The Cherokee Strip /‡cDusty Richards

the long version

Norman Thompson doesn't seek out trouble, but it has a way of finding him, anyhow. All he wants is a job as a ranch foreman. He'd tried in Montana, but ended up in a gunfight with a pair of ugly-looking brothers over a horse. Leaving one dead and the other swearing revenge, Norm figures it'd be wise to make himself scarce. He heads south, to Nebraska. Instead of work, though, he finds something he never expected--a partner. Edith is a beautiful young woman with a sordid past of her own. Together, they start a cattle ranch, driving herds up in the summer to the lush grass of the newly-opened Cherokee Strip. With his brawn and her brains, it's a winning combination. The sins of yesteryear, though, are not so easily left behind. Norm's reputation as a gunfighter won't die. While he settles into a new life as a ranch owner and family man, forces are at work to take it all away. Will he and Edith find the happiness they've been searching for? Or will the ghosts of the past burn it all to bitter ashes? --dust jacket.