The Third Son

Copyright © 2023 by Dyan Layne All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents and places are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real except where noted and authorized. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. ISBN: 978-1-7364765-4-3 ASIN: B0BRX3XCDV Cover photography: Michelle Lancaster, @lanefotograf Cover models: Lochie Carey, Anthony Patamisi, and India Woollard Cover designer: Lori Jackson, Lori Jackson Design Editing: Michelle Morgan, FictionEdit.com Formatting: Stacey Blake, Champagne Book Design This book contains subject matter which may be sensitive or triggering to some and is intended for mature audiences. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page About this Book Playlist Author’s Note Dedication Epigraph Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Epilogue Epilogue Acknowledgments Sneak Peek— Son of a Preacher Man Books by Dyan Layne About the Author Preview of Serenity (Red Door Series #1) Preview of Don't Speak Character Index Home is just a place, right? Arien Brogan had plans. In Denver. The only place she’d ever call home. Then her mom met Matthew Brooks, and Arien’s plans were no longer her own. So here she was, on a ranch in Wyoming, with her two new stepbrothers. She’d never met cowboys like them before. Kellan, the sullen one. Tanner, the sweet one. What did they want from her? There was something strange about this town, their ways, and everyone in it. Everything that comes in threes is perfect. Where in the hell was she? She wasn’t staying anyway. Come summer, she’d be gone. But if plans can change, then dreams can too. Because home is more than a place. It’s a feeling. Stream the full playlist on Spotify here Or on YouTube here TOOL | Triad Kid Rock | Cowboy Big & Rich | Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) Mother Love Bone | Come Bite The Apple Lil Nas X (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) | Old Town Road Machine Head | NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS Silversun Pickups | Lazy Eye Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Date With The Night Rivals | Heathens Alexisonfire | Born and Raised Unprocessed | Haven Brooks & Dunn | Boot Scootin’ Boogie Blanco Brown (feat. Ciara) | The Git Up (Remix) Jamie Bower | Start the Fire Greg Puciato | You Know I Do Crowder (feat. Tommee Profitt) | Carol of the Bells Ghost | I Believe In This Moment | The Last Cowboy Mother Love Bone | Gentle Groove The Weeknd | What You Need Bad Omens | Come Undone Sleep Token | Alkaline Wolf Alice | Don’t Delete the Kisses Death Cab for Cutie | This book contains subject matter which may be sensitive or triggering to some readers and is intended for mature audiences. I loved a cowboy once, but I let him go. This one’s for you, Randy. There is no remedy for love but to love more. —Henry David Thoreau Coming out of the bathroom, Arien stubbed her toe, close to taking a tumble over a stack of forgotten boxes in the hallway. “Ouch. Motherfu…” She held onto her foot, hopping the rest of the way to her bedroom in the small townhouse apartment she shared with her mom. It was all packed up, cartons neatly labeled, identifying the contents inside. Bed stripped. Closet and drawers emptied. It wasn’t like she had a choice. A moving van was parked outside. Holding her towel closed, her back against the wall, Arien sat cross-legged on the bare mattress. She had exactly thirty minutes to put on some makeup and get dressed. It should only