Ranch Legacy

It's the early 1970s in Northern Wyoming ranch country ... not exactly an accommodating atmosphere for a gay man.

But that's exactly the situation third-generation rancher Jim Gustafsson faces as he fears the end of his ranch's legacy: trying not only to come to terms with the revelation that his only son is gay, but also consider Howard's requirement to stay and work on the Arrowhead Ranch is that his partner, Dave, moves in with them.

Gustafsson and his neighbors have always expected cowboys to be a manly men who love to perform the hard, physical labor of herding, feeding, watering, doctoring, branding, calving, and castrating cattle. They have also expected them to love only women.

Howard and Dave must prove they are willing and able to do the hard work, but they also face the even harder task of confronting prevailing prejudices of those around them.

Ranch Legacy is the debut novel by Earle Kirkbride, who turned 95 years old around the time of its release. The story follows two families that cope in unpredictable ways with the predictable challenges of LGBTQ+ issues and ranch life in the 1970s in the rugged West.