Showing results by author "Stephen Bly" in All Categories

The second son of Brazos Fortune, Samuel, is somewhat the lost sheep of the Fortune family. After he is run out of Texas, he ends up hiding out with his father and brother. Although he struggles to escape the consequences of his previous lifestyle, he refuses to talk about the past. Brazos has to deal with sending Samuel back to Texas to make amends or allowing him to have a new start in Dakota.

When locals threaten the lives and property of his family. Brazos abandons his Texas homestead for a new ranch in the West he has seen in a dream. It's a war against corrupt lawmen, wild outlaws, and bitter winter weather as Brazos wrestles with his newfound hunger for gold and the burning desire to be reunited with his family. He must test himself against the untamed frontier, confront the greedy miners who try his Christian convictions, and find the new home God showed him Beneath a Dakota Cross.

Creede of Old Montana follows the exploits and heartbreaks of Avery John Creede, an ex-cavalry soldier, as he tramps along the upper Missouri River in search of four army pals who didn't show up for a scheduled reunion. Throughout Creede's confrontations and adventures, three things remain constant: his courage, his rock-solid faith, and his wounded heart. He knows the first two will never change. And at 42, he's not sure the third ever will either.

Brazos Fortune has left a towering legacy. His son Todd now struggles to prove himself and find his own identity in the Shadow of Legends.Todd Fortune must follow his father as he takes over the family business with his wife, a fast-paced city girl who's not willing to settle into a small town lifestyle. A tale of daily hardships and hard-earned victories, Todd struggles to prove himself a committed husband and a courageous frontiersman in the wake of his father's legacy.

Dacee June Fortune's mother died when she was eight, and for the next 23 years she stood at her father's side. Even after she married, Daddy Brazos was her strength, her protection, and her idol. Now, daddy is dying.

Stuart Brannon heads south of the border to buy cattle for his ranch, but finds the cattle rustled and the owner murdered. Stuart discovers a former Confederate Officer has stolen the herd to finance his own private army with the fantastic dream of "liberating" Baja, California for the Confederacy. Army or no army, Stuart Brannon isn't about to let anyone walk away with his cattle.

Tap Andrews has left his past behind. He's no longer a Wyoming lawman backing down any mobs, nor a Brand Inspector dodging rustler's bullets. He has loaded up the wagon and is moving the very pregnant Pepper and their 11-year-old ward to a seemingly perfect new family life in Montana.

Robert is not like his father, the legendary Brazos Fortune. Not a businessman like his brother Todd. Not a notorious retired gunslinger like his brother Sam. Nor the social darlings of the Black Hills like little sister, Dacee June. He's a career soldier who no longer has a career. With the discipline of a West Point graduate, and the rock solid faith his long-departed mother, Robert moves his family to Deadwood to join the rest of the clan.

Married life for Tap and Pepper isn't turning out quite the way they planned. The ranch is gone and they've moved to Cheyenne where Tap finds himself a job as acting marshal in a town that has little regard for the law. And it's not a pretty sight!

The story of the Fortune family sees a new beginning with the grandchildren of Brazos Fortune, especially his grandson Frank, and their place of prominence and disgrace in the Black Hills of 1875-1905. As the weight of all the Fortune family tradition, history, and faith bears down upon them, some of them bear the legacy well and some fail miserably; some trust in God faithfully and others will wander down the wilder and wider paths.

Stuart Brannon heads home to his Arizona Ranch, but he finds it occupied by interlopers from the Casa Verde Land Corporation claiming to hold a Spanish land grant on the property. Enraged, Brannon drives them off. Stuart is soon joined by several friends and neighbors in defending his home, including a contingent of soldiers tracking down a band of Apaches, and Miss Harriet Reed who makes her attraction to the ex-lawman obvious. They are soon under siege by Casa Verde's 50 hired gunmen and a cannon sent to take back the property.

Pepper Paige is tired of her life as a dance-hall girl, and tired of fearing Jordan Beckett, a violent patron who has turned his attentions on her. When a stagecoach wrecks and an injured woman dies in her room, Pepper assumes her identity and leaves town.

All Tap and Pepper Andrews want to do is settle down, buy a small ranch, get a few head of cattle, and start raising a family. But nothing is ever that easy for the ex-convict and his former dance-hall girl trying to break from the past. It seems no matter where they go or what they do, the past is already there ahead of them.

Onepenny is exactly the kind of horse Nathan has dreamed of owning - smart, loyal and easy to handle. What's more, this unusual horse with the spotted rump can do tricks. So, Nathan works out a trade with Onepenny's owner, Temple Cholach, and to his delight, the spotted horse becomes his. Before he can even show his parents his new horse, Nathan encounters a posse looking for a stagecoach robber who had ridden a spotted horse. It seems that Temple Cholach isn't the drifter he claimed to be.

In only two weeks, Tap Andrews will tip his hat and say "so long" to bachelorhood. Normally, that would be enough time to take care of business and finalize wedding plans. But considering his knack for finding trouble, it may take him longer. For instance, there's a gang of rustlers invading his ranch, a missed bank payment he didn't know about, a sniper taking potshots at him, and problems at the local dance hall. In fact, there's so much trouble that it's likely he'll miss his own wedding!

It's summer in Galena, Nevada, and everyone is leaving town for good! After the harshest winter on record and the shutdown of the Shiloh Gold mine, Nathan and his friends watch as businesses board up and houses empty. Rumor has it that even their school may close. Who will be the next to move away?

Retta Barre has never met a hero, except for the ones she reads about in her books. She does know they're strong and courageous. And handsome and pretty. Everything she's not. Her world doesn't expect much from her anyway. She's just a plain-looking 12-year-old who's more stubborn than brave. She owes what little strength she has to her dull daily chores on the Oregon trail. And yet, when her friends are missing, Retta doesn't think twice. She heads out to help them. She has no idea the danger that's about to come her way.

Stuart Brannon's friend, Peter Mulroney, has been wrongfully jailed by Dixon Rutherford, the corrupt Mayor of Paradise Meadow - Rutherford killed Mulroney's wife for standing up to him, and continues tyrannizing the entire town. Brannon comes to break his friend out, but finds himself drawn into the town's struggle by schoolteacher Rose Creek.

In 1905, at 58 years old, legendary lawman Stuart Brannon - now a rancher and widower - had no intention of leaving his beloved Arizona Territory to attend the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon, nor to participate in the celebrity golf tournament for the Willamette Orphan Farm. Even an emotional appeal from a longtime friend didn't persuade him. His life no longer consisted of bloodthirsty men to track down...people trying to kill him...lawless gangs preying on the innocent.

Tap Andrews is tired of fighting every gun-toting bounty hunter crossing his path. He's innocent, and he sets out to Denver to prove it. Pepper Paige would go with him, but she just can't return to Denver and face her past. That is, until Carter Dillard reappears in her life. Pepper must strike a deal that once again forces her to face a past she'd much rather forget.