Messin' With Texas: The Erotic States of America, #5

By Livia Lang

Claire has a hard but good life on her Texas ranch. She loves the rugged wilderness around her, and the freedom that her life provides. However, a deep loneliness threatens to overtake her some days - the desert can be isolating. 

Then a handsome stranger arrives at her front porch. He needs shelter from a dust storm, but perhaps he can offer something in return: friendship, companionship, or even love.

Warning: This is a smoking hot historical romance quickie that will leave you gasping for more. Check it out if you love cowboys and sassy women!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Livia Lang
• Release date: Jul 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223372424

Book preview

1

The wind was screaming from the west as Claire stepped out of her cabin. It was ripping the sand into the air, swirling around her feet and making her skirts flutter. A dust storm was coming; she could taste the grit in the air. Soon, a dark cloud of dirt would descend on the town, covering the wooden houses and barns. Even the cowboys would be forced to cower, hiding inside the saloon to drink away the horrible winds.

Claire knew the signs well; she had learned a lot in her six months in the Southwest desert. Originally riding out in a caravan of covered wagons for Oregon, she had arrived in this dusty Texas town with the intention of merely picking up more supplies and moving on. However, the towering rocks that surrounded the town enchanted her, as did the gritty but honest people who lived in such a beautifully desolate place. The open expanses of the desert soothed her soul, and she realized she could not return to a land of trees and darkness and density.

She had stayed.

It had taken blood and sweat and more than a few tears, but she'd managed to make a life there. Her cautious nature and no-nonsense approach had won her friends in town and allowed her to avoid the pitfalls many homesteaders inevitably lurched into. Like today, when her vigilant head was telling her to bunker down. There was no sense in messing with a dust storm.

I need to get the animals inside, she murmured, looking at the sky with apprehension. 

She didn't have much in the way of possessions, her homestead being small and newly founded. But what she did have, she was going to protect fiercely. That included the creatures entrusted to her.

First, the chickens were herded into their coop. Next, Claire ran out into the yard, grabbing Sarah the cow by the rope around her neck. The lazy girl lumbered along, oblivious to the need for speed. 

Your milk is hardly worth the trouble somedays, Claire grumbled, swatting the beast's backside. Sarah gave her a side-eye and picked up her pace ever so slightly.

After the cow was safely encased in the small barn, Claire next gathered up her dogs — Rio and Arena — and fled back into the cabin. The dogs immediately started whining, hating to be cooped up this early in the day. They were used to running for hours, watching over the cow and trying to catch the stray rabbit that wandered into the yard.

Stop it, she sighed, giving them each an extra biscuit from the Dutch oven that sat nestled in the dying coals of the fireplace. Eat this, and then go lie down. It'll be a long day and your cries aren't going to help. 

Her dogs at least somewhat placated, Claire settled into a rickety wooden