Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1)

by Bobbi Smith

  "Edmund and Iona are here. I'll be fine, but, Brent..."

  He gave her a questioning look.

  "I hope you're wrong about Papa. I hope he's not drinking."

  "So do I, Abby." Brent steeled himself for what was to come. "If Melinda comes looking for me, tell her something came up, and I'll be back for you as soon as I can."

  "I'll give her your message." Abby was tempted not to tell Melinda. If her brother was finally going to start courting, she didn't want it to be Melinda. Granted, the girl was pretty enough, but looks weren't everything.

  Brent's mood was somber as he headed for the Lone Star. He remembered how his pa had reacted to the news that there was no liquor at the ranch. Brent was positive that he'd find Jack at the saloon drinking. He just hoped he hadn't gotten into any fights.

  The Lone Star was the best saloon in town. Brent could hear the sounds of revelry coming from the bar as he drew near. The cowboys who were in town for a good time always found it at the Lone Star. He went into the crowded saloon and spotted his father immediately, standing at the bar with his back to the door. Even as Brent looked on, the bartender was refilling his glass.

  Brent made his way to his father's side.

  "I had a .feeling you'd be here."

  Jack had lost count of the number of drinks he'd had, and he didn't care. He glanced at Brent with annoyance.

  "I'm a free man, and I can do whatever I want. Right now all I want to do is just relax a bit."

  "You couldn't do that at the dance?"

  "No," he answered harshly. "Folks are friendlier here at the Lone Star, and they got real good entertainment. I'm waiting for Miss Ruby to come back out again." Jack grinned as he thought of her. Ruby had smiled at him and treated him like a man. It had been quite a contrast to the way everyone else was treating him. Her acceptance had eased the pain in his soul.

  "Who's Ruby?" Brent wondered if some dancehall girl were going after his father.

  "She's the entertainment here. Stay with me. She's due back out in the next few minutes, right, Ken?" Jack looked at the man tending bar.

  "That's right," Ken answered.

  "I don't care about seeing Ruby."

  "Go ahead and leave, then, but I'm staying."

  Brent was frustrated, but he didn't want to pick a fight with his father.

  You want a drink?" the bartender asked Brent.

  "Give me a beer," he said.

  Ken served him and moved off.

  "You're having a beer?" Jack looked at Brent in surprise.

  "Shut up, Pa."

  Jack changed the topic, his words starting to slur. "You're going to like Miss Ruby. Sings like an angel. She's damned sweet, too. She was real nice to me."

  "Sure she was," Brent said cynically as he took one token drink of the beer, and then set the glass aside. "They're all nice to you-when they think you've got money.

  "No, Ruby's different. Just wait-you'll see."

  Brent took a look around and remembered the last time he'd been in a saloon. His mood had been dark then, too, but at least he'd had the girl named Opal to brighten that night up a little bit. He just hoped this Ruby was mildly entertaining, for he needed some distraction this evening.

  The piano player began playing Ruby's introduction.

  "Here she comes now," Jack told him, grinning as he looked eagerly toward the stage.

  Brent frowned. The tune sounded vaguely familiar.

  And then Ruby made her appearance.

  Brent's expression turned from a frown to a look of surprise and disbelief.

  It was Opal....

  The red hair gave her a very different look, but there was no mistaking her beauty or the sound of her voice.

  Jack glanced at him and saw the look on his face. "She's damned pretty, isn't she?"

  "You're right. She is," he agreed.

  Brent gave his full attention to her performance, but he couldn't help wondering how and why Opal had ended up in Diablo disguised as Ruby.

  Jack finished off his whiskey and motioned to the barkeep to refill his glass. He was glad Brent was so busy watching the singer that he didn't notice.

  Crystal moved about the stage, singing her heart out to the men. They responded with genuine enthusiasm, cheering and clapping. As she finished her final song, she looked out across room to see if the older man was still at the bar. He was. She went completely still as she saw Brent Hunter standing at his side.

  Crystal didn't know how it was that fate had brought them together again, but she was thrilled. Her gaze lingered on Brent. He was every bit as handsome and wonderful as she remembered.

  "Ruby!"

  The sound of one of the other customers calling out to her jarred her from her momentary reverie. She forced her attention back to doing her job. As she left the stage to mingle with the customers, though, she slowly and deliberately made her way toward Brent. She couldn't wait to talk to him again.

  "Good evening," Brent said, his gaze meeting hers as she came to stand before him.

  "Ruby, this is my son Brent," Jack put in, giving her a drunken smile.

  "Hello, Brent," Crystal said softly, gazing up at him. She understood now why the older man had seemed vaguely familiar to her earlier. There was a definite family resemblance between the two. "It's good to see you again."

  "You know each other?" Jack was shocked as he looked between the two of them.

  "Yes, I met Ruby in San Antonio," Brent explained, giving a little extra emphasis to her name that only she noticed.

  "Brent saved me from being attacked. He's a wonderful man," she quickly explained to Jack.

  Jack glanced at Brent. You saved Ruby? What happened?"

  Brent wanted to ask her about her changed name and looks, but decided to wait until later, when he could speak with her privately. "Someone tried to rob her after she got off work. I was lucky enough to be close by so I could stop him." Brent turned to Ruby. "What brings you to Diablo?"

  It was time for me to move on, and Diablo seemed like a nice enough town." She had thought he was wonderful before, but the fact that he hadn't asked her about her disguise raised her opinion of him even higher.

  "I'm glad you picked it."

  "Isn't she beautiful?" Jack insisted drunkenly.

  "Yes, Pa, she is," Brent agreed.

  "And she's about the best singer I ever heard," Jack went on, draining the rest of the whiskey in his glass.

  "Why, thank you," Crystal said.

  "Have you been in town long?" Brent asked, for he hadn't heard any talk about her from the ranch hands.

  "No, this is my first evening to perform."

  "Gimme another whiskey, Ken," Jack called out as he turned clumsily toward the bar again.

  "No. Hold that," Brent said, giving the barkeep a sharp look that stopped him from reaching for his glass. "It's about time for us to call it a night."

  "You want to leave when we could stay here and visit with Ruby?" Jack argued.

  She sensed what Brent was trying to do, and played along. "I'm going to have to put on another performance shortly, so I don't have much time to talk right now. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."

  "That we will, little darling," Jack slurred.

  "Come on, Pa." Brent started to usher him out of the saloon. He was aware that some of the other customers were watching them with condemning glares.

  "Brent," she began.

  He looked back as he kept a hand on his staggering father.

  "It was good to see you again. Will you be back?"

  Brent nodded slightly as their gazes met. If there was one thing he could be certain of, it was that he would return to see her again.

  Crystal gave him a small smile of understanding and went back to work. She hoped he returned quickly.

  Brent got his pa back to the hotel and up to the room without too much trouble.

  "So you liked Ruby, too," Jack remarked thoughtfully as he undressed. Even though he was drunk, he knew enough to keep his
liquor bottle hidden among his clothes, where Brent wouldn't see it.

  "In San Antonio she was going by the name of Opal."

  "Opal? I wonder why she changed her name?" Jack repeated dully as he bedded down and slowly succumbed to his drunken stupor.

  "I don't know. Maybe she's making a fresh start here."

  "A fresh start," Jack mumbled, thinking the idea applied to him, too. "Maybe I should have gone somewhere else and..."

  He passed out then, his liquor-blurred thoughts lost to sleep.

  Brent stayed on a little while longer, wanting to make sure his father really was asleep. Only when he was sure Jack wouldn't be rousing anytime soon did Brent leave the room.

  He wanted to go straight back to the Lone Star and Opal, but he knew he had to check on Abby. He couldn't go off for the rest of the evening and leave his little sister to fend for herself. She was his responsibility. He would see her safely back to her room, and then return to the saloon.

  Brent made his way back to the festivities and sought Abby out where she was sitting at a table with Iona and Edmund. She smiled at him when she saw him coming.

  "Did everything go all right? I've been worrying about you," Abby told him.

  "Yes, I got him back up to the hotel room."

  "He was drunk?" Edmund asked quickly, sounding concerned.

  Brent nodded.

  "I'm sorry, Brent. I thought things might have changed." Secretly, Edmund was delighted Jack was still a drunk. It proved once again what a weak man he was.

  "Some things never change." Brent's disgust was obvious.

  "Melinda was looking for you earlier," Abby put in, wanting to talk about something besides their father, although Melinda wasn't exactly a favorite topic for her either. "I told her you'd see her again before the dance was over, so you'd better go find her."

  "Wait here for me. I won't be long if I can help

  Melinda had seen Brent return while she'd been dancing with another man. The minute the dance ended, she excused herself and went to find Brent.

  "I missed you, Brent," she said sweetly. "I'm glad you're back."

  "I had some business to take care of," Brent answered, deliberately not going into detail.

  "Well, you're here now. That's all that matters. Let's dance," she said, taking his arm. She wasn't about to let him get away from her again.

  Brent suddenly felt trapped. There was no way to escape from Melinda without causing a scene. Instead, forced to play the gentleman, he smiled down at her and took her out onto the dance floor.

  The tension within Brent didn't ease as he danced with Melinda. If anything, it grew. He was glad when the music finally stopped.

  "I have to get Abby back to the hotel now," he explained.

  "I hope I get to see you again soon, Brent," Melinda said suggestively, forgetting all pretense of being coy.

  Brent was just glad to make his escape. He immediately rounded up Abby, who was still sitting with Edmund and Iona. They bade the older couple good-night and left the dance.

  "Did you have fun?" Brent asked, glancing down at her. He wondered if she would admit the truth to him-he'd seen her sitting all alone. He could only imagine how painful the social must have been for her.

  "It's always pleasant to be with Iona. And... I think she needs me."

  He nodded. "So do I. I can remember how good she was to you when Ma died."

  Abby took a deep breath. "I'll be glad to get back to the ranch."

  "We'll head back home right after church in the morning."

  "I'll be ready."

  Brent saw Abby safely to her room, then went to check on their father. He was still passed out in bed, and Brent was glad. He wanted to get away for a while, and didn't want any complications.

  Certain that all was safe and quiet at the hotel, Brent strode briskly toward the Lone Star-and Opal.

  Crystal worked the room, talking with the customers and sipping her sarsaparilla. She kept watching and waiting for Brent's return.

  "You sure you won't let me buy you a whiskey, sweetheart?" one of the drunken cowboys offered.

  "No, but thank you for offering." She gave him a warm smile as she moved on to another table.

  Time passed, and still Brent didn't return. Crystal was beginning to think he wouldn't be back, and she silently chided herself for caring. She'd always made it a point not to care about any of her customers on a personal basis. She'd remained aloof from everyone. But Brent was different. Even as she acknowledged that, Crystal tried to convince herself it didn't matter.

  And then Brent walked back into the saloon.

  Her heartbeat quickened. She smiled at him in welcome and went to greet him. She warned herself that it wasn't safe to get involved with anyone, but all the logic in the world couldn't change the way she felt.

  "I'm glad you came back," Crystal said.

  "I am, too," Brent said.

  "Would you like to sit at a table? I have to perform again, but not for another half hour."

  Brent nodded, and she led the way to an empty table near the back of the Lone Star.

  The cowboys watched her with Brent, and they envied the rancher for having Ruby all to himself for a while.

  "I can't believe you're actually here in Diablo," Crystal said as she sat down and faced Brent across the table. "I thought I'd never see you again."

  "I thought I'd never see you, either," he agreed.

  "How is your arm?" She remembered the wound he'd suffered saving her that night.

  "It's fine," he said, dismissing her concern. "But what about you? Are you in some kind of trouble? Why are you using a different name, and why did you change your hair color?"

  Crystal managed a smile to hide her nervousness. "After what happened in San Antonio that night, I thought it was time for a change. I wanted to start over in a new town, so I thought I'd alter my looks, too."

  "So which name should I call you-Opal or Ruby?" he asked with a slight grin.

  She looked up, her gaze meeting his, and she knew how to answer. She had to be as honest with him as she could.

  "Those are just my stage names. My real name is Crystal Morgan," she told him. It wasn't a lie. Morgan was her middle name.

  "Crystal," Brent repeated. "That's a beautiful name. It suits you."

  "Thank you." She actually found herself blushing a bit at his compliment.

  For a moment they only gazed at each other.

  "So Diablo is home for you," Crystal asked, breaking the moment of silence.

  "Yes, my family owns the Half-Moon. It's a horse ranch about an hour's ride out of town."

  "Interesting name for a ranch."

  "The first night Pa spent on the property, there was a half moon."

  "I've met your father, but what's the rest of your family like?" she asked, curious about his life. "Do you like ranching?"

  Brent told her about his two brothers and his sister, and then confided his plan to make sure the Half-Moon had the best stock in the area. He explained, too, how they rounded up the herds of wild mustangs, broke them, and then sold them."

  "We raise some thoroughbreds, too," he went on. "Both Pa and my youngest brother, Matt, like racing. Matt's off in England right now, trying to buy another stallion to improve our bloodlines. I told him to save his money, that we make a better profit off mustanging, but he was determined to go. Matt's the kind that once he decides to do something..." He stopped.

  "You didn't approve of his going?" She sensed the undercurrent behind his words.

  "It's not for me to approve or disapprove what Matt does. He's a full-grown man. He can do whatever he wants. But I've got a ranch to run."

  "You run the Half-Moon? What about your father?" Crystal was puzzled by the change in his tone.

  Brent looked up at her cautiously. "What about him?"

  "You said it was your family's ranch. Doesn't your father run it?"

  He paused a minute, contemplating whether to tell her the truth or not. When he realized she
would soon hear the gossip around town about his pa, he decided it was best she learn the whole truth from him. He hadn't spoken of it often; it was hard for him even after all this time. "I've been in charge of the Half-Moon for about ten years now."

  She was surprised. "You must have been very young when you took over."

  "I was old enough. I was twenty."

  "Where was your father?"

  "Away. He only got back here a few weeks ago."

  "Where was he?"

  Brent had known the question was coming. He answered her straightforwardly. "Prison."

  Crystal was shocked by the news. "But your pa seems like such a nice man. What did he do?"

  Brent looked up at her again. No matter how much time passed, the memory of the tragedy still hurt.

  "He shot my mother." Brent went on to tell her all that had happened.

  Crystal listened to his tragic tale. It was difficult for her to imagine that the man she'd spoken with earlier that night would shoot anyone, let alone his own wife. She couldn't stop herself from reaching out to touch Brent's hand where it rested on the table.

  "That must have been a horrible time for you, and then you were left to take care of everything and everyone."

  "Yes," he answered.

  "But you did it," she said.

  "The last ten years haven't been easy, but the Half-Moon is doing fine now."

  "You should be proud of yourself, Brent. Not every man would respond to such difficult circumstances the way you did." She thought of her own brother.

  "It was for my family. I had to take charge." He was deeply touched by her words.

  Crystal couldn't help comparing Brent to Dan. Brent had been forced into a terrible situation, yet he had done the right thing. He had worked hard and had saved his family and their ranch. Dan, on the other hand, had never done an honest day's work in his life. He had always taken the easy way out. He had used her to help him with his gambling and then forsaken her at the very time he should have been protecting her.

  When the terrible memory of that night and her reason for running away threatened to return fullforce, she quickly put it from her. She wouldn't think about that. Not now.