Baseball came west with the pioneers and settlers. Every town and a lot of ranches had a team. The game has a part in this story and one man's fascination with the triple play has a larger part. Young Tucker beavers plays ball and grows up on the Mountain Beavers Ranch with his best friends Rance Brown and Lucinda Nealy. When he is fifteen his father gives him a herd of wild cows and his career as a rancher begins. He gathers his cattle with the help of a mysterious cow hand and two brush popping dogs and helps avert an Apache outbreak by driving cattle to the Mescalero Reservation in spite of a run-in with Lincoln County ruffians. Tragedy strikes the Mountain Beavers Ranch with a raid and ambush by cattle thieves. While Tucker is away following the stolen cattle, he is accused of a murder in the town of Pinetop. With the help of four new friends, he locates his cattle on a ranch in Mexico but he is wounded in the ensuing battle. A devastating earthquake strikes the region and delays Tucker's return to his home range.
When a young cowboy's idyllic life is shattered by the death of his father at the hands of rustlers, he shoulders a man's duties and must put thoughts of revenge aside while the work of the ranch goes on. Finally, leaving his love and family behind, Tucker Beavers hits the trail to bring his fathers' killers to justice and try and recover all the cattle that were stolen. The twists and turns of his story, including earthquakes, storms and shootouts, combine to bring the reader to the journey's end, savoring every word. Shocking. Poignant. Unexpected. The conclusion will leave you in wonder. Oh . . . and baseball. A must read from the Spur Award winning author, James D. Crownover. ―
Darrel Sparkman,
Author of
Spirit Trail
, Saddlebag Dispatches Magazine