Lynn Combs

When the infamous Gallagher Brothers decide to retire from a lifetime of outlawing, they hang up their spurs, clean their names, and rebuild the dying ghost town of Golden Valley into the respectable little settlement of Cedar Falls. A mayor, a sheriff, a banker, and even a saloonkeeper—who’d have guessed a gang of gunslingers could turn into pillars of the community?

But when a band of young outlaws comes riding in, ready to rob the town blind, the Gallaghers find themselves back in the saddle—alongside an unexpected army of allies: Charlie’s beloved herd of goats.

Bullets fly, bells ring, and chaos reigns as six hardened bandits learn the hard way that in Cedar Falls, even the livestock don’t take kindly to trouble.

A whip-smart Western romp filled with heart, humor, and hoofbeats, The Good, The Bad and The Goats proves that redemption can come from the unlikeliest places—and sometimes, it’s got horns.

This Story took Second Place in the Oxbow Award Contest to write a western short story at the 2025 OCW (Ozarks Creative Writers) Conference.