For Dave Reed, the choice was simple: either he would remain a hired range-rider and never own anything, not even a home for his precious Lucy – or he would become a squatter, take up land, build a house, and hope Lucy could overlook the problems of being a homesteading family. He knew that every cowman in the Mesa country would be against him, but despite the danger he faced, he wanted desperately to carve a niche for himself and Lucy. Right from the start, trouble began. What nobody realized, though, was that Dave Reed was no tenderfoot. He’d done his share of fighting, and he was just stubborn and tough enough to make sure a bunch of cowmen couldn’t beat him down!