If it hadn’t been for the stranger in buckskins, the Jakes family would have been in serious trouble. Little did they know, the storm was just the beginning of their struggles. They'd come to Colorado to raise a new breed of horse. Along the trail they would follow were new friends, old enemies, and the land. At times it was hard to tell which ones were the most dangerous. It would take all of their fortitude and the help of kind-hearted strangers to keep the dream alive.

    For a brief and cherished time there was a woman, and then a child, too, who had been a kind of salvation to him. Then they were gone, leaving Ellis to carry on with the burden of what he had done to them, of the ruin he brought down upon them all.In The Sweet Everlasting, Ellis is seventy-four. Moving back and forth over his life, he recalls his Depression-era boyhood, the black family who worked the neighboring farm, his time in prison, and the subsequent years adrift, working at jobs no one else would take and longing for another chance to rejoin what is left of his family. Ever in the background are the memories of his wife, Susan, and their boy, W.D.--how Ellis drew on her strength and his innocence to resist everything that threatened to harden him: the shame that others would have him feel, the poverty he had known, and the distorted honor and pride he had seen in others and that he knew was inside him, too.Like the hero of William Kennedy's masterpiece, Ironweed, Ellis Burt is a man of uncommon personal dignity and strength, always moving toward, but never expecting, redemption.

    The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion compares the contrasting worlds of present-day Southern life and Midwestern immigrant cities during World War II. After learning that she was adopted, Sookie is filled with questions of self-doubt and becomes determined to learn the truth behind her roots. Fannie Flagg depicts adventurous and courageous women as WASPs during WWII as she tells the story of the Jurdabralinski sisters. These roles contradict Sookie's upbringing in Alabama where society is ruled by social norms and status. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion offers an inspirational tale with accurate historical details that are presented through an engaging plot. This review of Flagg's novel gives you a broader view of the author and her writing style. Read quotes from literary critics to discover the book's appeal, or lack thereof. Sookie counters a cast of larger-than-life characters as she finds adventure and realizes her underlying identity. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion captures a journey of self-discovery mixed with realism and humor to delight all readers.

    Each woman feels connected to Michael, whose charm and wit draws them inexorably into his play of madness--a drama of psychological horror that threatens the weak and unsuspecting.Terry Kay's riveting suspense novel is filled with twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

    Hounded by Marshal Tom Baylor and his posse, Crockett, runs from one fearful, violent encounter to another. As time passes, he learns to make his way with the gun. But he is always looking for a place to call home, a place where he could live life in peace. He thinks he has found it when he lands in Mangas, Arizona Territory. There he meets wealthy, regal Don Esteban. And the hacendado’s daughter, the beautiful and spirited Magdalena. But a rival for Magdalen’s affections draws Crockett back into the world of danger and gunfire — and eventually a showdown that can only bring death.

    When Teddie Arizona, woman of mystery, crawls out of the wreckage of her plane and into their lives with a $5,000,000 secret, things start to get interesting.When T.A.’s “husband,” F. Rank Pantaker, dispatches his henchmen to retrieve the money—and the girl—Lick and Al find themselves trying to outrun the bad guys and protect a damsel in distress. Is T.A. out to cheat her cheatin’ husband, or is she really just trying to stop an illegal scheme cooked up by F. Rank and the infamous Ponce de Crayon, Vegas’s most glamorous tiger tamer? Is she playing Lick—or is it love? Will Al Bean’s cockeyed plan, an able assist from Cody, Lick’s cowboy sidekick, a brigade of old-time rodeo reunioneers, and twenty miles of duct tape be enough to stop F. Rank’s nefarious schemes, reform a career party girl, and change the hearts and minds of ten of the world’s most thrill-seeking billionaires? Can Cody keep Lick from climbing onto raging bull Kamikaze’s back one more time? Can true love triumph over shoot-outs at the not-so-okay corral and close encounters with white tigers? Hey, this is Baxter Black—what do you think? With its colorful cast of characters, rip-roaring humor, and inventive language, this caper will have you riding high long after it gallops to a thunderously satisfying conclusion.

    

    He can hardly remember his days of wanderlust, and he’s grateful to have left behind the violence of a raw frontier. In a celebratory mood, Steve invites his mother to a meet her new grandchild in a chic resort in Monterey, California. With the delivery of a handwritten note, his world suddenly reverts to the savagery of his bygone days. There will be no peace.

    It was a "big country needing big men and women to live in it." This volume presents five more of L'Amour's fine short stories about the West, restored according to how they first appeared in their initial publication in magazines. "Riding for the Brand" Jed Asbury was stripped naked by Indians and forced to run the gauntlet. He ran it better than they had expected and escaped with only a few minor wounds. Still on the dodge, Jed encounters a covered wagon in which the horses and humans have been killed, the wagon and its contents left to stand. He is able to outfit himself from clothes and guns he finds in the wagon, and in the process he learns what the intentions were of those who had driven the wagon--and the possible reason they were killed. Jed decides to push forward and accomplish precisely what they had intended to do. "Four Card Draw" Allen Ring drew four cards in a poker game with Ben Taylor, and he won a small ranch. The ranch cabin sits on a low ledge of grass backed up against a cliff of red rock, with a spring not more than fifty feet away. The ranch is all he had ever hoped to have. Only it isn't going to be that simple. Ross Bilton, the town marshal, shows up with two deputies and tells Allen that, whether he has a deed or not, no one is allowed to live on the ranch. A killing had taken place there years before and remains unsolved. But that's not enough to persuade Allen to leave. "His Brother's Debt" Rock Casady is considered a coward. When gunman Ben Kerr issued a challenge, Casady fled rather than stick around to fight. He rode on to new range and got himself a job. He did well at it, but everyone noticed that he avoided going to town, and he avoided people. That was before Sue Landon, niece of the ranch's owner, asked Rock to accompany her to town to make some necessary purchases. Though that might mean a confrontation with rustler and hardcase Pete Vorys, Rock agrees. However, minding his own business proves ineffective when Vorys decides that this stranger has to be cut down to size. "The Turkeyfeather Riders" Jim Sandifer swings down from his buckskin and stands for a long minute, staring across the saddle toward the dark bulk of Bearwallow Mountain. For three years he has been riding for the B Bar, and for two of those years he has been ranch foreman. Now he knows that what he is about to do will bring an end to that, an end to his life here, to his chance to win the girl he loves. He stopped a raid by some B Bar men on the Katrischen spread, and now he has to tell the B Bar's owner what he did--and suffer the consequences. "The Nester and the Paiute" The Paiute is the local bad man. But as bad as his rustling and killing has been, Sheriff Todd had never caught him with real evidence and so could only keep his eye on the Paiute, hope to catch him in the act. That was before the nester rode in, looking for the Paiute. Sheriff Todd is out of town, but that doesn't matter to the nester. He's been following the Paiute's tracks all the way here and now wants to know where he lives. That's easily told, but Sheriff Todd isn't going to like it if there's a shoot-out between the nester and the Paiute. What no one knows is that the sheriff has already run into the Paiute, and that the Paiute has finished him. For the Paiute, this has become the end game.

    Instead, he finds a jilted mail order bride, two ragged orphans and a basket of striped kittens.The thief abandoned his fiancée, a lovely blue-eyed beauty who steals Gideon’s breath at first glance. Ruth’s sassy and plenty exasperating. She’s taken in a newborn orphan girl and cares for the baby with grit and devotion. Gideon yearns to shelter both Ruth and the sweet baby. He can’t make sense of the protective instincts, turning his tidy thoughts all topsy turvy. Before long, he’s got more trouble than he can shake a stick at.Ruth claims to know nothing about the stolen money. But is she innocent or is she the real thief?Mail Order RebeccaAdam Barstow just wants to be left alone to mend his ways. The good Lord has other plans…As Adam works to turn over a new leaf, two orphans appear on his doorstep. They escaped a cruel orphanage. Adam can hardly turn them away and vows to keep them for a short spell, just until he finds them a decent home.But a few short weeks later a mail-order bride arrives. Rebecca is kind and gentle and believes Adam sent for her to help care for the children. He didn’t. Adam would dearly like to know who wrote Rebecca. Until he learns the truth, he’ll shelter his newfound, precious family.Mail Order HollyA Christmas Bride for the Texas Cowboy.Holly Ross travels to Texas a few weeks before Christmas as a mail order bride. She’s tasked with returning a stack of letters to a certain cowboy. His mail order bride has jilted him.Holly peeks at the letters as she journeys to Texas. She knows she shouldn’t snoop but can’t resist learning more about the cowboy, Jacob Barstow.When she arrives, her husband to-be isn’t waiting. Instead, she comes face to face with Jacob Barstow, the charming and protective cowboy whose letters she secretly read. Jacob will help Holly, but only if she accepts a marriage of convenience by Christmas Eve.

    Joseph lynch party finds his way to Three Forks of the Animas, a mining camp on the verge of flourishing.There he tries to settle himself, working as a carpenter with his partner Jimmy Langdale.But when Jimmy sparks on one of the strumpets working in a saloon, Barton may find he’s hung up his guns too soon.If you love Westerns with six-guns and whiskey shots, whores and outlaw ruffians, where you can’t always tell the good guys by the color of their hats, then come along with us to Animas Forks, and plan to stay a spell.But pack your shooting irons, and get your cabin squared before the first snow, because the only thing as cold as the winters is the nerve of the back-shooters. Click the “buy” button now to stake your claim in Animas Forks!

    

    Four years ago, his father had handed him a box containing both guns, completely disassembled, and told him he could have them, when and if he could put them back together. It took him a week, but he did it. He didn’t do it to please his father, whom he hated, nor his mother, whom he loved. He did it to prove to himself that he could, and as a result of hours of practice at the back of the property, he rarely missed with either gun, and he could draw and fire the pistol in a split second.

    He is enjoying his time with his family on his ranch. Little does his family know, he is suffering from Cancer. He has told no one as he does not want anyone to worry or better yet, make him bed ridden. He gets a telegram from his doctor up at Ft. Smith. When Micah gets to the doctor's office he finds out his doctor did not send for him. He high tails it back to his ranch and learns his granddaughter has been kidnapped.