Small from the day he was born, Rance Cabell is a natural target for bullies who torment him until he finds a sure way to destroy their advantage by relying on an ally weighing less than an ounce.

The son of a gunsmith, Rance practices for years to develop a blazing fast draw and deadly accuracy until his remarkable skills as the star attraction of the Traveling Sharpshooters Exhibition earn him fame, wealth, and a reputation both respected and feared throughout the West.

But the admiration he enjoys during these years comes with a high price—challenges to the death from bullies he despises, as well as from jealous rivals.

Eventually, however, Rance tires of the constant travel, his rootlessness, and his inability to form a permanent loving relationship with either of the two women he otherwise would have married.

The change he hopes will bring the fulfillment he longs for is to return to his boyhood home in Kansas where he has a close-knit family of parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. But he is plagued with doubt about whether he is making the right decision. What Rance does not know is that when he arrives home, he will find the answer to all of his hopes and prayers in a month-old letter inside an envelope just waiting to be opened.

Award-Winning Books by George T. Arnold

The Heart Beneath the Badge, 2024 winner of the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for best western romance novel. Winner, 2024 International Impact Book Awards in the Romance Category. 

Old Mrs. Kimble’s Mansion, winner, 2024 International Impact Book Awards in the Relationships category.

Wyandotte Bound, first-place Laramie Award winner for Best Western in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards competition. Winner, 2024 International Impact Book Awards in the Historical Fiction category.