Read Online Heating Up by Stacy Finz - Free Book Online Page A

family. It’s Calloway candy from my family’s business, coffee, and assorted other goodies.”
    â€œNow, honey, you didn’t have to do that. I’m guessing you’ve got enough going on. Pat was in this morning and said you’re planning to rebuild, which I think is a wise decision. That’s a lovely neighborhood, and it seems to me a house there is worth something. But you’d know that better than I would.”
    â€œI still have to see what I’ll get insurance wise, but nice homes here are going for more than two hundred and thirty dollars a square foot.”
    â€œWhen are you talking to the insurance people?” Grace asked.
    â€œMonday.”
    â€œThat’s good, and I hear you and Sloane’s brother are sharing Tawny’s old house.” Grace let out a catcall whistle. “Now if I were thirty years younger . . . Watch out, Mr. Miller. That man is all brawn. I met him over at the inn; he stopped by to drop something off for Brady.”
    â€œIt’s strictly a roommate situation,” Dana wanted her to know. It wouldn’t do to have people gossiping about her.
    â€œWell, maybe you could fix that, if you know what I mean.” Grace arched her brows.
    Dana never would’ve guessed that sweet, gray-haired Grace Miller, who ran the feedstore with her husband, was an oversexed cougar. She really needed to get to know the women of Nugget better.
    â€œWe’re strictly platonic.”
    Grace made a face like what a shame , then launched into an entirely different topic. “Anything going on with the Rosser place?” Next to McCreedy Ranch, it was one of the largest cattle spreads in the county. The owner, Ray Rosser, had been charged with murder for shooting a man he claimed had stolen his cattle and needed to sell the ranch to pay his legal expenses. People here hadn’t stopped talking about it.
    â€œNothing. I’d hoped a cattle company would be interested in it, but it’s a huge investment. And with the drought, people are culling their herds, not looking to expand. At least we’ve managed to temporarily lease the property to a rancher from the valley who’s trying to fatten up his cattle on whatever grazing land he can find.”
    Until moving here, Dana had never sold agricultural land. With no knowledge of farming or animal husbandry, she’d become a quick study. “Grace, if anyone comes through here who’s interested, let ’em know Ray is motivated.”
    â€œI bet he is.” Grace made a face. “According to Owen, he’s pretty much signed over everything he owns to his legal team.”
    Dana thought it was probably true but wasn’t at liberty to discuss it. “I have to run to the new house. But again, Grace, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the clothes. What you did for me . . .”
    â€œHoney, we’re all here for you. You remember that.”
    She felt warmed by the words and chided herself for not making more of an effort to get to know people. She just wasn’t good at putting herself out there.
    It was one thirty, leaving her just enough time to grab a burger at the Bun Boy, Nugget’s only other eating option besides the Ponderosa, before heading to the house. She ordered at the drive-through speaker, drove to the window, and waited until a kid—probably a Nugget High student—handed her a white sack. On the short drive over, she ate half the fries and stayed in the car with the air conditioning on to finish her burger. Afterward, she tossed her wrappers in the trash and began unloading. Paint, the new bedding, and bags of supplies she’d bought in Reno. In her new bedroom she changed into painting clothes and a pair of old tennis shoes and went in search of a ladder, finding one in the garage.
    Over the next hour, she taped off the moldings, covered the floor, and started priming the walls. She used a brush to cut into the tight spots