Love, Texas Style

          -the stories

Prickly Heat

by Marty Tidwell

Goldie worked long, back-breaking hours to keep what was left of her family ranch afloat. Her foreman Pete has always been right by her side, his strong, steady presence giving her faith that they'd survive another season. It was a good life, but lately Goldie sensed a restlessness in Pete, a yearning for something the Double M couldn't give him. She'd been selfish to think a man like Pete wouldn't want a family of his own. So, if he wanted to settle down and get married, she would do everything she could to help him woo the woman he loved. Even if her own heart got trampled along the way.

 

Wallflowers

by Marty Tidwell

"You're Rory Cooper." The accusation hung in the air as she faced the man standing behind the cash register at Petal Pusher's Garden Shop.

"The name's Michael Bankins, ma'am. I'm the new owner, and I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else."

His name tag might say Michael Bankins, but that didn't do anything to change her mind about his identity. As a teenager his face had haunted her dreams. He'd been her first crush, her first infatuation, and now he was standing in front of her wearing a different name and a slightly older version of the face she remembered so well.  If possible, he was better looking now than he'd been fifteen years ago. Still, she wondered why he would need to deny the boy he used to be. It was a puzzle, one she wouldn't mind trying to solve.

The Double-Dog-Dare Dance

by Nancy Connally

All that Sunny Climes and Jake Shane wanted when they showed up for a blind date at Boot Scootin’ Bliss and Roadside Grill was to win a double-dog dare. Winning each other’s heart was not part of the agreement.

Bounty Hunting, Texas Style

by Arline Todd

Nicole Beaumont gets an anonymous tip that an arrest order has been issued for her Aunt Evelyn's beloved billionaire godson, Kyle Grayson of the Texas Graysons.  She's been avoiding her aunt's matchmaking efforts in regard to Kyle for years, but knowing Evelyn will be devastated over his arrest, she straps on her Glock and takes her company's Lear from Virginia to Texas to beat the bounty hunters that will be after Kyle.  She'll arrest him herself to keep him safe from the more vicious bounty hunters.  What she didn't count on was dealing with the incredible charm and devastating sex appeal of a so-called Southern gentleman.

A Lady in Deed

by Nikki Hollaway

Haven Pettit has spent the last five years struggling to preserve the memory and what was left of her father's ranch. When her brother loses the ranch in a card game to the family's rivals, Haven is livid and determined not to leave her homestead without a fight…then she learns the terms of her brother's wager.

Brayden Granger is tired of proving to his father he is capable of running the family business as well as his older brothers. So when the deed to the Lazy L falls into his lap he takes on the challenge of not only taming the wild Pettit woman but to bring the failing ranch back to its once glory by becoming his father's fiercest competitor.

With everything to lose and little to gain they must work together to save the Lazy L and the love that only grows amongst the yellow roses of Texas.
 

The Lost Highway

by L. A. Mitchell

On a desolate west Texas highway, a man at a crossroads in his life meets a beautiful woman, lost in more ways than any cardinal point on a map.  Her pristine 1959 Thunderbird, her matronly dress and her optimism conspire to place her firmly out of touch with reality.  In a race against the clock to reconnect with an old love, he discovers the captivating stranger has driven straight out of her own time and into the abandoned shell of his heart.

My Love Dropped in at the Drop Your Doggie Inn

by Gina Lee Nelson

I am a dentist . . . a doggie dentist.

It’s not a pleasant job. Doggie breath is not a fistful of flowers. But it calls to me.

At the present time, I’m pouring my heart into two things: keeping the “Drop Your Doggie Inn” in prime condition, and figuring out how to keep one red hot veterinarian from sauntering out the door. You see, Keller Stokes and I have known each other from way back in high school. He was the short, plump, freckle-faced boy who asked me to prom.

How was I to know he’d join the Navy and grow the broadest pair of shoulders this side of the Trinity River?

The Rancher's Wife

by Jen FitzGerald

Ah, the power of a romance novel...Molly Miller spends another dateless Friday evening curled up in her favorite chair with a borrowed romance novel and a cup of hot cocoa.  Poor substitutions for a good man by any stretch of the imagination. But despite her normal aversion to romance novels, Molly finds herself getting caught up in the story line.  

Reclaiming Tess

by Beth Shriver

When her grandfather dies and the family ranch is in jeopardy, Tess decides to leave her corporate America world after the bottom drops out of her sales career, and decides to head west. What she thinks is temporary turns out to be permanent when she is roped into a relationship with the all too helpful, handsome ranch hand, Colt Remington.  Along their journey to keep the ranch running, Colt encourages Tess rekindle her sparking spirituality by his gentle spirit and faithfulness.  Tess’s passion helps readers take her spiritual journey to heart, and Colt is a man with whom every woman will fall in love, with his old-fashioned charm and unwavering faith.

The Ring

by Christine Crocker

Twenty-five years ago Charlie made Jeannie a promise. But now she's changed her mind and she dreads breaking his heart.

Shotgun Seduction

by Angi Morgan

Money was never a problem ... when you had it. It's always the problem when you don't.

Jacqui O'Conner had it. Sean didn't and her father never let him forget. He had grease under his nails, she had hers manicured weekly. He bought his work boots at Wal-Mart, all her shoes were Italian.

It would never work. 

Sean Davis was a mechanic turned model. How Jacqui would make him see that money wasn't important ... well, that's one way shotguns could be used in Texas.

Someone to Run To

by Mary Malcolm

Running away is all Eva Martin has been able to do in the years since her divorce. But now that she has met sexy Baxter Higgins will she be able to lose the race and her heart?