Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
ISBN: 0786049022
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But old cowboys? That’s a different story — especially when they’re trail-hardened cattlemen who just got stiffed out of retirement by a shifty lawyer… From William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, legendary, bestselling masters of the classic Western with more than 50 million copies in print, the first in a rowdy new shoot-em-up series that proves old cowboys not only get wiser with age – they get bolder and crazier too… After thirty hard years of chasing stampedes into storms and pushing herds of half-crazy cows across the plains, longtime buddies and cattle drivers Casey Tubbs and Eli Doolin are ready to hang up their spurs. But when they get to Abilene with their final delivery of two thousand cows, the company lawyer has skipped town with their crew’s entire wages. That means there’s just one last job Eli and Casey will have to do… Steal it back. Sure, pulling off a robbery is a new challenge for these old boys. But they’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years —and they’re one hell of a team. Between the two of them, they devise a scheme to hold up the lawyer on the noon train and deliver the money to the men who earned it. Except after pulling off the perfect crime—and getting away with it—an honest, peaceful retirement stops sounding so good. Casey and Eli start thinking they may have missed their calling in life. This could be the start of a whole new career . . . as outlaws.
Old Cowboys Never Die
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
ISBN: 0786049022
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But old cowboys? That’s a different story — especially when they’re trail-hardened cattlemen who just got stiffed out of retirement by a shifty lawyer… From William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, legendary, bestselling masters of the classic Western with more than 50 million copies in print, the first in a rowdy new shoot-em-up series that proves old cowboys not only get wiser with age – they get bolder and crazier too… After thirty hard years of chasing stampedes into storms and pushing herds of half-crazy cows across the plains, longtime buddies and cattle drivers Casey Tubbs and Eli Doolin are ready to hang up their spurs. But when they get to Abilene with their final delivery of two thousand cows, the company lawyer has skipped town with their crew’s entire wages. That means there’s just one last job Eli and Casey will have to do… Steal it back. Sure, pulling off a robbery is a new challenge for these old boys. But they’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years —and they’re one hell of a team. Between the two of them, they devise a scheme to hold up the lawyer on the noon train and deliver the money to the men who earned it. Except after pulling off the perfect crime—and getting away with it—an honest, peaceful retirement stops sounding so good. Casey and Eli start thinking they may have missed their calling in life. This could be the start of a whole new career . . . as outlaws.
Publisher: Pinnacle
ISBN: 0786049022
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321
Book Description
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But old cowboys? That’s a different story — especially when they’re trail-hardened cattlemen who just got stiffed out of retirement by a shifty lawyer… From William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, legendary, bestselling masters of the classic Western with more than 50 million copies in print, the first in a rowdy new shoot-em-up series that proves old cowboys not only get wiser with age – they get bolder and crazier too… After thirty hard years of chasing stampedes into storms and pushing herds of half-crazy cows across the plains, longtime buddies and cattle drivers Casey Tubbs and Eli Doolin are ready to hang up their spurs. But when they get to Abilene with their final delivery of two thousand cows, the company lawyer has skipped town with their crew’s entire wages. That means there’s just one last job Eli and Casey will have to do… Steal it back. Sure, pulling off a robbery is a new challenge for these old boys. But they’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years —and they’re one hell of a team. Between the two of them, they devise a scheme to hold up the lawyer on the noon train and deliver the money to the men who earned it. Except after pulling off the perfect crime—and getting away with it—an honest, peaceful retirement stops sounding so good. Casey and Eli start thinking they may have missed their calling in life. This could be the start of a whole new career . . . as outlaws.
The Backstabbers
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 0786044357
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 303
Book Description
FIRST RULE OF JOHNSTONE COUNTRY: TRUST NO ONE No one knows the dangers of driving a stagecoach better than Red Ryan. Especially when the passenger’s a dead man, the payoff’s a gold mine, and the last stop is death . . . SECOND RULE: WATCH YOUR BACK Red Ryan should’ve known this job would be trouble. The first stop is a ghost town—in a thunder storm—and the cargo is a coffin. But things start to look a little brighter when Red and his stage guard Buttons Muldoon deliver the corpse to a ranch run by the beautiful Luna Talbot—and her gorgeous crew of former saloon girls. Luna asks the boys to help them find the Lucky Cuss Gold Mine, using a map tucked inside the dead man’s pocket. Buttons can’t refuse a pretty lady—or the lure of gold. But Red has a feeling they’re playing with fire. Especially when the map leads them straight into crossfire of a ferocious range war, a 400-pound load of pure evil known as Papa Mace Rathmore—and his backwoods clan of sadistic, kill-crazy hillbillies . . . Live Free. Read Hard.
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 0786044357
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 303
Book Description
FIRST RULE OF JOHNSTONE COUNTRY: TRUST NO ONE No one knows the dangers of driving a stagecoach better than Red Ryan. Especially when the passenger’s a dead man, the payoff’s a gold mine, and the last stop is death . . . SECOND RULE: WATCH YOUR BACK Red Ryan should’ve known this job would be trouble. The first stop is a ghost town—in a thunder storm—and the cargo is a coffin. But things start to look a little brighter when Red and his stage guard Buttons Muldoon deliver the corpse to a ranch run by the beautiful Luna Talbot—and her gorgeous crew of former saloon girls. Luna asks the boys to help them find the Lucky Cuss Gold Mine, using a map tucked inside the dead man’s pocket. Buttons can’t refuse a pretty lady—or the lure of gold. But Red has a feeling they’re playing with fire. Especially when the map leads them straight into crossfire of a ferocious range war, a 400-pound load of pure evil known as Papa Mace Rathmore—and his backwoods clan of sadistic, kill-crazy hillbillies . . . Live Free. Read Hard.
Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West
Author: William Manns
Publisher: ZON International Publishing
ISBN: 9780939549139
Category : Cowboys
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Contains over five hundred-fifty illustrated photographs of stetsons, boots, spurs, saddles, chaps and other trappings of the American western cowboy and cowgirl and traces the history of the cowboy from the cattle trails of the old west to the wild west shows and rodeos.
Publisher: ZON International Publishing
ISBN: 9780939549139
Category : Cowboys
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Contains over five hundred-fifty illustrated photographs of stetsons, boots, spurs, saddles, chaps and other trappings of the American western cowboy and cowgirl and traces the history of the cowboy from the cattle trails of the old west to the wild west shows and rodeos.
Cowboy Poetry
Author: Hal Cannon
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
ISBN: 9780879052089
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
This collection of poems was chosen from among 10, 000 gathered from cowboy reciters, ranch poets and from a library of over 200 published works of cowboy verse. One third of the poems are classics that have proven their vitality by having lived in the hearts and minds of cowboys and ranchers for decades. The remaining two-thirds are new, created within the last few years. "Most cowboy poems speak of real events and people, from bucking horses and cagey cows to old Stetson hats and long winter travels. Although they focus on the ordinary stuff of life, their truths . . . seem no less eternal than those penned by William Shakespeare. Some cowboy poems are bust-a-gut funny; a few are downright dirty . . . most carry an honest, primitive power." --Michael Riley, TIME Magazine
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
ISBN: 9780879052089
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
This collection of poems was chosen from among 10, 000 gathered from cowboy reciters, ranch poets and from a library of over 200 published works of cowboy verse. One third of the poems are classics that have proven their vitality by having lived in the hearts and minds of cowboys and ranchers for decades. The remaining two-thirds are new, created within the last few years. "Most cowboy poems speak of real events and people, from bucking horses and cagey cows to old Stetson hats and long winter travels. Although they focus on the ordinary stuff of life, their truths . . . seem no less eternal than those penned by William Shakespeare. Some cowboy poems are bust-a-gut funny; a few are downright dirty . . . most carry an honest, primitive power." --Michael Riley, TIME Magazine
Never Die Easy
Author: Walter Payton
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0375758216
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
"Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without trying, without giving it your best." His legacy is towering. Walter Payton—the man they called Sweetness, for the way he ran—remains the most prolific running back in the history of the National Football League, the star of the Chicago Bears' only Super Bowl Championship, eleven times voted the most popular sports figure in Chicago's history. Off the field, he was a devoted father whose charitable foundation benefited tens of thousands of children each year, and who—faced with terminal liver disease—refused to use his celebrity to gain a preferential position for organ donation. Walter Payton was not just a football hero; he was America's hero. Never Die Easy is Walter Payton's autobiography, told from the heart. Growing up poor in Mississippi, he took up football to get girls' attention, and went on to become a Black College All-American at tiny Jackson State (during which time he was also a finalist in a Soul Train dance contest). Drafted by the Bears in 1975, he predicted that he would last only five years but went on to play thirteen extraordinary seasons, a career earning him regular acknowledgment as one of the greatest players in the history of professional football. And when his playing days were over, he approached business and charity endeavors with the same determination and success he had brought to the football field, always putting first his devotion to friends and family. His ultimate battle with illness truly proved him the champion he always had been and prompted a staggering outpouring of love and support from hundreds of thousands of friends and admirers. Written with veteran journalist and author Don Yaeger in the last weeks of Walter Payton's life, Never Die Easy presents Walter's singular voice—warm, plainspoken, funny, self-aware—along with the voices of the friends, family, teammates, and business associates who knew him best at all stages of his life, including his wife, Connie, and their children, Brittney and Jarrett; his teammate and friend Matt Suhey; former Bears head coach Mike Ditka; and many, many others. Walter made Don Yaeger promise that his book would be "inspirational and leave people with some kind of lesson . . . and make sure you spell all the words right." Never Die Easy keeps all those promises.
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0375758216
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
"Never die easy. Why run out of bounds and die easy? Make that linebacker pay. It carries into all facets of your life. It's okay to lose, to die, but don't die without trying, without giving it your best." His legacy is towering. Walter Payton—the man they called Sweetness, for the way he ran—remains the most prolific running back in the history of the National Football League, the star of the Chicago Bears' only Super Bowl Championship, eleven times voted the most popular sports figure in Chicago's history. Off the field, he was a devoted father whose charitable foundation benefited tens of thousands of children each year, and who—faced with terminal liver disease—refused to use his celebrity to gain a preferential position for organ donation. Walter Payton was not just a football hero; he was America's hero. Never Die Easy is Walter Payton's autobiography, told from the heart. Growing up poor in Mississippi, he took up football to get girls' attention, and went on to become a Black College All-American at tiny Jackson State (during which time he was also a finalist in a Soul Train dance contest). Drafted by the Bears in 1975, he predicted that he would last only five years but went on to play thirteen extraordinary seasons, a career earning him regular acknowledgment as one of the greatest players in the history of professional football. And when his playing days were over, he approached business and charity endeavors with the same determination and success he had brought to the football field, always putting first his devotion to friends and family. His ultimate battle with illness truly proved him the champion he always had been and prompted a staggering outpouring of love and support from hundreds of thousands of friends and admirers. Written with veteran journalist and author Don Yaeger in the last weeks of Walter Payton's life, Never Die Easy presents Walter's singular voice—warm, plainspoken, funny, self-aware—along with the voices of the friends, family, teammates, and business associates who knew him best at all stages of his life, including his wife, Connie, and their children, Brittney and Jarrett; his teammate and friend Matt Suhey; former Bears head coach Mike Ditka; and many, many others. Walter made Don Yaeger promise that his book would be "inspirational and leave people with some kind of lesson . . . and make sure you spell all the words right." Never Die Easy keeps all those promises.
Blood Meridian
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307762521
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 349
Book Description
25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION • From the bestselling author of The Passenger and the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road: an epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West. Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, Blood Meridian traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving. Look for Cormac McCarthy's latest bestselling novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris.
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307762521
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 349
Book Description
25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION • From the bestselling author of The Passenger and the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road: an epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West. Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, Blood Meridian traces the fortunes of the Kid, a fourteen-year-old Tennesseean who stumbles into the nightmarish world where Indians are being murdered and the market for their scalps is thriving. Look for Cormac McCarthy's latest bestselling novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris.
Forever Texas
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle
ISBN: 0786047755
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 370
Book Description
“Superb from start to finish. An instant classic. “ —New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Cameron Based on real events and the true history of the legendary King Ranch in South Texas, this riveting historical adventure evokes the reality of life on the Texas frontier, as one pioneering family battles to forge a new life and carve out their own piece of the American West… The war is over. But a new battle is on the horizon. Based on true events. It’s 1852. The wounds of the Mexican War are healing. Regis Royle, co-owner of a steamship fleet, has made it out alive, relatively unscarred and with enough profit and foolhardy ambition to envision a new life in south Texas. With the help of his crack-shot kid brother Shepley, his glad-handing riverboat partner Cormac Delany, and his old friend, raw-edged former Texas Ranger Jarvis “Bone” McGraw, Regis is laying claim to the prime jewel in a magnificent rolling prairie: the Santa Calina range teeming with wild mustangs, cattle, and eighteen-thousand acres of lush promise. But all dreams have a price. For Regis, it’s hell to pay—and the fire is coming at him from all directions. On one side of the border, it’s banditos. On the other side, the Apaches, slave traders, and outlaws have Santa Calina in their sights. And none of them are going to walk away from the bloody battle. The brothers Royle and their partners have the most to lose—including their lives. They made a pledge to themselves to build the greatest ranch in America. To see it through to the end, they’ll have to ride hard and learn the bitter necessity of violence and bloodshed.
Publisher: Pinnacle
ISBN: 0786047755
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 370
Book Description
“Superb from start to finish. An instant classic. “ —New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Cameron Based on real events and the true history of the legendary King Ranch in South Texas, this riveting historical adventure evokes the reality of life on the Texas frontier, as one pioneering family battles to forge a new life and carve out their own piece of the American West… The war is over. But a new battle is on the horizon. Based on true events. It’s 1852. The wounds of the Mexican War are healing. Regis Royle, co-owner of a steamship fleet, has made it out alive, relatively unscarred and with enough profit and foolhardy ambition to envision a new life in south Texas. With the help of his crack-shot kid brother Shepley, his glad-handing riverboat partner Cormac Delany, and his old friend, raw-edged former Texas Ranger Jarvis “Bone” McGraw, Regis is laying claim to the prime jewel in a magnificent rolling prairie: the Santa Calina range teeming with wild mustangs, cattle, and eighteen-thousand acres of lush promise. But all dreams have a price. For Regis, it’s hell to pay—and the fire is coming at him from all directions. On one side of the border, it’s banditos. On the other side, the Apaches, slave traders, and outlaws have Santa Calina in their sights. And none of them are going to walk away from the bloody battle. The brothers Royle and their partners have the most to lose—including their lives. They made a pledge to themselves to build the greatest ranch in America. To see it through to the end, they’ll have to ride hard and learn the bitter necessity of violence and bloodshed.
Biscuits and Gravy
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 0786044276
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
Johnstone Justice. Get It While It’s Hot. Dewey “Mac” Mackenzie is no ordinary chuckwagon cook. He’s a marked man on the run who works cattle drives to stay one step ahead of his enemies. If these hired killers catch up to him, he’ll be slinging guns instead of hash—with a side order of revenge that’s best served cold . . . HOT BISCUITS. COLD GRAVES. A hot meal, a hard drink, and maybe a friendly hand of poker is all Mac Mackenzie wants when he drifts into the small town of Harcourt City, Montana. When he defends a saloon girl from the unwanted advances of some local toughs, he earns the wrath of the town’s powerful namesake, Oscar Harcourt. Harcourt rules this place with an iron fist, ugly greed, and an even uglier gang of thugs. Now he has his eyes on a ranch belonging to the saloon girl’s brother—a ranch they won’t give up without a fight. To raise funds, the siblings arrange a cattle drive to Rattlesnake Creek, and they want Mac to join them. But with so many devils ridng on their tails, Mac is ready to turn up the heat—and send them back to hell . . . Live Free. Read Hard.
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 0786044276
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
Johnstone Justice. Get It While It’s Hot. Dewey “Mac” Mackenzie is no ordinary chuckwagon cook. He’s a marked man on the run who works cattle drives to stay one step ahead of his enemies. If these hired killers catch up to him, he’ll be slinging guns instead of hash—with a side order of revenge that’s best served cold . . . HOT BISCUITS. COLD GRAVES. A hot meal, a hard drink, and maybe a friendly hand of poker is all Mac Mackenzie wants when he drifts into the small town of Harcourt City, Montana. When he defends a saloon girl from the unwanted advances of some local toughs, he earns the wrath of the town’s powerful namesake, Oscar Harcourt. Harcourt rules this place with an iron fist, ugly greed, and an even uglier gang of thugs. Now he has his eyes on a ranch belonging to the saloon girl’s brother—a ranch they won’t give up without a fight. To raise funds, the siblings arrange a cattle drive to Rattlesnake Creek, and they want Mac to join them. But with so many devils ridng on their tails, Mac is ready to turn up the heat—and send them back to hell . . . Live Free. Read Hard.
Outlawed
Author: Anna North
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1635575435
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB PICK * INDIE NEXT SELECTION * LIBRARY READS SELECTION * AMAZON EDITORS' CHOICE * WASHINGTON POST BEST OF THE YEAR The "terrifying, wise, tender, and thrilling" (R.O. Kwon) adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West. In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows. She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all. Featuring an irresistibly no-nonsense, courageous, and determined heroine, Outlawed dusts off the myth of the old West and reignites the glimmering promise of the frontier with an entirely new set of feminist stakes. Anna North has crafted a pulse-racing, page-turning saga about the search for hope in the wake of death, and for truth in a climate of small-mindedness and fear.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1635575435
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB PICK * INDIE NEXT SELECTION * LIBRARY READS SELECTION * AMAZON EDITORS' CHOICE * WASHINGTON POST BEST OF THE YEAR The "terrifying, wise, tender, and thrilling" (R.O. Kwon) adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West. In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw. The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada's life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows. She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she's willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all. Featuring an irresistibly no-nonsense, courageous, and determined heroine, Outlawed dusts off the myth of the old West and reignites the glimmering promise of the frontier with an entirely new set of feminist stakes. Anna North has crafted a pulse-racing, page-turning saga about the search for hope in the wake of death, and for truth in a climate of small-mindedness and fear.
Settling His Hash
Author: William W. Johnstone
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 078604893X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Legendary national bestselling Western authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return with a new installment in the rip-roaring, gun-blazing Chuckwagon Trail series. JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE MEN STAKE THEIR CLAIMS. A chuckwagon cook who’s also deadly with a pair of six-shooters, Dewey “Mac” Mackenzie is a man who has no qualms filling men’s bellies with food—or lead. Finally cleared of a crime he didn’t commit, he’s able to enjoy the fruits of his labor on the trail without looking over his shoulder. But even his best served grub can be spoiled by those with evil appetites . . . TOO MANY COOKS After traversing California from one end to the other, and finding nothing much to his liking, Mac Mackenzie is heeding his heart’s call to return to Texas. Lucky for him, a group of cowboys heading for the Lone Star state need someone who knows their way around a chuckwagon. Their previous cook’s temper boiled over during a saloon brawl and ended up in jail. With no love for the cook—or his food—the cowboys just want to head home peaceably, share some quality meals with good company, and give their boss the small fortune they’re carrying from the herd they sold. Otis Bradley knows he’s no gourmet, but that’s no excuse for his fellow cattlemen to leave him rotting behind bars. He still earned his share of the payroll for this time on the trail—and after befriending outlaw Stack Ketchum, Otis has a gang of gunfighters ready to dish out some revenge in exchange for the loot. But Otis and Ketchum’s badmen haven’t reckoned with the likes of Mac, a man who will settle their hash—raw and bloody . . . Live Free. Read Hard.
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
ISBN: 078604893X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 311
Book Description
Legendary national bestselling Western authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return with a new installment in the rip-roaring, gun-blazing Chuckwagon Trail series. JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE MEN STAKE THEIR CLAIMS. A chuckwagon cook who’s also deadly with a pair of six-shooters, Dewey “Mac” Mackenzie is a man who has no qualms filling men’s bellies with food—or lead. Finally cleared of a crime he didn’t commit, he’s able to enjoy the fruits of his labor on the trail without looking over his shoulder. But even his best served grub can be spoiled by those with evil appetites . . . TOO MANY COOKS After traversing California from one end to the other, and finding nothing much to his liking, Mac Mackenzie is heeding his heart’s call to return to Texas. Lucky for him, a group of cowboys heading for the Lone Star state need someone who knows their way around a chuckwagon. Their previous cook’s temper boiled over during a saloon brawl and ended up in jail. With no love for the cook—or his food—the cowboys just want to head home peaceably, share some quality meals with good company, and give their boss the small fortune they’re carrying from the herd they sold. Otis Bradley knows he’s no gourmet, but that’s no excuse for his fellow cattlemen to leave him rotting behind bars. He still earned his share of the payroll for this time on the trail—and after befriending outlaw Stack Ketchum, Otis has a gang of gunfighters ready to dish out some revenge in exchange for the loot. But Otis and Ketchum’s badmen haven’t reckoned with the likes of Mac, a man who will settle their hash—raw and bloody . . . Live Free. Read Hard.