Showing results by author "Dusty Richards" in All Categories

The Byrnes family has fought fiercely for its ranching empire. And with success comes the fate of empires: The Byrnes have taken in far-flung family members, hired hands, and folks looking for another chance at life. The Byrnes clan has taken their fair share of hurt, too, taking on outlaws too deadly and powerful for the law.

In the brutal, unforgiving wastes of the Arizona desert, Chet Byrnes built a cattle ranching empire with his bare hands, steel will, and a fast draw. As the US marshal, he risks his life to bring law to a lawless land. When a new railroad route is planned to pass through Navajo territory, Chet fights to get the Indians a contract to supply the locomotives with coal. But the corrupt politicians in Tucson and D.C. have other ideas. The coal contract means millions, and the ruthless Tucson Ring will do anything to get it - even if it means killing a US marshal.

Charlie Brackeen owns the big ranch that takes up the entire north end of drought-stricken Callie County. When he pushes his B-Bar-M cattle south of their own range, it’s no mistake - it’s a hostile takeover, enforced by Sheriff Alex Woodbridge, the tough, one-eyed former Texas Ranger who’s in Brackeen’s pocket. They want the small ranchers leaderless and isolated so they can be picked off one by one and forced to sell their land. They just didn’t count on Jed Mahan.

Twin brothers Andrew and Jackson Franks have lived and worked under the iron fist of their father, Prior, for as long as they can remember. But when a petty household argument turns violent, and Prior shoots and kills their mother before turning the gun upon himself, the boys are left with nothing but each other and the family's hardscrabble South Texas ranch.

Unemployed ranch hand Jim Dailey only wants some matches when he rides up to a store in Willow Grove, Kansas, on a dusty, fateful summer day. What he gets when he steps inside, though, is anything but. Faced with two bloodthirsty outlaws and no other choice, Dailey pulls his six-shooter... and sets himself on a long and twisted path of triumph and tragedy.

A drunken plan to make some quick money with two friends landed drifter Whit Ralston in the Yuma Territorial Prison - the worst prison in Arizona. Now he's doing hard time in the inferno the inmates call the Hell Hole, counting the days until his release. He's vowed never to do anything so stupid again, but that becomes a hard promise to keep when his crazy cellmate starts talking about a load of stolen gold stashed up in the mountains.

The Byrnes family has fought fiercely for its ranching empire. And with success comes the fate of empires: The Brynes have taken in far-flung family members, hired hands, and folks looking for another chance at life. The Byrnes clan has taken their fair share of hurt, too, taking on outlaws too deadly and powerful for the law. When a stage is robbed of a fortune in gold, the Byrnes boys set off on a wild race through the wilderness. In a harsh, unforgiving land, the Byrnes men face a mystery of gold and death - that could explode like a bomb in their hands.

Building a ranching empire is one thing, keeping it out of the hands of robbers, kidnappers, murderers, embezzlers, and every no good opportunist crawling through the Arizona desert is a daily grind for Chet Byrnes. He's just as likely to rescue a stolen daughter as he is to recover rustled cattle on any given day. But with a family to keep safe and enough real target practice to keep his aim deadly, nothing's going to stop Chet from bringing his ranch into a bold new era.

A landmark feat of innovation is about to change the American West forever. With electric cables stretching from the Colorado River to Gallup, New Mexico, a new telegraph system will connect the settlers of the Arizona Territory to rest of the country - a dream come true for rancher Chet Byrnes and his family. But laying 400 miles of steel wire can be a deadly task. Chet has to face off with hired henchmen who would kill to sabotage the project. And Chet's nephew JD has his hands full with cutthroat rustlers on the Mexican border.

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 comes a rising danger. There’s a sheriff who refuses to do his job. Trigger happy outlaws competing to kill them. And a mysterious rancher who’s hell bent on running a herd across Chet's land - and forcing the Texan into a war...

After four years on the bloody battlefields of Europe during World War II, Army Staff Sergeant Mark Shaw returns home to Arizona with nothing but the hope of living a quiet existence and chasing the sunset on horseback forevermore. The homecoming he receives upon his return, though, is nothing like what he'd hoped for—a wife who couldn't wait for him in an America that has become almost unrecognizable in his absence. Shattered by her betrayal, Mark gives up on love, life, and the possibility of ever finding the peace he longs for. Life is not quite done with Mark, however.

From the windswept plains and dusty streets of Dodge City, to the rocky arroyos of Arizona's Verde Valley, to the early summer green of the Little Bighorn Valley, these small gems give the listener a taste of all that made up the West. Saddle up with the inimitable Dusty Richards as he spins his yarns of lawmen, cowboys, Indians, miners, and the women that loved them. Weep for love lost and love found, and laugh until you cry. Most of all, though, sit back and relax as Dusty Richards, the master storyteller, brings to life the West as it really was.

The Natural puts you in the boots of famed rodeo announcer Brad Turner, racing his horse Golden Boy into the arena and welcoming the crowd to a pro rodeo performance in Jackson, Mississippi. You'll hit the road with Brad as he crisscrosses the country, struggling with life, love, and business on the pro rodeo circuit. You'll meet Zola Johns, the rebellious, barrel-racing beauty with her eye on the prize of winning a national championship, and Shoat Krammer, the young rough-and-tumble rookie that's the real natural coming up the hard way.

In the thrilling new saga from Western Heritage and Spur award-winning author Dusty Richards, 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 Tuscon's idle rich want to take it all away - and Arizona just may be too lawless to stop it.

When Zekial Broome stops a sadistic slave chaser, Grissum McCord, from whipping his captive, he and the girl have no choice but to flee west into the untamed lands of the wild frontier. If they can make it to the Green River country, no one will ever find them. What they don't count on is McCord. With a 500-dollar bounty at stake and revenge in his heart, he'll follow them to hell and back, for as long as it takes. He's murdered before, but the revenge he plans for the buckskin-clad Broome would make a strong man quail.

Born out of the grit, sweat, and drive of a cattle ranching empire, US Marshal Chet Byrnes is turning the savage and lawless Arizona desert into a homeland. To some, he's the hero that the West needs. To others, he's a moving target. Chet is spearheading a stage line from Gallup to the Colorado River. It'll be a boon to Navajo trading posts and lay out the territory for new settlements. Unfortunately, it's not Gerald Hall's idea of progress - killing Chet is.

Long John O'Malley is only 19 years old, but he's no greenhorn. The oldest and boldest of the O'Malley brothers, Long John cut his teeth tangling with Comanche at the tender age of 16. He risked his life to rescue a group of captive women settlers - and forged his own destiny as a hero in the making.

Captain Jack Starr served the Confederate cause with honor for four years. The town of Lost Dog Creek promised an opportunity for the war veteran to rebuild his life-and a woman to share it with. But not everyone is willing to roll out the welcome wagon....

Whip Station, a critical stop on the Butterfield stagecoach line, is dead smack in the middle of no-man's land. The lawless call it an easy target. Joe O'Malley calls it home. If anybody can tame a wild, violent territory, it's the seasoned frontiersman. So can his family, who have with the same pride and honor coursing through their veins. Helping to plant roots is his son Jackson, a former wrangler married to a steadying force of nature. Joe's grandchildren have their own brand of grit. The boy - a firebrand with a knife. The girl - book-smart and wicked-wise.