WL Cox's Books

This edition is filled with action as Charles pressures Judith into selling the bank, only to find the Irish Mob strong-arming her son Matt to sell it for a fraction of its worth. After Charles throws them out, the mob sets its sights on eliminating his entire family. During preparations for the Kentucky Derby, Charles clashes with a man trying to steal his champion horse Blitz in Cincinnati, then is stunned when a hired assassin, someone he initially misjudges, ends up saving his and Judith's lives. Later, construction in New Orleans turns deadly when a mobster tied to the property attacks Charles, resulting in a shootout that leaves one of the city's top gangsters dead.

Charles is surprised by a visit from Joe Jennings, his ranch caretaker's son, bearing a message from President Grant to come to Washington, though Charles insists on first attending the Preakness, where his horse Wind Fire faces a heavy favorite. Afterward, he and Joe travel to Washington, reunite with old friend Russ Rivers, and are sent to the Dakota badlands to hunt down a murderer stoking war between whites and Indians. The mission turns dire when Charles's horse is shot out from under him, leaving him stranded in wilderness.

On his way home, Charles brings Caleb through Denver for a medical check, purchases the late Norman Guffy's Nevada ranches, and prepares his Thoroughbreds for the Belmont Stakes, hoping Wind Fire can win the Triple Crown. He also uncovers a mobster stealing lumber from his new hotel, and learns the local Mayor, City Manager, Sheriff, and Judges are all on the gangster's payroll. A killer is hired to eliminate Charles. Realizing he's been neglecting his other businesses, Charles brings Russ Rivers along as he crisscrosses the country searching for a permanent career for his friend.

Charles's adventures span America and the Atlantic as he struggles to staff a new Clydesdale breeding farm and clashes with a young deputy sheriff while setting up his Nashville farm. Before he can leave for England, word arrives that a poacher shot his Cheyenne ranch manager, prompting Charles to enlist blood brother Gray Wolf in tracking down the criminal. He eventually sails for England with railroad manager Darren, and on the return trip from France, Darren falls instantly in love with a young woman who speaks only French and Spanish, while he speaks only English.

Charles leaves England with the grape plants, six Orlov Trotter foals, Darren, his new bride, his sister, and new friend Cathal Byrnes. Back in Philadelphia, C.W. falls for Darren's sister-in-law, Anabela after a night out at the Ponderosa. As the family travels America with Cathal, Charles uncovers a Denver neighbor stealing his prized Herefords and convinces the judge to show leniency, landing the man on 10-year probation. Weeks later, that same rancher shoots the teenage son of Swimming Otter, Charles's Ambush Ranch manager, prompting Charles to buy the neighbor's ranch at auction, where he then discovers another rancher has stolen 3,000 acres of the property.

Charles resolves a dispute with the angry Denver neighbor over an auctioned ranch, while Cathal's marriage proposal sets off a whirlwind of events. Word arrives that saboteurs are targeting train tracks in the Montana Territory, sending Charles to root out those responsible. He and Judith tour colleges with their daughter Judy, meeting new people along the way, including a couple interested in finding out whether hotel management suits them. Then Charles learns the Army is recruiting men to drive Indians off their land, prompting a plan for a risky trip to Washington to try buying the land himself to give it back - a decision that could bankrupt him.

Charles contends with a fired employee who returns in a rage and shoots Charles's son-in-law Brett Haire, then escapes prison determined to hunt Charles down. Charles assists U.S. Marshal Ben Johnson in tracking bandits after a robbery at his San Francisco food store. He also discovers an unknown cousin being held as a slave and helps secure his release, only to face a difficult decision when the cousin insists on a six-month voyage back to China to bring his family to America.

Charles's next adventure finds him planning new wagon factories and settling his relatives, while a change in the railroad's route - now starting in California and heading east to Raleigh - upsets locals who'd planned businesses around the original timeline. Meanwhile, his Sioux friends, traveling to Charles for cattle to feed their tribe, are arrested by the Cavalry and threatened with hanging for murder, sending him racing to Denver to save them.

Charles finds himself facing an arrest warrant after taking matters into his own hands following a deadly fire at his Philadelphia wagon site. Pressuring a crime boss he suspects is responsible triggers a brutal retaliation: his son Jonathon is seriously wounded and his horse barn torched. Refusing to stand down despite U.S. Marshal Collin Peterson's warnings, Charles finds himself battling both criminals and the law, ultimately calling on old friends, Attorney General Bill Bulger and his own son, Federal Judge C.W., for help.

Charles heads to Nevada to negotiate with a war chief after railroad construction threatens a Paiute sacred burial ground, then tries helping two men find jobs, only for one to betray him and vanish. Impressed by Hunt's new Salt Lake City hotel, Charles hires its young architect for his future projects before returning to Philadelphia for his own hotel's grand opening. A worrisome message during prayer sends him to England with employees Jim Blank and Liam McCarthy to save his properties from a takeover lawsuit; a trip that brings unexpected results, including Jim's worst fear becoming the greatest blessing of his life.

The Atlantic crossing was a first for everyone but Charles and Liam, and Charles arrives in New York with the foals and grape plants without incident. He settles the group into new lives: Eric and Gerda begin schooling with Judith, Armin and Eric take jobs at the carriage shop and brewery, and Prudence is hired as a legal secretary to Attorney Horatio Brummel. Blank asks for a job with less travel, and Tyson gets the adventure of his life, joining Charles to hunt down killers who murdered five ranchers and hands and stole hundreds of cattle.

Charles attends Tyson and Polly's wedding in Moultrie, buys the farm, and sees justice served at the crooked Sheriff's trial in Tifton before escorting the newlyweds to New York for their ship to Liverpool. Back home, trouble brews when his son-in-law proves unfit to run the East Coast operations, forcing a demotion amid threats of quitting for the army. Charles then travels to Utah to resolve attacks by a renegade Indian band, enlisting the help of the great Ute Chief Ouray, before visiting Ghost and finding a perfect gift for U.S. Marshal Hunt who is recovering from a bear attack. Delivering Percheron horses to Atlanta brings its own trouble when a Toledo gangster tries to steal them in Cincinnati, and after a judge inexplicably frees the culprits, Charles is forced into a final showdown in Toledo.