Free Texas Rose Forever (Texas Rose Ranch #1) by Katie Graykowski

the noon sun and pointed to a shady spot under an arbor holding up a massive red rosebush.
    “There’s a blanket on the bed and I’m sure somewhere else in the house there’s another one, but you’d probably know better than I.” She nodded in the direction of the house. “Would you mind?”
    “There are several in the closet next to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” He balanced the picnic basket on the edge of the tub and headed around to the front of the house. The cottage had a back door, but Lucy had told CanDee that the key had been misplaced sometime during World War I and no one had gotten around to replacing the lock.
    Because she knew it would make him blush, she called, “And stay out of my underwear drawer. I’ll know if anything’s missing.”
    She moved the picnic basket to inside the tub and climbed onto the side so she could look into the tank. After prying the lid up, cautiously, she glanced inside. It was squeaky clean. Wow, whoever cleaned the cottage was very thorough.
    “I sincerely hope that my oldest son hasn’t started wearing women’s underwear.” Dr. Lucy Rose stepped into the backyard.
    How exactly did CanDee answer that? Picturing him in lacy pink underwear was disturbing.
    “So you’ve found the bathtub.” Lucy walked over to the opposite side of the tub from CanDee. “Bear and I used it to warm up after skinny-dipping last week.”
    The older woman grinned from ear to ear. There wasn’t the slightest bit of embarrassment or bragging in her voice. She was just stating the facts. It was good to see a long-married couple that still had an appetite for each other.
    “That’s why it’s so clean.” CanDee climbed down. “Cinco showed me how it works. How long does it take the water to heat up?”
    “Not as long as you’d think, once the fire gets going. There’s wood and kindling on the back porch.” The older woman pointed to the piles of cut wood and smaller branches. “When the water is as hot as you’d like, you open the other panel so that the water can circulate out from the tank and back to the tub. Your water will stay hot until the fire dies out.”
    “It’s really ingenious.” Oh yeah, tonight she was having a long, hot backyard bath.
    “A word to the wise, start the fire first and then pump the water in. It’s faster.” Lucy smiled up at CanDee. “I’m so glad that you decided to stay. I’m afraid that I would’ve had to have murdered my oldest child if you’d left, so thanks for saving me the trouble.”
    “I’ve already started my research.” She didn’t know why she felt the need to tell Lucy that, but she did.
    “I know.” Lucy shook her head. “I’m not worried about that. In fact, you have the family historian wrapped around your little finger. Cinco knows more about this place than anyone. Since the day he was born, he’s had an insatiable appetite for history.”
    So she’d be spending lots of time with Cinco. That worked for her.
    She glanced back at the gate to the front yard. “What was his wife like?”
    It really wasn’t her business, but she wanted to know.
    Lucy’s perfectly groomed eyebrows bounced off of her forehead. “He told you about Naomi?”
    “He mentioned being married and I gather that it didn’t end well.” CanDee watched the gate like a hawk, not wanting Cinco to find them talking about him. No one liked to be discussed behind his or her back, and usually CanDee wouldn’t mind going to the source for information, but talking about his marriage seemed to hurt him.
    “I’m surprised that he told you about the divorce since he hasn’t really said much to anyone else. I have my suspicions, but you should wait for him to tell you the whole story. All I know for sure was that she’s a lying, cheating bitch and I hated her from the moment I met her. Of course I tolerated her because I thought she made Cinco happy, but all she caused was misery. I can say without a doubt that she’s the only person that I