Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) (14 page)

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.

"It hasn't been easy having Pa around again. Even
though he served his time, it doesn't change the fact
that he killed her," Brent said. "He almost got in a
fight with some of his old friends over at the social
tonight."

Is that why he came in here and started
drinking?"

"Drinking is nothing new for Pa. He always
drank. I was hoping the years in prison had dried
him out, but when he got home he started looking
around the house for liquor again," he said bitterly,
then decided he'd been morbid enough for one
night. He managed to smile at her. "Thanks for
listening. I don't talk about any of this very often."

"Sometimes it helps to get things out. You have to
let yourself relax a little."

He gave a short, harsh laugh. "Relax? I can't tell
you the last time I had the chance to take it easy."

"About ten years ago, maybe?" she teased.

"That's about right." He chuckled.

"What do you do for fun?"

"Fun? I don't know what fun is anymore." He
looked over at her. "What about you? What do you
do for fun?"

Crystal admitted, "I don't have time for fun,
either. I enjoy my job, but I never really have any
time off-any time for myself."

"How did you come to be singing in saloons?"

"I'd love to sing in a church choir. It might
guarantee me a place in heaven, but it wouldn't pay
my bills here on earth," she said, smiling derisively.

"What about your family? Can't they help you?"

"I don't have any family," she said, denying her
brother's very existence. As far as she was concerned,
Dan was no relation of hers anymore. "You're really
blessed that way."

There were times when Brent had his doubts
about his family being a blessing, but he didn't say
so.

"My parents died some years back, and I had to
learn how to support myself."

"I'm glad you were working at the Six Gun," he
said honestly, remembering their first encounter.

For a moment their gazes met across the table.

Then the sound of the piano player starting up
her introductory tune shattered the intimacy.

"I have to go-it's almost time for my last
performance." Crystal tore herself away from Brent.

"I'll be watching," he promised.

She gave him a quick smile as she hurried
backstage.

Brent settled in to enjoy her performance. Crystal
was wonderful. He was mesmerized by her talent
and vivacity, and was struck once more by what an
extraordinary woman she was.

When she finished singing, he was in no hurry to
leave the saloon. He remained at his table, watching
her make the rounds of the room, flirting easily with
all the men. He was amazed by her ability to charm
the cowboys without blatantly arousing them like
the regular dance-hall girls did. The fact that she was
a lady showed through.

Crystal was very aware that Brent had stayed on,
and she was delighted. She wanted to spend more
time with him.

When she saw one of the saloon girls approach
Brent, she actually felt the sting of jealousy. And
when Brent quickly sent the girl on her way,
Crystal's smile brightened even more. As the
evening wound down, she made her way back to
rejoin him.

"You're still here." There was a questioning note
in her voice.

"I was wondering if you'd like me to walk you
home tonight?"

"That would be wonderful," she answered
quickly. "Just give me a few minutes to change."