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Wild and Tender Care
by Haley Whitehall

Ida Page has seen the worst the west has to offer. Snubbed by the citizens of Big Rock, Colorado, ever since the town cleaned up its act and became civilized, she has tried to change with the times. No other line of work available, she became a laundress after the mayor shut down the whorehouse, but the good people will not allow her to forget her past as a shady lady. She has given up on ever being accepted, let alone falling in love, until a handsome half-breed stranger arrives in town.

After the War Between the States, William Steere has been looking for a town to build a medical practice. He answered a newspaper ad placed by the mayor of Big Rock and hopes their desperate need for a doctor will overrule their race prejudice against his half-breed heritage. At the Independence Day picnic, he is introduced to all the town citizens except for one woman sitting off by herself. This redhead draws him to her with merely a gaze.

Can the two outcasts find love and acceptance in each other's arms or will the town’s cruelty and a smallpox epidemic tear them apart?

Excerpt & More

Genre: Historical Western Romance
Content/Theme(s): Interracial
Release Date: June 30, 2014
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Purchase links: LSB Amazon ARe Kobo B&N
Excerpt:
The following day she focused on her usual pile of laundry. Scrubbing a pair of trousers, she did not know anyone had approached until she heard a man cough.

Stomach tightening, her spine snapped straight.

Dr. Steere nodded to her. “Miss Page, I did not mean to sneak up on you.”

“That’s quite all right, Doctor,” she said, her insides slowly unwinding.

“I see you are enjoying the sunshine.”

“If you consider running clothes over a washboard as enjoyment.”

He glanced up at the sun. “Colorado Territory does have pretty skies, don’t you think?”

What was this, a feeble attempt at small talk? She didn’t have the strength to keep up the charade any longer. It was much easier to be friendly. “A blue sky is a blue sky.”

He shook his head. “But this sky has horses and castles and giant flowers.”

She peered up at the clouds dotting the stretch of endless blue. Looking for shapes in the clouds had been a fun game when she was little. She pointed to a large cloud. “That one looks like a boat.”

Dr. Steere sidled up to her and followed her finger to where she was pointing. “Yes, it does.”

His masculine musk filled the air, surrounding her. A deep-seated ache migrated through her body and settled between her thighs. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. Even though whoring had been her business, she’d learned to derive pleasure from her clients. A pleasure she’d been long denied. Dr. Steere was not like any of the usual men who had called upon her nightly services. His presence alone aroused her. She didn’t even need his touch to remind her body what to do.

Her long-suppressed need for male companionship rose to the surface. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the corners of his lips twitching. Had he caught her looking at him?

If this was a game for him, she’d be happy to lose. Her heart raced, beating with eagerness to be with him. It would be more than sex with him. They had a deeper connection. He wanted to court her, make her his wife, and she longed for him to drop on one knee and ask her.

She could enjoy his strong, steady presence all day especially if it led to the bedroom. Damn, this was a precarious situation. He wanted her and her body wanted to be with him, but she knew the people of Big Rock better than he did. Was she ready for the storm that would follow?
While she was in charge of her own life, not the good Christians passing judgment on her, she did have to live within their community. Would it be more or less painful to live as Mrs. Steere?

Clearing her throat, she got his attention. “What is your business here, Dr. Steere? I take it you no longer require directions around town.”

“No, you explained the surroundings very well. It will just take time for me to get to know everything.” The way he looked at her left no question of whom he wanted to get to know.

Her pulse skidded out of control and her core heated. She put both her hands in her apron pockets to keep from running them up and down Dr. Steere’s broad shoulders.

She gulped air, grasping for her resolve to keep things strictly professional. “Did you come out here merely to discuss the clouds? I figured a doctor would have more important things to occupy his time.”

He put a hand on his chest. “The lady’s wit strikes again.”

She scowled. His sarcasm was not becoming.

“I was actually hoping you could get out bloodstains.” He took off his frock coat and then his vest, standing before her in a white shirt, tie, and trousers.

He was stripping in front of her. She couldn’t believe it! Yes, she’d seen many men strip for her before but that had been in the privacy of her room, not on the front lawn where anyone could see. Heat spread from her ears all the way down to her toes, and yet she could not tear her eyes away from the enthralling sight.

She wetted her lips and clenched her thighs, already feeling the moisture down below. He slipped off his tie and then proceeded to take off his white shirt.

Speechless, she gaped at his toned chest covered in a dusting of black hair.

“I suppose I should have changed at the office,” he said in an apologetic tone. “I wasn’t thinking.

I knew it was best to clean the bloodstain quickly. I was changing the bandage on a patient and my sleeve fell down.” He handed the shirt to her.

The right sleeve was coated in blood, still damp.

Somehow her lust-filled mind still managed to form a coherent sentence. “I will see what I can do.”

“Thank you. After medical school and the war I don’t have too much savings. I figure I’ll be scraping by until I build up a good practice. Of course, I realize many patients pay in kind out here.” His gaze migrated lower, pausing for a hairbreadth at her thighs and she pulsed with need.

“How much do you charge?”

“Charge?”

He pointed to the shirt she was holding. “For the washing,” he said, a taut smile tugging at his lips.

“Oh. Two bits.”

He nodded and began buttoning up his frock coat to hide his bare chest.

“I-I can deliver your shirt tomorrow,” she stammered.

“That will be fine, Miss Page. You know where my office is.” He walked all the way to the street and then stopped and turned around. “A doctor keeps long hours,” he called to her. “My door is always open.”
~~~~~~
Purchase links: LSB Amazon ARe Kobo B&N
Other titles by Haley Whitehall:
Midnight Kiss