Chapter 7

In the aftermath of the bloody shootout at the Rocking "R" spread, the townspeople came to the support of the settlers and they were welcome in every business and every home. The threat of the bullying range riders with their bushwhacking tactics was gone. The ordinary citizens could breathe easy again.

The Marshal's office sent a territorial Marshal down to wind up the entire affair so it wouldn't do anything to hurt their chances of Statehood. Dixie was relieved of her duties as Sheriff but it was more of a blessing than a reprimand. The impact of thirteen copses heading to boot hill at the same time was spectacular to say the least. However, it was a matter of celebration in the town and out on the prairie which was quite different than the shock felt back east in civilized society.

Dixie always traveled with Manuel and Pablo at her side where ever she went because there were a string of hotshot young guns that wanted the title of being the one that shot the "Killer Sheriff" of the west. It was strange that folks back east took a dim view of the efforts of a beleaguered law enforcement establishment to keep order in a chaotic situation. The common folk tended to see authority as being the enemy instead of the protectors that the settlers knew them to be. Even the upper class members of eastern society saw the outlaws as some sort of heroic challenge to oppression when they were pretty much a bunch of bottom of the deck dealing scum bags.

She was surprised when Butch proposed to her and momentarily tempted to accept his offer because of the powerful hold of his talented cock. Fortunately, reality took over and she turned him down telling him,

"I wouldn't do that to you, Butch. You are a tumble-weed and destined to keep riding into the next valley looking for a girl in pretty swinging skirts and a fella with a chip on his shoulder. If it weren't for straight shooters like you, the job of the sheriffs and marshals would be impossible to accomplish. Somewhere out there you will find your true love and settle down but I suspect it is far into the future and you have a lot of "hell-raising" to do."

The break-up of the Rocking "R" spread was shockingly quick. The absentee landlords wrote the whole thing off as a failed enterprise and abandoned the stock to their own devices. Dixie and an entire cadre of concerned settlers sorted out the steers and distributed them for tending by farmers willing to pitch in a hand to help out. The meat was sent by freight train back to the centers in Kansas and Missouri for the hungry masses in the big cities. They distributed a number of the steers to the poor families who had migrated from the south and were in need of provisions for the impending winter. The horses were divided equally to caring families and a number of them were sent into town for a new stable that was built and operated by Manuel with lots of help from the other deputies. He also set up a freight business that connected to the railhead and made the cost of goods sold go way down at the general store.

Pablo was humping Dixie regular now and she was accustomed to his familiar dick in her hand at night. It wasn't long before her belly started to grow and Manuela gave her that wise knowing look that confirmed she was with child. At first, Pablo was reluctant to hitch up with Dixie giving excuses about a girl back in Mexico that was waiting for him. His mother kept referring to the faraway female as "That Puta!" and telling him he was a foolish boy and deserved her around his neck to make him a slave. That seemed to seal the deal and they got married on a quiet Sunday with lots of the folks from around the territory turning up to show their respect.

The atmosphere was happy and relaxed and that what was probably responsible for Dixie letting her guard down. Now that Butch had ridden out to find more adventure on the frontier trail and Manuel was so busy in the affairs of commerce, she only had Pablo to back her up in a pinch and he was sitting there all dressed up in his Sunday best looking like the turkey at a Thanksgiving feast.

A couple of strangers with hard looks on their faces were keeping slickly out of sight in the crowd and they were packing six shooters under their long "dusters" for dirty business. The sheep were so happy with the celebration they had long awaited that they were totally unaware of the wolves in their midst.