Fred Grove

Jesse Wilder agrees to guide a wagon train across the New Mexico Territory and deep into Apache country, but when members of the train are found slaughtered, Wilder is certain that another settler is to blame.

"After Victorio's death, the Southwest had simmered down. Without their chief, the Warm Springs Apaches abandoned the murderous campaign against the blancos and the Mexicans who had invaded their tribal lands, and serenity had returned to the arid territory. But bitter memories lingered. Lieutenant Ewing Mackay was glad of the respite. During his seven-year tour of duty in Arizona Territory he had come to love the desert's austere beauty, the stark...

"Cavalry Lieutenant Scott W. Dunham began a new life in the rugged Southwest territory after an Apache rampage left the son of a U.S. Senator dead and his military career in tatters. Then duty called once more, and the seasoned soldier answered. Joining an expedition tracking the ferocious chief, Medicine Shirt, Scott discovered that its leader was the officer behind his court martial. Now he had to choose between his heart's honor and a soldier's...

When Sam Coulter comes home to Red Mound, Oklahoma, everyone thinks he's there to run in the famous horse races. However, Sam is in town on a mission to find out who's been killing the Osage Indians. The culprit may be Sam's longtime rival Hank Vail, the arrogant cowboy who married Fay Marcum, Sam's childhood sweetheart. While solving this case, Sam must avoid the constant threat of the vengeful, unknown killers, while also facing his own disappointment...

"Dude McQuinn is at it one more time. He's got himself one hell of a horse. A real flyer named Judge Blair. Better than that, he's got the smoothest snake-oil salesman in the country, Billy Lockhart, as his trainer; and he's got his old Comanche pal, Coyote Walking, as his jockey. Best of all, he's got a sucker. A feller willing to lay two to one that Judge Blair will finish second in a two-horse race. Race day comes, Judge Blair wins by daylight,...

Walt Durand is on his way to Red Cloud to meet his best friend, Larry Cramer, when his horse is shot out from under him. Because there is no ground cover, he has no alternative but to hide behind the body of his dead horse. He determines there are three, maybe four, shooters and they appear to be in no hurry. His only option is to keep himself a diminished target and hope for nightfall. Any movement he makes brings on a new round of gunfire. As the...

Twelve short stories that highlight Grove's lifelong love of horses, his Indian heritage, and his painstaking attention to historical detail of the Old West. Fred Grove's Indian heritage and lifelong love of horses bring authenticity to this collection, which includes "The Mystery Dogs," about a Navajo slave boy's encounter with his Spanish masters' horses. In "The Deadly Friends," a lieutenant new to the frontier runs into big trouble while escorting...