Dirt Rich

The Sheridans . . . they had nothing, they wanted everything, and they got more than they ever bargained for. Dirt Rich is a stunning evocation of a Texas where proud men and women stop at nothing to get what they want--whether it's riches, romance, or revenge!

From Library Journal:

No one is more surprised than Sam Sheridan when he receives an inheritance of 100 acres of Texas brush land from Able Patman a man he has never met. Intrigued, Sam and his bride leave Kansas City in 1921 and encounter an icy reception in Dane, home of the influential Spence and Patman families. Sam teams up with an old cowboy and a taciturn Choctaw and, later, when they discover oil, timid Sam is transformed into a force bent on revenge against Pete Spence for past injustices.

This is really two stories in one that of Sam and of Able Patman, two strong-willed men, who carve their empires in the Texas prairie. This entertaining and well-written novel paints a vivid portrait of Texas life in the late 19th century and of the development of the East Texas oil fields.