The Long Trail by Onias Bondo

Buffalo is on the trail of the man who killed his wife.  He loved her, she was pregnant with his baby, and he still grieves for her.  When he checks with the sheriff in the next town he comes into, he finds out the man he's searching for robbed the bank there.  The sheriff suggests he become his new deputy because they killed his other two deputies.  He's going after the same man, why not work together?  Buffalo declines.  But before he can get out of the office, a fiery Mexican gal comes in yells at the sheriff.  He invites her to take a meal with him but she blows him off...

Pioneering Press sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy now.

The sheriff asks the young woman to ask Buffalo to be the deputy.  He knows he can't take down that gang alone.  She does, he says no, she calls him a coward, and he takes the job.

The first man he runs across in town is the one that has been trying to court the young woman.  He warns him off.  Buffalo listens and then takes out the two gunmen with him in a fist fight.  This won't be their last fight.

The smartest thing Buffalo did was to hire the Indian in town after the sheriff is shot.  The Apache is good at tracking and sneakie enough to overhear conversations.  They make a good team.  Justice is done the old fashioned way.    

This is a good western and I enjoyed seeing a back man and an Apache dispense justice evenly and appropriately.  Love at first sight was a bit of a stretch for me but it does have a happy ever after ending.  Give it a try.