Texas Rose Forever (Texas Rose Ranch #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

odd.”
    “This from a man who freezes his Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Everyone knows they’re supposed to be refrigerated.” She shot him a sympathetic look. “Like my grandmother used to say, that’s the pot calling the kettle a dumb ass.”
    “What does that even mean?” He shook his head.
    She shrugged. “I don’t know. My grandmother is crazy, but she makes fantastic banana bread.” If only more people judged their peers based on banana bread, Grammie would have a lot more friends.
    “So much makes sense about you now.” He grinned. “Clearly derangement is a family thing.”
    “Look at you using your big words.” She blew him a kiss. “It’s so cute.”
    Lucy’s blue eyes looked like aqua-colored drink coasters. “I think the next six weeks are going to be very interesting,” she said with a grin before leading CanDee to a huge man with dark hair and kind, light-blue eyes.
    “This is my husband, Bear.” Lucy said.
    CanDee noticed that she didn’t introduce him as Lacy, which was completely understandable because his barrel chest and full beard made him look like a bear.
    Bear held out his huge paw for her to shake. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
    His eyes crinkled in the corners. He was like a hairy younger Santa Claus.
    “It’s nice to meet you too. You have a lovely home and what I’ve seen of the ranch is amazing.” She shook his hand and found the handshake firm but not bone crushing. Grammie had always said that she could tell a lot about a person by their handshake. Based on Bear’s firm but gentle shake, CanDee was willing to bet that he was a firm but gentle person.
    “Thank you.” He leaned in close to her ear. “I’ve never seen my oldest son flirt. It’s pretty funny.”
    “Really?” She turned to look at Cinco, who was watching her. “He’s very good at it. Maybe he practices when you’re not looking.”
    “Nope, I think he hasn’t found a woman who can bring him out of his shell.” Bear nodded to himself. “Until now.”
    So Cinco didn’t bring women home to meet his family often. Not that he’d brought her home to meet his father. CanDee was on the verge of making a joke about shelling Cinco like a pecan, but thought better of it. She was pretty sure the sexual innuendo was something his parents wouldn’t appreciate.
    Bear wrapped his arm around his wife and called across the room, “Rowdy, come meet CanDee.”
    A tall man in a navy three-piece suit grabbed two glasses of what looked like champagne off of a tray held by a caterer and walked over to them. Rowdy had his mother’s coloring and eyes, but he must have gotten his six-foot-five height from his father. He was polished, not a single blond hair was out of place, and looked more businessman than rancher. He looked too tame to be named Rowdy.
    “I’m Houston Rose, but my friends call me Rowdy. It’s so nice to meet you.” He handed her a glass. “This is our new Hill Country Sparkling Wine. Tell me what you think.”
    All eyes turned to her. She took a sip and found it to be fruity and not too dry. For a beer girl, she liked this wine very much. “I love it. I’m not much of a wine drinker, but this is fantastic.”
    He put a hand on her arm. “How about we get out of here and I take you on a personal wine tour?”
    “Rowdy, stop hitting on her just to make your brother crazy.” Lucy stood on her tiptoes and smacked him on the back of the head. She barely reached, but she managed to ruffle his hair. Clearly Lucy had been disciplining her sons with a smack to the head since her boys were children. CanDee wondered if she’d have chosen something else if she’d realized they were going to outgrow her.
    “But driving him crazy is so much fun.” A mischievous smile curled on Rowdy’s lips. “Plus, you always said that you’d let us fight until we were two bloody spots on the carpet. I’m still waiting for that day.”
    “I’ve been pulling you two off of each other since the day you