Joe McLendon slipped out of bed and paced through the still darkness in search of his wife. After decades together, he’d sensed Hazel’s absence, waking from a sound sleep to find the space beside him cold and empty. Though she could have joined one or both of his brothers in their bedrooms down the hall, he knew she hadn’t. His suspicions were confirmed when he peered through the kitchen door windowpanes and found her huddled on the porch swing, wrapped in her favorite quilt, staring out at the stark, moonlit expanse of Falcon Ridge.

Despite his concern, a grin touched his lips. Christ. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. They’d all aged over the years, some better than others, but Hazel? She defined aging gracefully. Ribbons of pale silver streaked through her dark chestnut hair and shimmered in the moonlight, like her kind, wise eyes. Her porcelain skin was still as buttery soft as the day he’d met her. If he took her hand in his now, he knew he’d find it as warm as the afternoon sun despite the unusual chill in the summer night air. He was tempted to alert her to his presence just so he could touch her.

In their younger years, he’d have marched outside and scooped her up, laid her out on the quilt in the midst of the dewy grass, and loved her worries away until the morning’s first rays of light kissed their naked bodies. His grin grew as he recalled those early days of unquenchable passion. If memory served him right, their twins had been conceived on such an occasion. His brothers may have joined them, or they may not have, depending on the night and her desires. As was their way, he, Nate, and Jake had spent countless nights loving her together, but it was nights like this one, when he had Hazel all to himself, that had bound him to her for a lifetime.

It felt like only yesterday when he and his brothers proposed to her. They hadn’t had a ring, only a written promise on a small piece of paper, and the deed to her ranch. Prime grazing land, with access to the creek and the ridge for which Falcon Ridge was named, her great uncle’s land had sat smack dab between the McLendon and Grunion ranches. In disrepair for decades, both families had made countless offers to buy the coveted acreage. But the old rancher had refused to sell, leaving it to Hazel’s father when he died.

A year after moving in, her father passed away, leaving Hazel and her teenage brother, Cade, nothing but a rundown ranch and a heap of debt. Joe and his brothers had driven over with full intentions of buying the land outright, only to find their rival, Tom Grunion, had already moved in on Hazel faster than a coyote zeroed in on a helpless lamb.

He’d had no way of knowing what followed that day would re-ignite an old feud between their two families that would last another two generations. He also couldn’t have predicted that, like him, Nate and Jake had fallen instantly in lust with Hazel, too. Their lust had turned into a complicated love triangle none of them saw coming, but rather than let a woman come between them in all the wrong ways, they’d decided to keep her between them in all the right ones.

When her ranch was put up for auction, he and his brothers spent every penny they had to outbid the Grunions, but instead of adding the land to Falcon Ridge like they’d planned, they’d offered it to Hazel free and clear, along with their hearts. By some miracle, she’d accepted, and gave them her heart in return, something he still found impossible to believe more days than not.

Careful not to disturb her, Joe leaned against the doorframe and followed Hazel’s gaze out into the moonlit pastures. Their legacy of love and family now sprawled out as far as the eye could see, including what was once the Grunion’s ranch.

Joe chuckled quietly to himself at the irony of it all. Tom Grunion had lost it all. Not only had his grandson, Pryce, married a McLendon, but Tom’s greatgrandchildren would also bear the McLendon name. Who would have imagined?

After all the bad blood that had passed between their two families, he couldn’t help but feel a little pride, and a lot of satisfaction, in the fact that their unconventional love had conquered the Grunion greed and bigotry once and for all. It didn’t matter to him one whit that Pryce was the biological father to their first great-grandchild. Jonah, Pryce, and Chloe’s baby would be a McLendon through-and-through, as was anyone who joined their family, which was about to get even larger.

Jonah’s twin sister, Dani, had just announced her engagement to a Texas rancher by the name of Clay Sterling. He’d only met the man once, but what he’d seen of him he’d liked. It didn’t much matter one way or another what he thought of him. Dani was the smartest of the bunch of them, and just like Hazel, she knew her own heart. Anyone she deemed worthy would have to be one hell of a man.

Once she moved to Texas with Clay, the only one of their five grandchildren left to leave the nest was Cory. Lord only knew what that kid was going to do with himself. He’d tinkered with every idea under the sun, from being a hunting guide, to joining the damn rodeo. For now, he’d settled on being a firefighter, but Joe had his doubts about that, too. Whatever Cory decided, he wasn’t worried. Sometimes it took time for a man to find his purpose in life. Thankfully, time was one thing his youngest grandson had on his side, unlike Hazel’s brother, Cade, who was no doubt the source of their wife’s restlessness.

“She’s still not sleeping, huh?”

Joe startled at his brother’s hushed whisper. “Christ, Nate. Are you tryin’ to give me a heart attack?”

Nate’s only response was a raised sardonic brow as he stooped down to peer out into the darkness at Hazel. “I found her out there last night,” he whispered as he crossed his arms over his bare chest and leaned against the other side of the doorframe.

“She slipped out on you, too?” Joe asked.

Nate nodded as he peered out the window again.

“Me, too,” their youngest brother, Jake, added as he joined them in the kitchen.

“Doesn’t anyone in this house sleep anymore?” Joe mumbled, scrubbing a hand over his stubble-covered jaw. “If she’s been goin’ out there every night, why hasn’t anyone told me?”

“Shh!” Nate motioned for Joe to follow him away from the door until they were on the other side of the kitchen where Hazel wouldn’t hear them. “I figured you knew.”

“She’s been like this ever since Cade’s last episode,” Jake confirmed, resting his elbows on the counter. “You know how she is, always worrying about everyone else, but not wanting us to worry about her.”

Joe blew out a frustrated breath. Yeah, he knew. Damn. The last report on Cade’s battle with pancreatic cancer hadn’t been a good one. Not that it was much of a battle. Cade had refused any kind of treatment, and the one medication his doctors had managed to convince him to take had caused him to almost bleed to death from ulcers. Since then, he’d only accept what was needed to dull the pain.

The latest news had been a blow to the entire family, but Hazel had taken it particularly hard. The idea of her bottling her grief inside and not allowing them to comfort her didn’t sit well in Joe’s gut. “She’s gonna make herself sick if she doesn’t get some sleep. The last thing she needs is for her blood pressure to go up again.”

One of the cellphones lying on the counter behind them vibrated, and Joe looked over to see a text from Hazel.

I can hear you.

Joe sighed as he handed the phone to Jake.

“Shit,” Nate cursed with a chuckle. “She can still hear a pin drop in the middle of a stampede.”

Jake began typing a reply, and Joe shook his head. “She’s ten feet away on the other side of the door.” He pointed toward the porch, no longer bothering to whisper. “That’s what’s wrong with the world today. Nobody talks to anyone anymore.”

Before Jake could finish typing, Nate opened the door and joined their wife, Joe following him out.

“Hey, darlin’,” Nate said.

Hazel shifted to the middle of the swing, making room for Nate and Joe to join her on either side. Jake pulled a deck chair over to sit in front of her.

“Is this about Cade?” Nate asked, bundling the quilt tighter around Hazel’s shoulders before he snuggled her against his side.

Hazel gave him a jerky nod, and Joe threaded his fingers with hers, finding her hand as warm and soft as he knew it would be.

“I’m sorry I snuck out on you,” she said, gifting Joe with a remorseful smile.

Joe gazed at her with a forgiving grin. “I just wish you’d let us help you through this.”

She looked out into the darkness, drawing in a shuddering breath. “There’s nothing you can do, nothing anyone can do.”

Nate tucked her head against his chest, kissing her forehead. “But you don’t have to grieve alone, darlin’. We all feel your pain.”

No one spoke for several long moments, until her telltale sniffle broke through the sounds of the late summer night. “It’s not pain,” she finally admitted. “I’m angry, and I feel old.”

Jake gave her thigh a comforting squeeze. “We’re all old, babe. It’s part of the dream, remember?”

Hazel looked down at their joined hands, and then up at Jake, her eyes softening in the moonlight as her head bobbed in hesitant agreement. “But I’ve never felt old, until now.”

She leaned against Nate’s chest again, releasing a resigned sigh as she nestled her fingers into his thick patch of chest hair and looked out over the ranch. “It feels like only yesterday Pa packed me and Cade into his truck and moved us here.”

Joe chuckled. “I was just thinking about those days, too.”

Hazel clasped Joe’s hand again. “Where did all the time go?”

Leaning back in his chair, Jake turned to look out over Falcon Ridge. “Three sons and five grandkids,” he said with a chuckle and looked back at Hazel. “That’s where it went.”

Nate tipped her chin up and pressed his lips to hers. “Losing your brother will be hard, but we’ll get through this.”

“I know.” Hazel cupped her hand to Nate’s cheek and drew him into another lingering kiss before she leaned over and pressed her lips to Joe’s. “I love you,” she said, then gave Jake a kiss, too. “I love you all.”

Joe watched as his brothers comforted their wife, their soulmate. Even though that particular night with her had belonged to him, there was no jealousy or regret over Nate and Jake sharing his time. Whatever Hazel needed had been their agreement from the beginning, and tonight she needed them all.

“C’mon.” He drew her from the swing into his arms. Nate took her phone and teacup as they guided her back inside, through the darkened hallway to the master bedroom. As Jake pulled back the covers on the oversized bed, Joe and Nate slipped off her nightgown, followed by their own clothes, each stealing a tender kiss before they climbed beneath the sheets and made love to their wife until she finally fell fast asleep in their arms.