C. Wayne Winkle Books in Order

Retired marshal Micah Albright is drawn away from his ranch while Nathan Priest’s men kidnap his granddaughter and her friend. He pursues them despite a secret that limits his abilities, facing a rescue complicated by betrayal.

Sheila Spencer pursues a kidnapper who supplies victims for exclusive parties where guests pay to attend. Her determination to stop the trafficking operation collides with her own unresolved struggles and the risk of becoming the criminal’s next captive.

Lucas Poteet meets a distant cousin searching for her brother, who traveled west to seek gold. Helping her draws Lucas into fresh uncertainty, where the missing man’s pursuit of wealth may bring more danger than either expects.

Lucas Poteet faces hostile ranch hands and discovers a woman and child living on his land. A relative challenges his claim to the ranch as an escaped prisoner approaches, bringing separate threats together in betrayal and gunfire.

After surviving a duel over a card game, Lucas Poteet agrees to help Eva Massengale find her sister in New Mexico. Gold draws competing hunters, while the dead man’s brothers pursue Lucas for revenge.

Nathan Gage returns to southern Arizona to find and rescue a general’s kidnapped daughter. His search exposes him to danger from both Apaches and the abductor, testing whether he can reach the missing woman and bring her back alive.

Angelina Toussaint is traveling to marry Lucas Poteet when an outlaw kidnaps her. Lucas rides to rescue her with gunman Nathan Gage, facing frontier dangers and an unexpected complication along the trail.

Retired deputy marshal Jake Ritter is wasting away on Galveston Island when a friend proposes helping a man in trouble. The opportunity draws Jake toward Dakota Territory and an old enemy who could make the mission his last.

A gunfighter who has lost his memory struggles to discover who he was. As fragments of his history emerge, the search becomes a confrontation with troubling secrets and a past he may wish had stayed forgotten.

Hired to locate a missing woman, Nathan Gage discovers she may have reasons to remain hidden. Determined to complete his assignment, he follows a search that becomes increasingly dangerous as the circumstances behind her disappearance complicate the job.

After a run of unhappy encounters with women, Lucas Poteet finds hope when Angelina Toussaint takes an interest in him. Their developing relationship raises the prospect of happiness, but another difficult pursuit may lie ahead.

After suffering a beating, the theft of his horse, and the killing of his dog, Frank seeks redress from a wealthy father protecting his son. When peaceful demands fail, he decides to enforce accountability himself.

Returning from the Civil War, Ten St. John finds his mother dead and his father gone west. He follows to deliver the news, discovering puzzling stories about his father and a traveling companion that challenge his understanding of the man.

Ten St. John follows reports of his missing father into New Mexico and Arizona. Rescuing an Apache woman from scalp hunters brings a traveling companion, while injuries, betrayal and uncertain clues complicate his continuing pursuit of his father and Noble Blake.

Ten St. John and Lolotea head toward Salt Lake City following news of his father. A deputy’s job in Kanab leads to a false accusation and Lolotea’s abduction, sending Ten into a dangerous search for his wife.

Ten St. John and Lolotea travel to Denver hoping to find his father. Bounty hunters closing in on Noble Blake threaten the reunion, and Lolotea’s kidnapping forces Ten to balance his family search with an urgent rescue.

Ten St. John, Lolotea and his father Wes settle on Wyoming land suited to cattle and horses. Building a ranch brings more than hard work as mounting obstacles, betrayal and deadly conflict threaten the new life they hope to establish.

Nathan Gage accepts a job protecting Cassie Ryder on her journey from New Orleans toward Montana. What seems a simple assignment becomes a rescue when another traveler’s interest in Cassie reveals a scheme involving her stepfather’s money.

Detective Jake Wylie investigates a killer targeting sex workers while adjusting to a new partner he initially underestimates. As respect and attraction develop between Jake and Sheila Spencer, their search leads toward an unexpected suspect.

Kidnapped after confronting his former mother-in-law, Wiley Judd is transported west to become prey in a wealthy man’s organized hunt. His grandson Hunter searches for him, facing dangers that threaten to delay a rescue.

Enslaved eight-year-old Gabriel Ott travels west with his owner’s wagon train in the 1850s. Captured during an attack, he grows into tribal life, but betrayal and another capture force him to negotiate new dangers and identities.

After reaching Taos, Logan Caine faces rejection from grieving Katy while establishing a trading post with Joshua. A romantic rival and an enemy from his past add personal danger to the difficulties of building a new livelihood.

Gideon, Tallie, and Joshua pursue a murderer into New Mexico, only to encounter a wealthy father determined to protect his son. Bribery and attacks test their partnership, while conflict between the brothers threatens to split them apart.

Back in Denver with Maddie, Wiley Judd joins a posse pursuing a familiar bank robber. An assassin, a stranger’s inquiries and threats from Maddie’s former husband complicate his return, while an unexpected betrayal approaches.

Wiley Judd’s desire to leave Denver draws him into another deadly confrontation when an enemy kidnaps Maddie. Held in a remote canyon cave threatened by flash floods, she depends on Judd reaching her in time.

Warned of approaching raiders, Laura Taylor takes her family west from Missouri while her husband is away fighting. Returning from war, Rye follows their difficult trail toward Santa Fe, where reunion offers no guarantee of safety or peace.

Gideon, Tallie, and Joshua track a married pair wanted for robbery and murder into Utah. Revenge-seeking brothers follow them, while a ruthless deputy marshal also pursues the fugitives, bringing several dangerous hunts onto the same trail.

A trip to St. Louis draws Frank into a plot to assassinate a British royal heir and provoke international conflict. Working undercover near the princess, he must identify the conspirators and protect her without revealing his purpose.

These Western short stories follow people relying on courage, cunning, and self-sufficiency to survive frontier life. Unexpected revelations, supernatural encounters, and a marshal’s concealed past explore the different forms that bravery and deception can take.

Gideon’s group hunts a killer stealing gold shipments in Arizona, but bounty hunters begin pursuing Joshua. Capturing their quarry requires identifying his secret source of information while keeping their own party out of danger.

Orphaned at fifteen, Daniel Andrew Jericho heads west with a mule and his father’s rifle. Travel with traders, frontier conflict and Civil War service shape his life before personal loss draws him into a pursuit of the men responsible.

Returning from Spain, Wiley Judd learns that his grandson has run away and sets out to find him. A train robbery and encounters with vulnerable strangers complicate a journey threatened by enemies and unexpected opposition.

Searching for a dying man’s son, Nathan Gage reaches Eagle Bluff before winter closes its mountain roads. A gang plans to steal the town’s gold, and one of its members carries an old grudge that makes Gage a target.

Seeking solitude in the Laramie Mountains, Wiley Judd becomes entangled in a range war between prosperous ranchers. With neither land nor water apparently scarce, he must uncover the conflict’s real cause while staying alive.

A journey to see the Pacific becomes a hunt for stolen Union Army gold when Gideon accepts a stranger’s offer. With Tallie injured and Joshua staying behind, he must confront rival seekers and question whom he can trust.

Kidnapped in West Texas by a man who sells women across the Mexican border, Tess McCaslin fights to survive and escape. As Rafe Brannon follows her captor’s trail, Tess refuses to submit quietly to the fate planned for her.

Civil War survivors Gideon Parnell and his half-brother Joshua return to a burned home and broken expectations. Heading west to gather cattle for a drive to Kansas, an unexpected encounter sends them toward bounty hunting instead.

Frank Bannon travels to Colorado to buy cattle for his ranch but becomes the reluctant marshal of Alder Gulch. His new responsibility pits him against an outlaw determined to steal a payroll shipment from the town bank.

Blamed for a Missouri drought, Lucas Morgan and his family head west seeking a peaceful home. Rejection follows them, and when his aunt falls into dangerous hands, Lucas must decide how far to go to bring her back.

Abandoned at the altar, Charley Kelley starts again as a reporter in Montana Territory. There she meets rancher Morgan Truett, whose troubled past returns with the man who framed him, threatening both his property and their growing connection.

Gus Yancey leaves a Wyoming ranch job to help his granddaughter fight rustlers near Santa Fe. An obsolete bounty draws a hunter onto his trail, while hostile men and an unexpected betrayal complicate his efforts to protect her.

After years working at a trading post, Logan, Katy, and Joshua seek a home of their own in Elk Valley. Their hopes for a settled future face unexpected difficulties and betrayals that test whether they can remain.

Clint Earley and Solomon Hughes pursue a killer into a lawless Nevada settlement after a marshal is attacked. Clint risks recognition by old acquaintances, while the hunt threatens to bring danger back to his own family.

Clint Earley and Solomon Hughes ride toward the home Clint hopes to share with Nina. One enemy remains at large, and Clint’s attempt to abandon the chase becomes dangerous when that man reaches Nina first.

Clint, Nina, and Solomon search for Solomon’s runaway nephew, who may have joined an outlaw gang. Hostility within the gang and ruthless bounty hunters closing in make finding the boy before he becomes a criminal increasingly urgent.

Unable to locate the last two men he seeks, Clint Earley turns toward California and Nina Ashmore. Unknown to him, one fugitive has been ordered to kill him, while the other follows to ensure the job is done.

Sheriff Clint Earley has concealed his former life as an outlaw, even from his wife. When his ranch is attacked and she is killed, he pursues former associates whose return threatens to destroy everything he rebuilt.

Clint Earley follows a former gang member to Reno, hoping to recover stolen horses and avenge his wife. Meeting Nina Ashmore brings unexpected attraction and guilt, while violence along the trail threatens to end his pursuit.

Clint Earley travels to Idaho seeking another man involved in his wife’s murder. Joining a young traveler with his own motives, he faces raids, criminals disguising their attacks, and unexpected dangers on the trail to Eagle Rock.

Clint Earley’s new married life is interrupted when Solomon Hughes reports that his niece has been kidnapped. Suspecting an old enemy, the two men pursue her into Idaho Territory, where the rescue brings a dangerous confrontation.

Wiley Judd receives news that a great-grandson he never knew existed has been kidnapped. Given seven days to save the child, he must track the captors and discover who is using the boy against him.

In 1878 West Texas, a Comanche chief kidnaps rancher Micah Stewart’s nine-year-old son to avenge his own child’s death. As Micah races to recover Evan, the crisis strains his marriage to Molly and threatens the family they struggled to build.

Clint Earley heads to New Mexico in pursuit of another member of the gang that killed his wife. An attack on the train forces him into a separate conflict before he can confront his intended quarry.

Anne Thompson flees relatives who have swindled investors and want her blamed for their crimes. In Smithville, Wyoming, Clay Macklin and his partner Emilio become involved in her attempt to expose the scheme and clear her name.

Nina returns alone to Kansas City to resolve unfinished business and asks Clint to stay behind. Fearing she is in trouble, he follows with Solomon Hughes, uncovering secrets from her past in an unfamiliar and dangerous city.

John Tailer Bishop learns that a kidnapped girl is the daughter he never knew he had. Leaving his Missouri farm with the man who raised her, he follows a dangerous trail shaped by someone intent on making him suffer.

John Bishop and Angelina become involved in a kidnapping linked to a conspiracy against a presidential contender. When the rescue leaves Bishop badly wounded, Angelina must guide their vulnerable party through hostile territory toward Fort Bowie.

Searching for a missing couple, John Bishop and his young companion reach Antelope Spring, where a land buyer anticipates the railroad’s arrival. Hired gunmen stand between Bishop and the truth about the couple’s disappearance.

Recovering from a serious wound, John Bishop learns that Angelina’s cousin Ramon is being hunted in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Refusing a rancher’s demand to capture him, Bishop and Cruz attempt to reach Ramon before hired killers do.

While attending a family wedding in New Mexico, John Bishop is hired to find a rancher’s missing stepdaughter. Evidence of other young women’s kidnappings casts doubt on the claim that she ran away and complicates the search.

John Bishop answers a wartime friend’s request for help in Tin Cup, where miners are dying and one man is buying their claims. Approaching winter, food shortages, and the arrival of a former love complicate his investigation.

John Bishop’s honeymoon is interrupted by a woman seeking her husband, overdue from a search for lost gold. What appears to be a straightforward missing-person inquiry grows dangerous as dishonest companions and rival treasure seekers emerge.

A family wedding turns into a rescue mission when the bride disappears. John Bishop and Angelina become entangled with a child believed to know where stolen loot is hidden, drawing multiple pursuers onto their trail.

After losing his ranch job, former soldier Cap Nolan joins an English hunting expedition in Nevada. An old enemy and a stolen mining payroll turn the journey dangerous in a fictional explanation for a rifle later found abandoned in the wilderness.

During the Civil War, Captain Jacob McKenna goes undercover at Fort Laramie to stop someone provoking conflict with the Sioux. His contact dies before he arrives, leaving him isolated among officers who may include the culprit.

National Park Service investigator Nate Garrison tackles several murders in Idaho’s Bitterroots National Park. While pursuing the crimes, he discovers a hired killer is stalking him for a former adversary, turning his isolated wilderness work into a fight for survival.

Marshal Dust Calder arrives in Prospect Flats and confronts gang members terrorizing a rancher. When the outlaws retaliate with murder and arson, he commits himself to restoring law in a town that has almost abandoned hope.

Mathurin rescues Rufus from an attack near Frijole Canyon, only to be shot and robbed by the man he saved. Surviving his wounds, he postpones plans for a Utah ranch and pursues his betrayer toward Mesa Verde.

An uneasy peace at the Trask homestead ends when a stranger comes seeking repayment for an old injury. Warned by a wounded former enemy, Obie, Maeve and Finn prepare to defend their home against a patient pursuer.

Investigating livestock deaths blamed on wild horses, Dust Calder suspects deliberate sabotage. With help from an observant local woman and his difficult mustang Jane, he uncovers a scheme involving land routes and threats against the town.

Bramwell Quade abandons a quiet ranch life when an estranged family faces a cattle baron’s hired killers. Riding south with a young drifter, he also attracts a bounty hunter pursuing an old warrant and must confront his violent past.

A perfectly executed payroll robbery leads Dust Calder to suspect inside information. As more coaches are attacked, he investigates schedules and the people controlling them, uncovering a criminal network whose power extends beyond the gunmen on the road.

Dust Calder escorts a condemned prisoner across two hundred miles of dangerous country. His captive’s unsettling calm and the disciplined riders appearing along the route suggest a carefully planned threat that turns routine transport into a struggle to survive.

A burned homestead signals the return of an enemy Dust Calder once allowed to live. Wounded and increasingly isolated, the marshal faces a campaign meant to destroy public trust in him as well as threaten his life.

Retired bounty hunter Frank Branton leaves his ranch to pursue an outlaw who calls himself Blackthorn. Across the Texas Panhandle, traps and psychological intimidation turn the assignment into a test of whether Frank can escape his violent past.

Nightly gunfire keeps Blackrock’s residents watching the hills while valuable cargo moves unnoticed elsewhere. Dust Calder investigates the pattern, confronting organized intimidation and a growing public distrust that threatens his efforts to expose the scheme.

Dust Calder arrives in Cedar Holt, where a gang has imposed violent levies since killing the town marshal. Aided by residents quietly preparing to resist, he confronts an extortion operation backed by more powerful interests.

A stolen horse leads Dust Calder to Rimrock Hollow, where a self-appointed judge uses sham justice to seize homesteads. With a witness in danger and a territorial judge approaching, Dust investigates the land deals behind the town’s disappearances.

Dust Calder enters Razor Creek to collect a bookkeeper whose records could expose a criminal operation. Trapped in a mining town protected by hired killers and corrupt lawmen, he must keep his witness alive long enough to reveal the truth.

A widow’s appeal brings Dust Calder to a timber camp after her husband’s suspicious death. Investigating company debt, concealed records and missing workers, he confronts a system that keeps laborers trapped and sends killers after anyone who questions it.

Dust Calder finds Redfield’s orderly appearance conceals intimidation, corrupt deals and hired guns. His questions threaten the people controlling the town, drawing increasingly violent resistance as he tries to protect its residents and expose the interests behind the threats.

Fleeing Denver after a gunfight, Hunter Jones reaches Rattlesnake Hollow, where the Iron Riders extort isolated families. His connection with Lila Whitaker and her father draws him into a campaign to break the gang’s control of the valley.

After a puma kills his partner, longhunter Obie Trask tracks the animal to a remote homestead. Finding a widow and her son threatened by the same predator, he stays to protect them through storms, injury and a dangerous hunt.

Searching for a missing freighter, Dust Calder follows a trail into Bone Creek, where travelers carrying money and cargo repeatedly disappear. A sheriff’s easy explanations and the town’s new wealth suggest an organized crime hidden behind practiced silence.

Delia Burrell gathers evidence against a powerful Texas syndicate, only to find herself hunted as a hurricane approaches Galveston. Summoned by a desperate telegram, Elias Burrell and his companions must overcome corrupt officials and dangerous crossings to reach her.

A freight wreck draws Dust Calder into a railroad scheme to obtain silver-bearing land. Facing a corrupt sheriff and intimidation of families who refuse to sell, he follows suspicious survey lines toward the men profiting from the proposed route.

In Mercy Hill, Dust Calder discovers that the town’s apparent peace depends on extortion and disappearances. A former preacher controls its businesses through fear, forcing Dust to uncover his operation and encourage residents to challenge the silence protecting him.

Human remains uncovered on the Callahan property reopen a gold courier’s disappearance. As a banker tries to suppress the discovery and violence reaches the homestead, Obie Trask protects his family and a son determined to learn his father’s fate.

Buildings in Barrow’s Notch collapse after their owners refuse a mining company’s offers. Dust Calder investigates sabotaged tunnels and falsified surveys, racing to expose the men undermining the town before another engineered disaster destroys the remaining holdouts.

A bounty brings Dust Calder to Coppervein, where a mining company pressures families to abandon valuable land. Suspicious deaths, poisoned water and destroyed property persuade him to stay and help residents expose a campaign disguised as accidents.

U.S. Marshal Thomas Blackwall arrives in Purgatory Creek carrying federal warrants and finds a town controlled by cattle baron Eddie Alvarez. Enforcing the law draws him into violence and a desperate chase across the badlands.

Obie Trask takes Finn north to visit a dying man who once saved his life. Their journey attracts watchers and revives a wartime decision, while a bereaved brother seeks an accounting that could change the boy’s view of Obie.

A brutal brand revives Dust Calder’s memories of a massacre ordered fourteen years earlier. Following its reappearance across the border country, he confronts Malachai Cree and a network of disappearances protected by a compliant sheriff and frightened townspeople.

A deputy’s execution leads Dust Calder to witnesses of a cattle baron’s deadly land grab. With a professional killer pursuing the survivors and no backup available, Dust stays in Cutter’s Ford to protect them and uncover the truth.

Obie Trask has begun building a life with Maeve and Finn when a trader’s reckless talk attracts strangers to their homestead. Watching riders and suspicious tracks force the family to prepare for an attack rooted in old grudges.

Spring work at the Trask homestead is interrupted by strangers asking about Merrow. With riders watching the cabin and an old conflict returning, Obie prepares to confront the men threatening the family and land he has spent years defending.

Called to testify in Cold Springs, Dust Calder notices strangers preparing something the town’s confident officials refuse to recognize. As its busiest day approaches, he pieces together a coordinated threat against a community more concerned with appearances than danger.