“This is one of those lighthearted, feel-good, make-me-happy kind of stories. But, at the same time, the essence of this story is family and love with a big ole dose of laughter and country living thrown in the mix. This is the first installment in what promises to be another fascinating series from Brown. Find a comfortable chair, sit back, and relax because once you start reading Long, Hot Texas Summer you won’t be able to put it down. This is a super fun and sassy romance.”

—Thoughts in Progress

Daisies in the Canyon

“I just loved the symbolism in Daisies in the Canyon. As I mentioned before, Carolyn Brown has a way with character development with few if any contemporaries. I am sure there are more stories to tell in this series. Brown just touched the surface first with Long, Hot Texas Summer and now continuing on with Daisies in the Canyon.”

—Fresh Fiction

ALSO BY CAROLYN BROWN

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES

Hummingbird Lane

The Daydream Cabin

Miss Janie’s Girls

The Banty House

The Family Journal

The Empty Nesters

The Perfect Dress

The Magnolia Inn

Small Town Rumors

The Sometimes Sisters

The Strawberry Hearts Diner

The Lilac Bouquet

The Barefoot Summer

The Lullaby Sky

The Wedding Pearls

The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop

The Ladies’ Room

Hidden Secrets

Long, Hot Texas Summer

Daisies in the Canyon

Trouble in Paradise

CONTEMPORARY SERIES

THE BROKEN ROADS SERIES

To Trust

To Commit

To Believe

To Dream

To Hope

THREE MAGIC WORDS TRILOGY

A Forever Thing

In Shining Whatever

Life After Wife

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

THE BLACK SWAN TRILOGY

Pushin’ Up Daisies

From Thin Air

Come High Water

THE DRIFTERS & DREAMERS TRILOGY

Morning Glory

Sweet Tilly

Evening Star

THE LOVE’S VALLEY SERIES

Choices

Absolution

Chances

Redemption

Promises

Dedication

Dedicated to

Margie Hager and Janet Rodman,

with thanks for all the support and love you shower upon me.

Chapter One

Chapter One

It’s a good place to be from,” Flynn O’Riley muttered as he looked at the bright-red T-shirt printed with “Where the heck is Blossom, Texas?” that was hanging on the wall. He scanned Weezy’s Restaurant for his two cousins, but evidently he was the first one to the meeting that afternoon.

The mixed aromas of burgers, grilled onions, and coffee filled the place, bringing back memories of his childhood when his mother would pick him up at the local diner in Blossom. He always spent two weeks with Nanny Lucy, and even as a toddler he would cry when it was time to leave his grandmother’s house. Stopping for a hot dog had started out as a ploy to keep him from crying when he left, but as he grew older, it became a tradition. One that he’d wished had never started after he was fifteen. That was the year his mother was killed in a terrible car wreck on her way to pick him up in Blossom.