The Story
It may be cool way up north in Montana where cowhand Clay Braddock is headed, but at the moment he is riding through hot, parched desert country, and he stops in Green Valley for a beer for himself and water for his horse Nick. But the bartender has a chip on his shoulder, and the saloon has nothing but idle gunfighters in it. In a short amount of time he crosses one gunfighter twice, shoots another one in the arm, and discovers that a drought and a murder have the entire valley about to explode in a deadly range war. He would have left town as fast as he could, but two other gunfighters steal Nick, his gear, and his money.
Braddock is stuck. The town’s marshal was murdered by gunfighters, and the deputy quickly left town. The only way Braddock can figure out how to get Nick back is to accept the mayor’s offer to make him the new marshal; no one else would take the job. He’s given a badge cut from the bottom of a tin can, the loan of a horse, and the jail to sleep in. And he tries to find Nick as fast as he can so he can be on his way to Montana before all hell breaks loose.
But things get complicated. He actually retrieves Nick fairly quickly, but beautiful Sally Anderson, the daughter of the town’s doctor, takes his breath away, and she seems to have taken a shine to him. No longer eager to leave quite so fast and taking his job as marshal seriously, he quickly finds himself pulled into the conflict between the two big ranchers in the valley, Judson Davis and Angus McIntyre. And he tries to avert what he sees as the terrible waste of the coming disaster.
That is, if he isn’t killed before he can accomplish that.
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Amazon Review
This is a riveting Old West novel where cowhand, Clay Braddock, starts his hot, desert-country travel to Montana and is sidetracked by his stop in Green Valley. While in a saloon, his horse, gear, and money are stolen, and a saloon brawl finds him in an awkward situation. His biggest quest is to figure out how to get out of Green Valley. His story complicates as he is offered the job of town marshal and falls for Sally, the daughter of the town’s doctor.
This book won me over within the first two pages as Braddock’s character development starts. Braddock immediately shows his true colors as he has heartfelt communication with his horse, Nick. He would say throughout this story that he and Nick were a good team and that where he came from, you wouldn’t break up a good team. That repeated team concept expands later in the book as Braddock develops a relationship with Sally. It was very easy to bond with Braddock.
I enjoyed the author’s wit of incorporating short slogans pertaining to notable figures: Custer’s mustard, Lee’s leeches, Grant’s gravy, and others. One of my favorite lines in this book occurs when someone asks Marshal Braddock how the town brawl damage might be paid. Braddock’s repeated clever response is, “Charge it to the town. Call it marshal’s expenses.”
This entertaining western storyline contains cowhands, gunman, and town’s people. It was well written, full of action, vivid descriptions, wit, loss, and a touch of romance. This is a truly enjoyable novel to read.
This book was originally published in a hardback library edition by Avalon Books. I revised and enhanced the story considerably for e-book publication.
