Daring Duval / Max Brand.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Within ten days of stepping out of the woods afoot near the town of Moose Creek, Duval was the most popular man in the district. After all, what wasn't there to like? He was a good listener, generous with his money, a great cook and host, and a hard worker on old Dad Wilbur's place, which he bought for $1,500. He wins the admiration of Sheriff Nat Adare when he quells and befriends the often-wild Charlie Nash and pays for the damages Nash has caused in the town saloon.The only person in the town that he doesn't win over is the sheriff's niece, Marian Lane. What bothers Marian is that no one can learn anything about Duval's past. Marian's curiosity is intensified when Duval runs the thug Larry Jude out of town after he calls Duval a 'boy-killer.' But Duval's past lands in Moose Creek when his beloved horse, Discretion, shows up with a man named Henry, whom Duval warns to 'play no tricks.'Things begin to heat up when Duval attends a dance where he encounters the famous manhunter, Marshal Richard Kinkaid. Kinkaid has been baited by Marian to find out who Duval is. When a robbery occurs at the same time as the dance, Kinkaid promises an answer to Marian's question. So begins a dangerous game of matching wits between Duval and Kink.