BOSS

Still, she hesitated. "Why'd you change your mind last night, Aunt Roro?"

Rose shrugged. "I thought getting married was another one of your phases, but I can see how happy you are. And how much Bobby loves you."

She *was* happy, especially with a stack of cookbooks to look through. and she had some ideas for tomorrow's breakfast, especially since she wanted to try her hand at yeast dough. Tonight's dessert was going to be the chocolate trifle she saw in the pastry book.

"Did you really like the scones?" Francisca asked.

"They were the best I've ever had," her aunt assured her. "Now go get ready. You have got a lot to do of you are getting married in a week."

"I think I'll bake my own wedding cake," Francisca declared, heading for the door. "I know I saw a book about it in town I can make the flowers match the roses in my bouquet."

"You can?" Rose asked with an incredulous expression.

"Of course." Nobody had ever told Francisca that baking was this much fun. Or this exciting.

"THAT DIDN'T take long," Dusty said, resting one shoulder against the corral fence.

"I told him if he wanted to get married, I needed more time off to keep the auntie out of the way."

Andrew would have felt guilty fibbing to Bobby if he hadn't remembered all the times he'd rescued the kid at three in the morning when he'd had too much to drink or lost his keys at the Last Chance or run out of gas.

Dusty nodded. "Fair enough."

"I told him he could damn well run all the errands in town and do the banking, too. And then, in his spare time, he could get the horses ready to sell."

"He will do all right as boss around here when the time comes."

"Yeah," Andrew agreed. "He's got a lot of his grandfather in him."

"So I heard." Dusty settled his Stetson on his head and surveyed the horses. "There's a poker game tonight. Are you interested?"

"I doubt it." Andrew had other plans for his evening, and none of them included ranch hands, cards or the bunkhouse.

Dusty chuckled. "I didn't think you were, but I thought I'd better ask. Are you and the auntie getting along any better?"

"You might say that."

Dusty turned and raised his dark eyebrows at Andrew. "You are not working today, boss?"

"Not here."

Andrew intended to spend the day at his home. And with his woman. He found Rose up to her elbows in soapsuds while singing slightly off-key to a song on the radio. He took a couple of seconds to admire the curve of her bottom in those shorts before he crossed the room and set his hands on her waist. She jumped and turned, then smiled at him.

"You scared me."

"I didn't know you liked country music," he said, giving her cheek a quick kiss before reaching over to turn the volume down.

"Francisca decided she liked to cook while listening to the radio." She turned in his arms and grabbed a dish towel to dry her hands.

"You look very domestic."

"You sound surprised. Didn't you think a math teacher could wash dishes?"

"I guess there's a lot i don't know about you," he said, taking the towel out of her hands. He tossed it onto the counter and then gathered her close. "So, do you want to take the day and get to know each other?"

Rose smiled at him. "And that would mean?"

"Getting out of here, for starters."

"We have a wedding to plan," she reminded him.

"I'm not sure Francisca and Bobby are going to get it done without our help."

"Francisca and Bobby can take care of themselves," he said. "You might want to repeat that to yourself about ten times an hour."

"You are right." she sighed. "I don't know what

*****

CHECK OUT MY NEW STORY 'ANNIE'S PERFECT HUSBAND'

*****