Rancher Justin Granger hasn't seen his high school sweetheart since she rode out of town with his heart. Now, "too good for this small town" Rori Cornell stands on his doorstep, seeking a job as his cook and housekeeper. He can't turn her away, not with the sadness and worry in her cornflower-blue eyes. He'll just have to avoid her between meals. But when Justin discovers that Rori's big dream has always been him, he finds his heart softening. And an old promise yearning to be kept.
In the thrilling saga from the Western Heritage and Spur Award–winning author, Chet Byrnes stands his ground—with his courage, guns, and blood. For Chet Byrnes, building a ranching empire means adding new land, hiring good men, finding water, and trying new breeds of cattle. But outlaws and Tucson’s idle rich want to take it all away—and Arizona just may be too lawless to stop it. So while the Byrnes family expands its reach, Chet must do his job hunting down outlaws on either side of the border. Chet’s cowboys prove to be tireless fighters, going up against former Mexican military men, a powerful family with bad in their blood. Then Chet takes on the most dangerous risk of all: a bloody, all-out shooting war—with everything to lose, and one last enemy to kill . . . “Dusty takes readers into the real west at full gallop.” —New York Times-bestselling author Jodi Thomas “Dusty Richards writes . . . with the flavor of the real West.” —Elmer Kelton
"Dusty Richards writes. . .with the flavor of the real West." --Elmer Kelton "Dusty Richards is the embodiment of the old west. He brings it to life so realistically, you can almost feel the bullets whizzing past your face." --Storyteller Magazine Never Fight A Man. . . 600 miles from a railroad head in Texas, Chet Byrnes and a handful of cowboys set out to build a new life on the Arizona frontier. Behind the Byrnes family is a tale of bloodshed and blood feuds. What lies ahead is any kind of future they can scrape together out of a merciless landscape--as long as they're willing to make it on their own. . . .Who Has Fought His Way From Texas. From a woman who lays claim to Chet's heart to a land ripe for grazing, the Arizona territory begins to open its arms to the dauntless determination of the Byrnes family. But with every success there rises up a gathering danger. A sheriff who won't do his job. Trigger happy outlaws competing to kill. And a mysterious rancher hell bent on running a herd across Chet's land--and forcing the Texan into a war. . .
"A can't-put-it-down modern Western." —Kirk Siegler, NPR Longlisted for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing The Last Cowboys is Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter John Branch’s epic tale of one American family struggling to hold on to the fading vestiges of the Old West. For generations, the Wrights of southern Utah have raised cattle and world-champion saddle-bronc riders—many call them the most successful rodeo family in history. Now they find themselves fighting to save their land and livelihood as the West is transformed by urbanization, battered by drought, and rearranged by public-land disputes. Could rodeo, of all things, be the answer? Written with great lyricism and filled with vivid scenes of heartache and broken bones, The Last Cowboys is a powerful testament to the grit and integrity that fuel the American Dream.
"Dusty takes readers into the real west at full gallop." --New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas Western Heritage and Spur award-winning author Dusty Richards tells the thrilling saga of Chet Byrnes, a man who brought the spirit of Texas into Arizona Territory--and the guns to back it up... Have Gun, Will Battle Chet Byrnes has built a ranching empire from the ground up. And he's defended it with his sweat, blood and a ragtag band of ranch-hand fighters. Now a beautiful young Spanish widow comes into Chet's life, just as he starts off in search of a lost cattle drive. The search leads into the eye of a sprawling, violent storm. Chet, and his men--and his seductive new woman--end up on a wild ride through Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, where authorities want to confiscate the beeves for trespassing. With Indians, outlaws and an oppressive government crossing their path, Chet is on a cowboy's honeymoon: fighting and shooting all the way back home. "Dusty Richards writes...with the flavor of the real West." --Elmer Kelton
A collection of more than one hundred photographs depicting the rugged, beautiful landscape of northern Nevada and its fabled ranch culture is accompanied by an essay discussing the rhythms of the land and life on the Dufurrena family ranch.
The National Ranching Heritage Center is proud to partner with Hank the Cowdog once again for this exciting new addition to the Ranch Life Learning Series: Ranch Weather. In these pages, you will learn about the tremendous impact different kinds of weather have on every aspect of ranching. Through fall, winter, spring and summer, Hank will introduce you to the different kinds of work the cowboys do to help a herd survive and thrive throughout the year. It seems that, if a cowboy isn't helping the cattle survive a blizzard, he's worried about drought or, worse, wildfires! Or, if there happens to be enough rain, he has to reckon with the dangers of flooding or hail storms. There are no easy seasons, but if anyone is up to the job, it's the ranchersƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"and ranch dogsƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚€ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚ƒƒ‚‚‚ƒƒ‚‚ƒ‚‚"of America!
With blood and tears, Chet Byrnes built a life in Texas, only to have it shattered by an ill-fated cattle drive and two deadly family feuds. Spurned by the woman he loves, Chet sets off for new territory. The journey won't come cheap. Original.
Ranch families in the twenty-first century face many challenges, from competition with government-subsidized agribusiness corporations to tax laws that encourage development over agriculture and prevent the smooth transfer of land from one generation to the next. As a stabilizing force in the American West, ranch families play a critical role in our country, perhaps more so today than ever before, yet their stories have rarely been told. They contribute to our nation with the food they raise, the environments they protect, and the resources they manage, and they preserve our western heritage while holding the West open for the rest of us. In The Family Ranch, award-winning author Linda Hussa offers readers a personal, inside view into the lives of six diverse ranching families and the land that shapes their days and nights. Photographer Madeleine Graham Blake provides engaging and often moving images that portray each family at work and at play. With chapters on the critical issues that face each of them—from grazing rights and water use, to children's education and the emerging rural marketplace—these family profiles are set in a larger context. This is family ranching as it is now, a tracing of how it always was, but made far more complex in modern times. By combining their traditions with the tools of modern technology, these people strengthen the ideal of family and give the business of ranching a vibrant and viable future.The Family Ranch is rich in remarkable stories of what happens when parents, children, work, and nature come together for a lifetime of commitment. It speaks to urban and rural people in important ways, illuminating the realities of the western ranch and the people who make their living, and their lives, on it. Essential reading for people who love the West and care about its future. The Family Ranch inspires thoughts about tradition, values, and responsibility that are applicable to all communities.