Just the opening chapter of “Resolution” alone was enough to make me keep reading the second of Robert B. Parker’s trilogy about the Old West.

The lead character Everett Hitch, West Point graduate turned hired gun, works for Amos Wolfson, owner of the Blackfoot Saloon in the town of Resolution. His military training has given him more than mere sharp-shooting ability; it has given him a conscience, and therefore a moral dilemma. After all, there are ethics involved in shooting people.

Everett and his friend, Virgil Cole, have shot a multitude of mean, lowdown varmints, as well as some sacrificial victims along the way. Everett’s outlook is based on Machiavelli’s premise that it is better to be feared than loved, balanced by his soft-hearted tendency to stay on the side of what is right and just. Virgil leans towards the credo of “sometimes you got to kill one person early, to save four or five later,” a dictum of utilitarian ethics both men swear by, even though they wrestle with the implications of what they do for a living.

This moral dilemma drives the plot of the novel, as Everett and Virgil are approached by several factions of the town, all wanting protection. Wolfson wants his saloon and business interests protected; prostitutes seek asylum and vindication; local cattlemen need defense against the unjust confiscation of their lands. But a major problem comes when the one trying to confiscate ranches through shady dealings is Everett's very employer, Amos Wolfson. Compounding the situation is Eamos O’Malley, owner of the copper mine, who starts buying up all the town’s businesses and ranches. As the tension builds, you know that someone has to die to save the lives of everyone in Resolution.

Parker’s writing is similar to Cormac McCarthy’s in theme and tone, only with punctuation. For night readers, “Resolution” has something else to admire in a book — short chapters stacked high with meaning and a stopping point where a stopping point ought to be. The three novels in the trilogy are “Appaloosa,” about to be released to the big screen starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, “Resolution,” and “Brimstone” due out next year. Parker also penned the “Spenser for Hire” detective series, as well as the popular Jesse Stone mysteries starring Tom Selleck.

Bison has made a comeback from near extinction in the Old West. Before the 1800s 70 million buffalo roamed our continent. Having dwindled to only 1,500, they are now estimated at a repopulation of 270,000 in North America. Since bison are handled little and fed on free-range grasslands, no antibiotics or other questionable additives are used in their production.

RANCH HAND BEAN DIP

1 cup chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 14.5-ounce can chipotle salsa

1 14.5-ounce can salsa with cilantro