The Men From Echo Creek by N.R. Walker

In the winter of 1882, a boy from the mountains has to prove himself a man.

~*~

When Albie Bramwell’s father died, he was left with two thousand hectares of mountain to farm, and little help to run it. Abandoned by all but two of his workers, the whole town of Alpine Falls called him too young to run the farm alone.
Young, yes. At just nineteen, he was determined to prove them wrong. Even if it killed him.
In search of a new life, Percy Collins found himself in a small mountain town where he ran into a man not much older than himself and scored a job at Echo Creek. A property full of misfits, or so the townsfolk had called it. But what Percy found was a home.
What Albie found was something he never thought possible. A man to love, and a man to share his dreams.
But times were tough, the winter harsh, and money scarce. Albie and Percy would need to do more than prove themselves worthy. They’d need to not only prove themselves better than anyone else. They’d need to prove it twice.