A Fistful of Legends: "Big Enough" by Chuck Tyrell

When Chuck Tyrell takes you to the Old West, it’s the real thing. That’s because he grew up there - in Arizona to be exact - and has spent a lifetime learning the history.

In “Big Enough,” one of two Tyrell tales in this anthology, we meet “Kid” McCullough, a teenage ranch girl who catches a wild filly she calls Big Enough. She’s doing all right until three men escape jail and pay a visit to the secluded canyon she’s using as a corral. She’d been warned what men want and what might happen if she was caught there alone, but refused to be frightened off. Now she must face the consequences.

The first-person narration in this tale rings true, as does the detail of the landscape, the weapons and the horsecraft. Mr. Tyrell knows what he’s writing about - and it shows. And as always, he delivers a fine story. 

Chuck Tyrell is the author of five Black Horse Western novels (so far) with another due out later this year. Several of his titles are currently available on Amazon (US), including Guns of Ponderosa (below). He shares his knowledge of Old West fact and lore on his highly-recommended blog, The Outlaw Trail.

It's been a while since I've listed all 21 legends in Fistful, so here's the complete line-up:
INTRODUCTION by James Reasoner
DEAD MAN TALKING by Derek Rutherford
BILLY by Lance Howard
LONIGAN MUST DIE! By Ben Bridges
THE MAN WHO SHOT GARFIELD DELANY by I J Parnham
HALF A PIG by Matthew P Mayo
BLOODHOUND by C. Courtney Joyner
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE by Gillian F Taylor
BIG ENOUGH by Chuck Tyrell
ONE DAY IN LIBERTY by Jack Giles
SHADOWS ON THE HORIZON by Bobby Nash
ON THE RUN by Alfred Wallon
THE GIMP by Jack Martin
VISITORS by Ross Morton
THE NIGHTHAWK by Michael D George
THE PRIDE OF THE CROCKETTS by Evan Lewis
DARKE JUSTICE by Peter Avarillo
ANGELO AND THE STRONGBOX by Cody Wells
CRIB GIRLS by Kit Churchill
MAN OF IRON by Chuck Tyrell
CASH LARAMIE AND THE MASKED DEVIL by Edward A Grainger
DEAD MAN WALKING by Lee Walker