Free Once a Ranger by Dusty Richards

can’t stop that?”
    â€œNo, but I will watch them close.”
    Satisfied, she nodded and took his arm. “We’ll have a nice crowd despite the rain.”
    â€œI think you will have when they all get here.”
    â€œI do too.” Then she went to oversee more table settings for the dishes of food coming in.
    Guthrey shook some hands and whiled away the afternoon talking to new people and old about things happening in the area. The atmosphere in the county sounded much calmer than it had been when Guthrey took over as sheriff, but he knew that was because his men answered requests and investigated all reported crimes.
    Stage robberies had moved over into the adjoining county. Pima County was headquartered at Tucson, and Guthrey had talked to both the U.S. marshal and the sheriff about the men responsible for the robberies. Personally, he suspected it was a secret band of outlaws. But most holdups occurred on that side of the county line. At the U.S. marshal’s suggestion, Guthrey had his men and even the tax auditors keeping an eye out to see if the outlaws were hiding in Crook County. They had to have a hideout to operate so successfully.
    Wells Fargo had as many as three armed men on the stages to discourage the outlaws. But that also was a flag pointing out the value of the strongboxes on board. Guthrey had no idea who the robbers were or where they hid, but he and his men had an ear to the ground. Someone would give them a lead.
    The evening meal went well and more people arrived, celebrating the rain event. The instrument players began with a waltz, and Guthrey took his wife floating across the floor. His chest swelled with pride when he danced with her. Crook County had served him well, with a wife and a job in law enforcement in the place where he wanted to be and felt the most satisfied. He needed to face the fact that leaving the Texas Rangers did not diminish his desire to be sure things were fair and legal.
    When the dance was over, they retired to their tent. They basked in their lovemaking on the narrow cot and finally fell asleep. When Guthrey awoke and went outside, the cool predawn swept his face. Folks were beginning to stir. They needed to get back home. There’d been no drunken altercations the night before, which made him feel even better. He didn’t know how long it would last, but it sure had been peaceful.
    They arrived home midmorning on Sunday. He unloaded their gear and cleaned his guns after lunch. Things were almost too quiet. Dan rode off to see someone female and Noble caught up on his sleep in the bunkhouse. In the afternoon it showered more over by the Chiricahuas. But the storm swung northeast and Guthrey watched the tall thunderheads sail away in the distance.
    â€œNoble, can you think of a hideout or old ranch where those stage robbers might be located?”
    â€œThere are some places scattered west of us that are like where we burned that ramada. Several folks gave up on ranching or their wells went dry and they just moved away, abandoning them. That country is harsher than this area. Gets less rain too.”
    â€œYou think the Pima County bunch looked at all of them?”
    â€œNo. They do more tax work than being lawmen, to my notion. Oh, they do some police work but that isn’t their main goal.”
    â€œWhy don’t you and I swing up through there and see what we can find on our side of the line this coming week?”
    â€œGood idea.”
    â€œThere’s a reason they aren’t robbing stages on our side of the line. I think we may be able to stop it.”
    â€œNo telling. What’s the plan?”
    â€œIn the morning we’ll go over to Soda Springs and check with my bunch, then we can ride around and see these old ranches. Maybe take a packhorse and swing back on Wednesday and come home Thursday. Would that be all right, Cally?”
    â€œI guess. If you two can root out one more bunch of outlaws it will be a