Four short stories by acclaimed author Marsha Ward. This collection includes newly edited editions of Cottonwood Cowboys, The Usual Game, War Party, and No More Strangers.Saturday is a poor time for the boss to assign cowboys Slim and Curly the chore of cutting up a fallen cottonwood tree. In just a few hours, there will be a dance at the school house, where they expect to meet the new schoolmarm. The boys grudgingly work the two-man saw, trying to shoehorn the task into the time they have to get ready for Saturday night.Verl returns to his boarding house after a hard day working construction in the Verde Valley of the new State of Arizona. He's dreaming of going home to Phoenix with his wages, home to sweet Betty's arms. Then he finds his landlord, Fong, ensnared in the usual game run by the local card shark, Happy Sam. If Fong can't get away, he's going to lose the money he's been saving for years to send for his wife in China. High stakes action in early Arizona.For pre-teen Rolla Wood, life will never be the same after the Apache raid on his home. Bent on avenging the deaths of his parents, Rolla sets out to hunt down the war party, and learns far more than he could wish about the realities of the Arizona frontier. This coming-of-age story features a fictional account of the Battle of Salt River Canyon.Elijah Marshall only wants to cross the Great American Desert to Zion to reunite with his young sister. But things get complicated when he volunteers to take responsibility for making sure a new widow, her toddler son, and their wagon get safely to their destination, as well.