Range War of Callie County


Book Description

Charlie Brackeen owns the big ranch that takes up the entire north end of drought-stricken Callie County. When he pushes his B-Bar-M cattle south of their own range, it’s no mistake—it’s a hostile takeover, enforced by Sheriff Alex Woodbridge, the tough, one-eyed former Texas Ranger who’s in Brackeen’s pocket. They want the small ranchers leaderless and isolated so they can be picked off one-by-one and forced to sell their land. They just didn’t count on Jed Mahan. Jed is a small-time rancher who wants nothing more than to raise his cattle in peace and find comfort at the table and in the bed of the alluring Mrs. Gabriella Contras. As the county’s independent ranchers come together, though, they look to him for leadership. Jed’s reluctant at first, but when he’s blamed for the murder of his neighbor’s son, he has no choice but to step up. Woodbridge and Brackeen won’t waste time on something as trivial as a murder trial. Jed has two options—convince by-the-book county judge Neemore Davis of his innocence... or put Woodbridge in the ground before the old sheriff does the same thing to him. In the dust and heat of a wild South Texas summer, it won’t take much of a spark to set off a range war in Callie County.




A Bride for Gil


Book Description

Gil Slatter is quick on the draw and has a head for running a ranch—but he’s also a lonely man with nothing more than a cot in the bunkhouse at the TXY Ranch to call home. When the ranch’s foreman drops dead of a heart attack and the owner picks Gil to take his place, his entire world turns upside down. One day life is simple. The next, he’s running the entire outfit, buying new horses to replace the rundown remuda, finding new markets for the beef, tackling the problems of water shortages and homesteaders and learning how to deal with the tough and proud old man who owns the place. The old foreman’s passing means more than just a new job and new challenges on the ranch, though. He also leaves behind a daughter, a willful young woman named Kate. When Gil drops by to pay his respects, she shocks him with a somewhat outrageous proposal... and ends up stealing his heart. So starts the Western adventure of a lifetime. Between wild horses, outlaws, rustlers, homesteaders, an ambitious young landowner with a mean streak, and the flirtatious, scheming wife of the ranch’s owner, it’s no easy task for any man to handle. But with his new bride beside him, Gil is determined to take the TXY to new heights of success… or die trying!




The Outlaw Queen


Book Description

Mary Ann Cates owns a successful farm with her husband. While not wealthy by any means, life has been good, even with Charlie away most of the time buying and selling cattle. That all changes, though, when he ends up dead in a shootout with the law. Everything he’d ever told her had been a lie. “Cattle buyer” really meant “bank robber” and member of the notorious James Gang. Shattered and alone, the lovely widow is shunned by the citizens of her Kansas hometown and branded the “Outlaw Queen.” Rath Macon is a rancher working the Chisholm Trail. In six short years, he has transformed himself from a penniless ex-rebel into a respected cattleman. It’s a good life… just not good enough for his wife. After returning from the drive, he finds she's spent all their money and run away with another man. As the bank auctions off everything he’s worked so hard for, Rath saddles up and rides out of Texas to look for a fresh start with nothing but three horses and the clothes on his back. That’s how fate steps in and lassos Rath and Mary Ann. When their eyes lock, embers ignite. But they’ve both danced to life's fickle fiddle before. Can they rebuild trust on life's treacherous trail? Time holds the reins to their destiny. In a landscape where pasts are as rugged as the frontier, their story is one of redemption, resilience, and love as vast as the prairie sky.




Gold in the Sun


Book Description

A drunken plan to make some quick money with two friends landed drifter Whit Ralston in the Yuma Territorial Prison—the worst prison in Arizona. Now he’s doing hard time in the inferno the inmates call the Hell Hole, counting the days until his release. He’s vowed never to do anything so stupid again... but then his crazy cellmate, Ratero, starts talking about a load of stolen gold stashed up in the mountains. At first, Whit dismisses it as fantasy, the feverish rantings of a man who'd spent too many years in stir. Then he's furloughed to help with a construction project outside the prison. The taste of freedom is intoxicating, but everyone he meets wants to know just one thing—where's Cordova's gold? Could Ratero's rantings possibly be based in truth? Could the gold really exist? When he falls for a beautiful, blue-eyed lady of the evening who seems as taken with him as he with her, Whit realizes he might have a new reason to run some risks. Once he gets out of prison, Whit starts making plans—but he’s going to have to make better choices about just who to believe in order to hit pay dirt. People say a lot of things, but when it’s money on the line, your best friend today could be holding you at gunpoint tomorrow. In the Old West, though, following the law is never as important as trusting the right people.




Bounty Man & Doe


Book Description

Retired Deputy Marshal Sam Brennan is chasing devils. First, the three drunken miners who butchered his wife and stepdaughters. Second, the demon in the bottle that helps numb the pain. Doe is an Apache. All but enslaved by the gang of scalp hunters who killed her parents, she has become a stranger in a strange land, an outcast from her tribe. After being sold for the second time to a white man, she is beaten and abused on a daily basis. When Sam stumbles into her owner’s camp and witnesses a particularly savage beating, he orders the man to stop. The brute draws a gun in response and fires off a shot. It's a fateful decision—and a mistake he will never have the chance to make again. So begins a partnership that neither Sam nor Doe ever expected, but that will, in the end, define them. Soon, the Utes of the southern Rockies speak of the Many Guns Woman who rides with the Hunter of Men. While in barrooms and saloons from Tombstone to Deadwood, men talk of Sam Brennan and his gun-toting squaw. From the Colorado gold camps to the mountains of Arizona their pursuit leaves a trail of gun smoke and legend across the west. This classic tale from legendary Western author Dusty Richards—the fifth in his award-winning Brandiron Series—also features the novella "Bounty Riders" by J.B. Hogan, a friend and protege of Mr. Richards.




The Pride of Texas


Book Description

Two brothers, one dream—and the fight to become Texas legends. With the gritty authenticity of a true cowboy, bestselling author Dusty Richards weaves a moving coming-of-age story set against the rugged landscapes of Civil War-era South Texas. Twin brothers Andrew and Jackson Franks have spent their lives under the harsh rule of their father, Pryor. When a violent outburst shatters their family, leaving their mother dead and Pryor gone, the brothers are left to fend for themselves on their hardscrabble ranch. Andrew is the planner, while Jackson is the stubborn workhorse, and both dream of escaping the dust to become real Texas cattlemen. But dreams alone won’t be enough. The law demands they have a guardian, and fate brings them a surprise in the form of Sophie Grenada, a widowed cousin from Arkansas. Tough, smart, and fiercely independent, Sophie arrives with a determination that matches the boys' own. As they navigate Indian raids, range wars, and the brutal work of building a ranch, the three form an unbreakable bondAs they navigate Comanche raids, range wars, and the brutal work of building a ranch, the three form an unbreakable bond—two boys thrust into a man’s world before their time, and a woman who loves and cares for them as her own. With Sophie’s guidance, Andrew and Jackson may just carve out the legacy they’ve always hoped for and become the real Pride of Texas.




The Cherokee Strip


Book Description

Norman Thompson doesn't seek out trouble, but it always seems to have a way of finding him, anyway. All he really wants is a job as a ranch foreman. He'd tried in Montana, but ended up in a gunfight with a pair of ugly-looking brothers over a horse. Leaving one dead and the other swearing revenge, Norm figures it'd be wise to make himself scarce. He heads south, making his way to Nebraska. Instead of work, though, he finds something he never expected—a partner. Edith is a beautiful young woman seeking to escape the clutches of her own sordid past. Together they buy a decrepit old cattle ranch—the legendary Rocking Chair— and start driving herds up to the lush grass of the newly-opened Cherokee Strip. With Norm’s brawn and Edith’s brains, it’s a winning combination. The sins of yesteryear, though, are not so easily left behind. While Norm settles into a new life as a ranch owner and family man, forces are at work to take it all away. Will he and Edith find the happiness they’ve been searching for? Or will the ghosts of the past burn it all to bitter ashes?




Texas Fury


Book Description

When Terror Stalks the Texas Plains, Law and Justice Have Two Different Meanings. Kidnapping. Revenge. Terror. When Saddler County Sheriff Dell Hoffman is forced to kill a teenage ruffian in self-defense, he has no idea the incident will spark a blood feud with the boy’s father, the vicious leader of a local band of outlaws. In retaliation, the gang kidnaps Dell’s wife, Guinn, while Rose Parsons—now serving as interim sheriff in a neighboring town—is visiting their home. Leaving Rose for dead, they turn to tearing up town after town, destroying property and lives in a quest to force Dell into a deadly confrontation. Out of options and under the gun, Dell and Rose join forces once again, putting together a posse with enough strenght to take on the gang and rescue Guinn. Little do they know that behind all the sound and fury beneath the hot summer sun lay a far bigger threat—a man in the shadows with a bigger plan in mind. Will Rose and Dell find Guinn before it’s too late? Can they stop the gang from demolishing the next town in it’s path? Or will the dark puppetmaster behind it all beat them to the punch and destroy all they hold dear? Full to the brim with desperate outlaws and deadly shootouts on the heated plains of the Texas Panhandle, Texas Fury will leave you breathless and on the edge of your seat, turning pages long into the night.




Chaparral Range War


Book Description

From Dusty Richards, winner of the 2007 Spur Award for The Horse Creek Incident, comes a brand-new series about a former Texas Ranger out to enforce the law, no matter where he goes… When the Texas Legislature decided to stop paying its rangers, Phil Guthrey knew it was time to move on to greener pastures. As he rides into Arizona Territory, he finds a slew of criminals running free—thanks to Crook County’s no-good sheriff. With reports of rape, arson, theft, fatal shootouts, and foul play, Guthrey decides to make it his mission to rehabilitate Crook County, not to mention capture the heart of the spunky Cally Bridges. As Guthrey sets out to bring to justice the men terrorizing his new home, he knows he must ultimately find a way to uproot Sheriff Killion if he wants to clean up the county for good. The fight will be long and hard, but for a former Texas Ranger like Guthrey, getting your hands dirty is just part of the job…




Historic Denton County


Book Description

Celebrating over 150 years of North Texas History.