Cartridge Creek

Cartridge Creek was a typical New Mexico cattle town, not unlike the ones Will Leatherman had known in his days as a trail hand. But now Will was a partner in San Antonio Development, and he had come to find out why the Southern Pacific was so eager to sell the town, and whether he and his partner could turn it into a profitable investment.
It didn’t take long to discover why the railroad wanted out; the town had become a haven for gunmen, and the two heavily-armed factions were on the verge of all-out warfare. The decent folk were ready to leave town, the ranchers had taken to driving their stock to another railhead, and the money-making possibilities seemed nil.
But Will Leatherman had a strange feeling about Cartridge Creek, that somehow this town had more to offer than the usual business deal. Almost before he realized it, Leatherman found himself on the brink of finding something he’d almost forgotten he wanted, a place to really call home—or losing it forever. Then he knew he had to fight for Cartridge Creek.
By best-selling author John Benteen writing as Richard Meade.