Nate Stewart has been a Texas Ranger for almost four years now. He’s no longer the scared fourteen-year-old orphan he was when a patrol of Rangers found him after his family was murdered—with Nate shot and left for dead.
Nate’s best friend and riding partner, former Texas Ranger Hoot Harrison, was crippled for life in a vicious gun battle. Hoot has married and settled down on the ranch Nate inherited, with both of them full partners. Now, unscrupulous land speculators are trying to steal the ranch from Nate and Hoot.
When Nate takes a leave of absence from his duties as a Texas Ranger to take care of some personal business, he discovers that the plot to swindle him and Hoot out of their ranch affects not only them, but other small ranchers in the area. But who can Nate trust to help them? Even some of the town’s lawmen are in on the scheme, and Nate and Hoot can’t fight them all.
In a final, deadly showdown, Nate must use all the skills he’s learned as a Ranger to save his home. One thing’s for certain—A RANGER NEVER QUITS!
EXCERPT:
Hoot was walking back and forth
the length of the porch. He stopped, pinched out the butt of the cigarette he
held and tossed it into the dirt. He took out his sack of Bull Durham tobacco
and packet of cigarette papers. He rolled another smoke, lit it, and took a
long drag. He resumed his pacing.
“Hoot, you’re makin’ me dizzy!”
“Doggone it, I can’t stand
still, Nate. Amanda’s havin’ a baby. The doc’s been with her for two hours now.
What if somethin’s gone wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, Hoot. Babies
come out when they’re ready. Women have been having babies for thousands of
years with no problems. You’ve got nothin’ to worry about. Doc Jenks has
delivered hundreds of babies. And Mrs. Murgatroyd is the best midwife in the county,
so I’ve heard tell. Amanda’s in good hands. Mary Jones is helpin’ too.”
“How the heck do you know what
you’re talkin’ about, Nate, ya idjit? You ain’t never had a baby.”
Nate had to laugh.
“Hoot, if I were havin’ a baby,
then we’d have some real problems. I don’t think I’ve got the right parts.”
“You know what I mean, ya
idjit,” Hoot snapped. “How’d this ever happen to my poor Amanda?”
“I think you know, since you
were there,” Nate said, again laughing. “Leastwise, I hope it was you. If it
wasn’t, I’ll find out who it was and shoot the no-good hombre down for
you.”
