Lonesome Valley by J. B. Patel

Lonesome Valley is the first short story in this book. The characters include a retired army captain devastated by the loss of his wife and child, he is looking for lonesome. She, has lost everything, together they fight to reclaim their lives. Other stories in the book include a wizened old sheriff and a young couple needing a start in life. A story about a woman that buys a ranch and needs help to save it. A retired sheriff and bounty hunter whose early life in an orphanage changes his life and a woman that is hell-bent on assassinating the one she thinks responsible for killing her brothers. In Desert Wind, the hero finds he doesn't like the loneliness of the desert after all and finds a gal seemingly tied to the desert. In 'Wishbone' the anger is taken out of the hero by children. In the last story of this series, 'The Anthill', the hero searches high and low for a bride but needs to be staked to an anthill in order to find her. In the story, 'Cookie', this parallel's my background at the WCC, the character was taken from a kid that I knew was much like the hero, Cookie.