Short Westerns

Forged in the hot sun and sand of the Arizona desert, Chinook Shannon is as tough as they come. But Chinook is far from home—in the north country of Montana—and facing a challenge as big as the territory itself. Following his grandfather’s suspicious death, he’s come to Montana to claim his inheritance—the family’s cattle ranch. But the territory’s crawling with bandits and bankers, and they all want a piece of Chinook’s land.

Lynn Taylor and his kid brother Frank may not be angels, but they’re not devils, either. They’re just a couple of men - two-fisted Texans who have landed on the wrong side of a corrupt lawman. Young Frank’s been framed for robbery, rustling, and murder, and if Lynn doesn’t think fast, his brother’s going to end up the guest of dishonor at a hanging party. Lynn cooks up a daring plan to clear his brother’s name and rope in the real outlaw.

He’s handsome. He’s charming. He’s a total gentleman ... and he’s totally outgunned and outnumbered. He’s Michael Patrick Obañon. Obañon’s lost his inheritance—a 100,000-acre New Mexico spread—and he could lose his life if he’s not careful. A ruthless band of renegades have seized his land, and he’s determined to get it back... Obañon’s got one secret weapon: his fierce intelligence. He can’t outshoot the outlaws, so he’ll have to find a way to outwit them....

Some men look to keep the peace. Others look to make trouble. But sometimes even the most law-abiding of men are compelled to cross the line. Easy Bill Gates is just such a man - quick with a smile and as slow to anger. He’s a model of restraint...until he’s forced to strap on a holster and kill the outlaw who murdered his brother. But more than his honor is at stake. A ruthless land baron is out to grab Bill's ranch and he's hired a gang of gunslingers to get Bill out of the way.

As a young man Monte Calhoun was as wild as they come, thinking the measure of a man was how hard he could drink and how straight he can shoot. But several years of schooling back East have changed him. Monte has become The No-Gun Man. The East Coast has civilized him, and he’s bringing some of that civilization home to Superstition, Arizona...even if it means refusing to avenge the murder of his own father.

Sunset Maloney is about to find big trouble in the Big Sky country of Montana. He’s riding into the middle of a ruthless land grab, and his fight for what’s right takes an unexpected turn...in the face of a young, attractive woman. Slim Trotwood is a cruel, greedy tinhorn - a gambler with little money and less skill - who’s determined to take possession of all the land in Puma Pass, whether by fraud or by force. And Sunset’s the only man willing to take him on.

Every man walks with a shadow...but what happens when he acquires a second one? Just ask Brazos, a cold-blooded killer for hire with blood on his hands and a posse on his tail. Desperate for cash, Brazos accepts $200 to gun down a local man named Brant. He’ll earn every penny...but in the end there’ll be the devil to pay. Because to put a bullet in Brant means putting one in his partner as well - an eerie stranger schooled in the black art of witchcraft. This is one killing that brings with it a deadly curse - and a second shadow.

In these dozen mystery short stories, you’ll find a newcomer’s ignorance used as a murder weapon, a modern, murderous twist on an O’Henry story, an old Irish myth that haunts a teen in an Idaho ski resort, the myriad ways to die in the desert, and much more.

In this life, you have to play the cards you’re dealt. Sometimes the cards aren’t worth a dime. Even holding the winning hand is not a guarantee you will take the pot. One thing is certain, somewhere along the way you are going to cashing in your chips. It is a good bet the aces and eights you’re holding means that time is near.

Buffalo Bill Cody, Bat Masterson, and other legendary heroic figures of America's Old West get the royal treatment in White Hats, a collection of stories by esteemed Western authors. This anthology is expertly compiled by Robert J. Randisi, who has gathered extraordinary stories of those who wear the white hat from well-known authors like John Jakes, Richard S. Wheeler, James Reasoner, and others.

Adventurous, imaginative Mary Rose simply wants to explore a little more of the Wyoming mountains around her grandmother's ranch. She knows that once winter arrives, she'll be stuck at the ranch for months and months. She seizes her chance for one last autumn outing and heads for a beautiful lake her new friends have told her about. But a blizzard descends while she's out riding alone, trapping her in a cabin inhabited by three fierce and furry strangers.

Marshal Josiah Hawke’s past comes back to haunt him when he unexpectedly meets a beautiful performer in a traveling show - a woman who was once a spy and had tried to kill him. With her is a man Hawke suspects was the infamous commandant of a Confederate prison camp who escaped from Hawke during the closing days of the Civil War.

Marshal Josiah Hawke and deputy Tom Carmody cross paths with a little girl wandering on horseback - her mind blasted hollow by the horrors from which she’d escaped. She can’t communicate, so the men trail follow her backtrail to a mysterious mountain town where a death cult has committed an act of horrific vengeance. Hawke and Carmody find themselves trapped in a bizarre cult community where they have many enemies and few options. Carmody reaches deep inside himself to bring an astonishing close to a deadly and surreal confrontation.

When a terminally ill gunfighter can't bring himself to take his own life, he tries to goad Josiah Hawke into killing him. Hawke does not want to be part of a mercy killing but does find it justifiable to send him on a virtual suicide mission instead.

As the local midwife and sole medical professional in her Nebraska community, Miss Emma always wants to help. When she learns the Owens family's bitter enemy has hired a gunman to force them from their home, she rushes to the Owens homestead to warn them. But the gunman has arrived sooner than expected. Despite Miss Emma's efforts to protect her friends, her actions only worsen their plight. Now, Rosalind Owens battles a severe infection, and Miss Emma's medical skills aren’t enough to save her.

Meet the first three cowboys who go to Hope Eternal Ranch in this boxed set that contains three full-length sweet contemporary cowboy romances. You'll get Hopeful Cowboy, Overprotective Cowboy, and Rugged Cowboy, all of which feature a cowboy looking for a second chance at life, love, and happiness.

Cowboy Up gathers stories that celebrate the timeless tradition of rodeo. The dust, the grit, the glory—it’s all here. From the echoes of the past to the rodeo arenas of today, these stories will take you on a wild ride through the highs and lows of rodeo life. You’ll share in their triumphs and their heartbreaks. From the unbreakable bond between rider and horse to the courage it takes to get back in the saddle after a fall, this anthology is a tribute to the spirit that keeps rodeo alive.

The most wanted man in the West, Big Bob McGraw has earned his reputation as a thief and killer. With a gang of trigger-happy desperadoes willing to do his bidding, McGraw has robbed banks, stagecoaches, and railroads, raised hell ravaging towns, and left bodies littering the streets in his wake. Carson Stone rode with McGraw’s gang exactly once, minding their horses during a bank robbery, before quitting. But with the marshal of El Paso, Texas, gunned down in cold blood as the bandits escaped, he’s been judged guilty by association.

Larry Kehoe had been sent to prison for having killed a man with his gun. Now he has been released and is determined never to use a gun again for any purpose. What he hasn't learned is that sometimes in order to have peace, using a gun becomes necessary.

Books 1-3 of the Oil Kings series. A widowed oil tycoon with four adult kids learns each son needs to marry before they get the oil trust money their mother left them, and they're running out of time.