Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

Code of the West #3

by Stephen Bly

It's not a home on the range Pepper Paige is worried about. It's getting Tap Andrews to the altar on time and in one piece! In only two weeks Tap will tip his hat goodbye to bachelorhood. That should be enough time to take care of business and finalize wedding plans. But considering Tap's knack for finding trouble behind every tumbleweed, it may take him that long to deal with the growing hassles. A gang of rustlers invading his ranch. A missed bank payment he didn't know about. A sniper taking potshots at him. And problems at the local dance hall. In fact, there's so much trouble it's possible he'll miss his own wedding. But Tap's word is good, even if his timing's not. If only his fiancee can get him to stay in one place long enough to get hitched.

Genres: Westerns, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Romance

177 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Stephen Bly (August 17, 1944 - June 9, 2011) authored 100 books and hundreds of articles. His book, THE LONG TRAIL HOME, (Broadman & Holman), won the prestigious 2002 CHRISTY AWARD for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, PICTURE ROCK (Crossway Books), THE OUTLAW'S TWIN SISTER (Crossway Books), and LAST OF THE TEXAS CAMP (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. He spoke at colleges, churches, camps and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He was the pastor of Winchester Community Church, and served as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (2000-2007). He spoke on numerous television and radio programs, including Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. He was an Active Member of the Western Writers of America. Steve graduated summa cum laude in Philosophy from Fresno State University and received a M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. The Blys have three sons: Russell (married to Lois) and father of Zachary and Miranda (married to Chris Ross) and mother of Alayah, Michael (married to Michelle), and Aaron (married to Rina Joye) and father of Keaton and Deckard. A third generation westerner, Steve spent his early years working on ranches and farms.

Reviews

[Pop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Bly as usual, great yarn.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Well, let’s see. This book has
* Six bad buys. Four are shot and killed but the other two must be taken care of in the next book since they weren’t in this one.
* One rich, spoiled, idiot who doesn’t seem to know anything except how to be obnoxious.
* Lots of shooting––at people not hunting.
* A big fist fight with injuries and betting on who will win.
* An entire town (if it could be called that) filled with outlaws, thieves, crooks, and bad guys in general.
* Blizzards, snow, freezing temperatures.
* Dance hall girls.
* Cattle rustling, arson, stealing, attempted murder.
* One girl addicted to laudanum.
* Death of several people including outlaws.
* Multiple dreams that started getting annoying.
* A wedding.
* Some casual prayers, mentions of doing things right, maybe mention of reading the Bible.
* A handful of good guys to try and keep everyone alive and right wrongs as no sheriff is around.

Oh, and did I mention that all of this happens in two weeks?

Part of me wants to maybe read the next book just to get the last two bad guys taken care of, but part of me groans at the idea of reading more of this constant drama. It’s clean as far as no swearing, no s*x, no gory details of wounds, no descriptive kisses. Just drama and more drama with a little bit of "Christian" sprinkled in.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally!

Tap has to ventilate several sidewinder and fight one blizzard after another, but the wedding must go on. Sort of like Pepper planned, except for the 20 guests that are marooned on the ranch with them, putting a definite crimp in their honeymoon. Classic Stephen Bly, therefore, excellent!

[Sarah Fremin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book written by a very rich privileged white straight male that somehow believes he is more morally superior than any other white straight person that walks this earth, and anyone that doesn’t happen to have the exact same perspective of him. Unfortunately, these ignorant writings are written from a stereotypical perspective that has little understanding of cultural implications. I Would not recommend this book and would not read it again.

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 of the series about Tapadera Andrews, would be rancher, and his girlfriend, Pepper. They finally get married. Will see what the future holds for them in the rest of the series. Entertaining reading.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wedding day has finally arrived. But Tap keeps having strange dreams and Pepper is jealous as female guests arrive. Is it possible for everything to go smoothly or will it all fall apart?

[Malia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny in places.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the other two. Nothing really happens for a majority of the book. The next is set in another town so it should be better.