Six-Gun Serenade by Mason Macrae

He's come home to his ranch after being away for a year.  What he finds is trouble.  There's a new guy in town buying up land and he's trying to take it legally or by force.  Jim's claim is legal and he's not going to give up his ground.  The other guy is not beyond playing dirty and things heat up quickly.

Pioneering Press gave me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It's available now on Amazon.

One thing that really puts Jim in a bind is that the girl he's the guardian of has decided she's in love with him.  He considers himself her big brother and won't consider her otherwise.  She gets mad, then she gets even.  She's going to sell her part of the property.

With fighting for his ranch and his life, he doesn't have much time to worry about her.  He's even willing to let her sell the land and go off to a new life, he just wishes she hadn't chosen the man she did for a husband.

Greed has been around for a long time and that's what's driving the other man in his attempt to buy the whole area around this dry lake.  When Jim figures out his angle, he tries to get the other ranchers to take a stand.  They're scared and are hesitant.

The thing that tickled me about this story was that as time goes on and Sheila realizes just what a con man her "fiance" is, she grows up a bit.  It's a long hard road home and a good fight before things get resolved.  You had to be tough in the old west...