I have 10 books high on my TBR list. One of them is
Guns of the Timberlands by Louis L'Amour.
The absolute best stories, I think, are any in the
Sacketts series.
If you choose to start reading them,
Sackett's Land is a great place to start out. Also, it starts the story of Barnabas Sackett having to leave England and settle in the "new world", the original west if you will.
But each of the stories can be read on it' own.
I know you asked for something "short", but I'm sure you'll find something by L'Amour that is both short and good.