The cherokee trail, paperback/louis l'amour

Mary Breydon knew how to get things done.

Raised on a Virginia plantation, she learned how to care for livestock, respect her workers, and keep good books.

But after her husband is killed, she must make a living running a stagecoach station on the Cherokee Trail.

Mary faces challenges that even the men eagerly anticipating her failure would have a difficult time overcoming.

After being forced to fire the previous station manager with the aid of a bullwhip, Mary must track down stolen horses, defend against Indians, care for a wayward boy, and protect herself and her daughter from Jason Flandrau, a man determined to become governor of the Colorado Territory but who is also the ruthless war criminal who murdered Marys husband.