Free Lonestar Homecoming by Colleen Coble

away. He parked outside the small stucco building and trod the boardwalk to the open front door.The temperature already hovered near a hundred on this sunny August day.
    A man in a Border Patrol uniform picked desultorily through a filing cabinet and barely looked up when Michael stepped in. “Good morning. I’m here to see Chief Patrol Officer Lanny Pickens,”Michael told him.
    The portly man straightened and turned to face him. Blue eyes looked out from under shaggy white hair and brows, though his face bore no lines of advanced age. “That’d be me, soldier.”
    Only then did Michael see the two stars on the man’s collar. Numerous awards decorated his uniform as well. “Sorry.” He saluted. “Lieutenant Wayne with the army reporting, sir.”
    The man swept a thatch of white hair from his forehead.“Welcome to the circus, Lieutenant.Your unit is set over just north of Terlingua. If you decide to join them.”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t I? I want to be here.”
    â€œIf I were you, I might hightail it back to civilization. Or Iraq.”
    â€œIs there a problem?”
    â€œIf having a price on your head is a problem, then yeah, there’s a problem.” He pulled out his desk chair and settled into it. “Have a seat. Coffee?”
    Michael had tasted enough stale office coffee over the years. “No thanks.What’s happening?”
    Pickens flipped a pencil around in his fingers. “When it got out that you were returning home, we heard rumblings of a price on your head. Vargas has offered to pay twenty thousand dollars to the man who kills you.”
    â€œVargas. As in the man who killed my brother?”
    Pickens nodded. “He’s a snake. Kills without compunction.”
    A flash of his children’s faces gave Michael pause.What would happen to them if he was killed? There was no family left to look out for them.“Why would he want to kill me? I haven’t been back here in years. Does he think I’ll seek revenge for Phil’s death?”
    â€œIt was Phil’s fault his two brothers were killed, so to Vargas it’s justice to take out Phil’s brother.”
    Michael blocked the familiar pain. Phil had died six months ago in a car accident. Prior to that, he had stopped a large shipment of arms from passing through to Mexico. In the fracas, several men were killed, including the brothers of the kingpin, Lazaro Vargas.Vargas himself was still behind bars.
    He marshaled this thoughts. “Phil’s dead. Isn’t that enough for Vargas?”
    â€œNot to that madman.You’ll need to watch your back.”
    â€œI always do.What’s happening in the field right now?”
    Pickens stepped to a large map of the Big Bend area and stabbed a meaty finger at the Rio Grande. “Normally we deal with illegals crossing the river for jobs, or smuggling marijuana. But this is bigger. We thought they were coming across right by El Paso, then an agent saw two men on horseback cross here.”
    â€œDrugs?” Michael asked.
    Pickens stabbed a point farther to the west. “We’re pretty sure last time they brought in over ten million in cocaine. Your unit is here.” He pointed to a spot by the river. “They’ve got an observation post set up.”
    Michael whistled softly. “I was told they might be bribing someone on this side.”
    Pickens shrugged. “I’m not convinced about that, but we do know this is likely only a part of what’s coming through. It’s our job to jam the pipeline.”
    â€œWhere do you want me?”
    â€œWith your knowledge of the area, I’ve asked for you to be on mounted sentry duty.You’ll need a horse. Bailey out at Bluebird Ranch has offered to let you pick any of his rehabilitated stock.Take a gander at them and get one with stamina.You’ll need one by next week.”
    Michael nodded. “Good of Rick to offer.”
    His