Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, almost loses his job after two fiasco-filled rides in Slim's pickup truck.

Everyone knows that bears live in the mountains and there are no mountains in the Texas Panhandle. So, when Slim claims to have seen a bear cross the road, no one knows what to believe, that is, until Deputy Kile spreads a report that there really is a bear on the loose in Ochiltree County! With news like this, the ranch's Security Force goes on Red Alert. Will Hank be able to defend the ranch from a raging, prowling bear?

"It's the day before Christmas, and Loper and Sally May have left Slim to manage the ranch while they go off to visit relatives for the holidays. But, just when it begins to look like another boring bachelor Christmas with Slim, guess who shows up on Slim's front porch with a plate of baked goodies for Hank? Miss Viola! At least, Hank assumes that the cookies are for him. Then, when a storm blows in and the electric fence separating a herd of steers...

Sixteen-year-old Willowdean wants to prove to everyone in her small Texas town that she is more than just a fat girl, so, while grappling with her feelings for a co-worker who is clearly attracted to her, Will and some other misfits prepare to compete in the beauty pageant her mother runs.

While salvaging and rebuilding in the aftermath of the Galveston flood of 1900, sixteen-year-old Seth proves himself in a way that his previous efforts never could, but he still must face his father man-to-man.