three Rivers for years.

But Link knew better than most that people had aunts and uncles and cousins, and these two dark-haired women could be related to Nicki as cousins.

"You two are Abby, and…." He looked at the other woman, and she smiled as his fingers finished spelling out Abby's name.

"Julienne," she said. "Nicki's our aunt."

Aunt?Mitch asked. How old are you?

Link ducked his head, because he didn't want to ask that question out loud. "Mitch," he muttered as Abby tried to explain she didn't know what he'd said.

"He just wants to know how old you are," he said finally, lifting his head to save everyone from further embarrassment. He gave the women a smile. "He's looking for a date."

Mitch swung his attention back to Link in time to catch the last word, and he zipped his attention back to the women, a flush crawling up his neck. His hands moved quickly, but Link caught what he'd said.

Abby and Julienne glowed like the sun, moon, and stars, and Abby said, "I'm twenty-two, and she's twenty-four."

"How are you nieces for Nicki then?" Link asked, not bothering to sign their ages for Mitch. He could read lips. "Isn't she only about that old?"

"Nicki is thirty-four," Julienne said. "She's the youngest in her family, and our momma is almost fifty, so."

"She's our aunt," Abby finished.

"Thirty-four, wow," Link said. "I didn't realize she was that old."

Julienne unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap, only looking up through her eyelashes at Link. "Is that old, cowboy?"

"Oh, no," Link said quickly, his own embarrassment rising now. "No, not at all." He shot a look over to Nana Malone, who gave him a smile. "Sorry, that came out too harsh."

"This is your table," a woman said, and Link mercifully looked away from the two women seated on the other side of Mitch. "Seems like these are your seats. My brother and Nicki are so glad you could join them tonight."

Link looked up and found another man standing there, this one not wearing a cowboy hat. And in Three Rivers, at a formal wedding, that said a whole lot. His eyes darted over to his date, and then he was the one lurching to his feet.

His thighs hit the table, and the dishes and silverware clinked together as it all moved. "Oof," he grunted, the yelp of Mrs. Malone filling his ears. His face flamed hot, but he couldn't look away from Ralf's date.

Misty Granger.

"Misty," he bellowed right as the music cut out. Of course.

She looked at him, and she wasn't the only one. Link felt dozens of eyes on him, and he prayed the Lord would suck him down into that portal he often fantasized about.