I grew up with three brothers. They weren’t tied to me by blood, but our connection went beyond genetics or bearing the same last name. Our connection was forged the summer I turned thirteen, the summer my mom ended her life and left me in the custody of John Armstrong, a man I’d never met. Packing all I owned in a couple of boxes, I left the familiarity of the big city and headed west to Red Mountain Ranch, set in a lonely valley outside of Jackson Hole.

Nothing was as it seemed at Red Mountain—it didn’t take long for me to figure that out. John was kind to me but distant, as if he was afraid to let anyone get too close. His three teenage sons had their own devices for keeping love as far away as they could. The eldest distracted himself with cheap relationships that had a shelf-life of one night. The middle son threw himself into the rigor of running a ranch, and the third wielded cruelty and mind-games in his quest to keep people from getting close.

Time has gone by, and I’ve spent those years trying to forget the brother I’d fallen for—the biggest mistake of my life.

Finally, I’ve moved on. Finally, I’m back. But what I didn’t realize was that running away from the wrong brother meant I’d also run away from the right one. The one who’d been there for me all along, waiting in his brother’s shadow for the day I either would or could move on.

But a decade is a long time to wait. Has the brother I should have chosen all of those years ago moved on too? Am I about to discover that my biggest mistake wasn’t falling in love with the wrong brother, but failing to return the love of the right one sooner?

Does unrequited love have an expiration date?

I’m about to find out.

Scout is returning to Red Mountain Ranch seven years after leaving it and the men there behind. For five years during her teens she lived with her adopted father figure John and three semi-adopted brothers: Chase, Chance, and Conn Armstrong. 

Scout is scared and nervous to be returning and facing situations she never wanted to. But is also realizing how much she has missed the ranch, especially Chance. Upon her return she find things in worse shape. Guilt, anger, loss, and bad health cloud the house. Each brother was affected by her appearance and disappearance from their lives. And now each faces their own challenges, pain, and issues. And they are all about to lose the man who raised them. 

One brother was the stable and easy-going, playboy who did not really connect with women. But the man she finds now is broken, isolated, and lost. But Scout's reappearance might be what he needs to snap out of it since she refuses to let him stay locked down and brooding. 

The second brother was the boy that was dependable and always there for her. He was also the sweetest, most loving, and the brother that was easiest to get along with. And he was also the one she kept in the best friend zone while blinded by her attraction for his brother. I loved Chance and he was my favorite Armstrong. He was adoring, sexy, and charismatic. He was the good guy and country gentleman. He worked hard and gave back to the community, so he could distract himself from what he was missing. But he also had a few issues of his own and was conflicted. Scout had a profound effect on him.

And the third was the broken boy that she tried to fix, but he broke her instead. He could be so irritating and frustrating, and downright mean and cruel. But other times you could sense his pain, vulnerability, and conflict that caused him to lash out and push people away. Scout's most fervent hope on her return was to avoid him. But he would not make it that easy for her. And they still seem intrinsically tied together despite her attempts at distance.

Even as she helps bring a little life, fun, and happiness back into a sad house and relationships begin to reform and grow, there is still a challenge that the Armstrong men feel is insurmountable in regards to their relationships with women that has them keeping them at a distance.

Scout spent five years in the Armstrong household as a little sister figure. There were three Armstrong brothers. One brother broke her heart, and in her attempt to stay away from him, she cut out the rest of the family as well.

Returning to Red Mountain Ranch was not something Scout looked forward to, but was something she needed to do. And all three brothers were there as well. But not as she remembered them. Each brother has gone through their own hells over the seven years she had been gone.

The wild child Conn, carefree and fun Chase, and solid, best friend Chance. Forced to face the family she left behind, she finds one brother avoiding people at all costs, one deeply grieving, and one working so hard he doesn’t have time to feel. But she finds three men who are all hurting for the same reason -- they are losing their father, a man with whom they all have varying levels of tension.

But she also finds that maybe the Armstrong she fell in love with as a girl wasn’t the Armstrong she was meant to be with. Maybe she picked the wrong brother.

I’m not sure what I expected from this book, I can’t quite put my expectations into words. But what I can say is that this far exceeded any expectations I had for the story. There were so many emotions swarming around the ranch -- grief, anticipation, fear, but also hope, friendship, and comfort. And twists in the story that I never would have guessed. Not in a million years. But those twists added another level to the story that clearly answered some of my early questions.

This is a standalone novel, and I love that it is one complete story for the entire family. But at the same time I can easily imagine companion stories later, because I would love to see everyone happy and love to see the future, even as I say I love this one just the way it was.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nicole Williams

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I’m the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the CRASH series (HarperTeen, S&S UK), LOST & FOUND series, UP IN FLAMES (S&S UK), The EDEN TRILOGY, and a handful of others. I write stories about everyday kinds of people who find themselves in extraordinary kinds of situations. I tell love stories with happy endings because I believe in making the world a better place, and that’s one tiny way I can make it so. I’m one of those people who still believe in true love and soul mates, and would rather keep my head in the clouds any day over having my feet firmly on the ground.