Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) (5 page)

Brent swore under his breath in frustration. He
looked up and found himself staring at the singer's
reflection in the mirror behind the bar. She'd
finished her song and was leaving the stage to move
about the room. The woman was mesmerizing, but
he dropped his gaze away from her.

Beautiful though she was, Brent couldn't let
himself relax and just enjoy watching her. There was
no time in his life for fun. There hadn't been for a
very long while.

Crystal slowly made her way toward the bar where
the stranger stood with his back to her. She wasn't
sure what it was about the man that intrigued her so,
but she meant to find out.

Moving between the tables, she kept smiling and
flirting outrageously with her audience of admirers.
She spotted Andy Gaynor, a portly white-haired
gentleman who was every bit of seventy years old but
who came every Friday night just to hear her. She
stopped to talk with him.

"Evening, Andy."

"Miss Opal, you were wonderful again tonight,"
the old man praised her.

"Why, thank you, Andy. You are so sweet." She
leaned down and kissed his weathered cheek.

The other men at the table roared their approval.
In all the weeks she'd worked there, they'd never
seen Miss Opal kiss anybody.

Andy blushed bright red at her rare display of
affection.

"No, ma'am, you're the sweet one," he said shyly,
and grinned from ear to ear.

Crystal winked at the other men, then moved on.

Joe saw that she was coming toward the bar, and
the heat he'd been feeling for her grew. The
bartender had told him she wasn't an ordinary
working saloon girl, but he figured there was no
harm in trying.

"Hey, sugar, I'm looking for some company
tonight." He took her arm as she tried to move past
him.

Though she wanted to jerk her arm free of the
cowboy's hold, Crystal managed to keep smiling as
she turned to face him.

"I'd say you have lots of company here at the Six
Gun," she told him easily.

"Yeah, but not the kind of company I'm looking
for," Joe said as he drew her closer.

"You weren't looking for a good time?"

"That's exactly what I want." He pulled her tight
against him. "And you're the one I want to give it to
me.

Brent was standing farther down the bar, trying
to lose himself in his liquor. The last thing he
wanted was trouble. When he saw the man grab the
woman, though, he turned, more than ready to go
to her aid.

The bartender caught Brent's eye and gave him a
quick look that stopped him from taking any further
action. Brent could see that the bartender's hand was
already resting on the shotgun he kept behind the
bar just in case of trouble. Brent relaxed a little, but
still stayed alert in case he was needed to help with
the drunk.

"I'll be happy to sing a song just for you," Crystal
told the cowboy, playing along. She didn't want to
cause a scene, even though she was physically
repulsed by the man. It was obvious he hadn't
bathed in a very long time, and his rank, heated
breath made her flesh crawl.

"I'm gonna make you sing, all right." Joe grinned
lustfully, thinking of how he wanted to spend the
rest of the night. He tried to kiss her.

Somehow Crystal managed to avoid his slobber ing lips and slip free of him. Relief swept through
her as she backed up a few steps and gave him her
brightest smile. "I'm sorry, cowboy, but there's only
one man for me tonight."

Joe looked irritated.

"And that's Andy," Crystal finished quickly before
he could say or do anything else.

For a moment everyone in the saloon had gone
quiet. They feared a fight was about to break out,
but at her words the tension was broken. They
started to laugh and cheer again.

Even Brent, who had been expecting trouble,
found himself chuckling over the artful way she'd
handled the drunk. He was impressed by her quick
thinking.

Crystal blew a kiss to the older man, who
immediately hurried to her side.

"That's right, Miss Opal, ain't nobody gonna
treat you as good as me!" Andy understood what she
was doing and wanted to play along to help her.
"Give my lady a drink, Bill!"

Bill did just that, pouring her a tumbler of her
preferred beverage-sarsaparilla. He handed her the
glass. After Crystal accompanied Andy back to his
table, Bill looked at the drunken cowboy, who
remained standing by the bar. It was obvious he was
still angry.

"Ain't no use in you getting all upset, Joe. I told
you Miss Opal was a lady."

"And she's Andy's lady, at that," he muttered sourly as he drained the last of his drink. Thorougly
disgusted and humiliated, he left the saloon.

Crystal was glad when she saw the drunk leave.
She didn't want any trouble. She wanted the
customers to relax and have fun at the Six Gun.

"You are my hero tonight, Andy," Crystal told
him.

"Anytime, darling."

She gave him another quick kiss on the cheek
before returning to the bar-and the handsome
stranger.

"Good evening, big guy," she said, smiling up at
him.

"Evening, ma'am," Brent replied.

"I'm Opal. What's your name?"

"Brent Hunter." He gazed down at her, dazzled
by her beauty. He realized she was even lovelier up
close-if that were possible. There was an innocence
about her, along with the innate sensuality he'd
sensed from the first. Although he'd heard the
bartender say she was a lady, he hadn't honestly
believed it until now.

"Well, welcome to the Six Gun, Brent Hunter."

"It's my pleasure to be here. You did a good job
handling that drunk."

"Why, thank you."

Our Miss Opal is good at everything she does,"
the bartender put in as he stopped to refill Brent's
glass again.

"I can tell," Brent said.

"Well, Brent, would you like to buy me a drink?"
Crystal asked with a teasing smile.

"Another sarsaparilla?"

"That's right."

"Will it get me a kiss like Andy?" he found
himself asking in a teasing manner.

"Oh, no. Andy's my hero. He's the only man I'm
going to kiss tonight." She looked over to where the
elderly man was sitting and waved flirtatiously at
him.

Andy grinned and winked boldly in response.

A foreign emotion jarred Brent, and he actually
found himself resenting the old man. He frowned,
puzzled.

"You might as well drink up, friend," the
bartender said with a chuckle when he saw the
frown. "Opal's made an art out of playing hard to
get."

She laughed at his statement. "Are you saying that
I drive men to drink, Bill?"

"Yes, Opal, I am, and I'm mighty glad of it.
Business has been booming since you started singing
here."

They laughed together, and even Brent joined in.

"I would be honored to buy you a drink," Brent
offered.

"Thank you." Crystal looked up at him, amazed
by the transformation in him when he smiled.
When she'd first seen him she'd thought he was
handsome, but now, when he was smiling, she thought him the most attractive man she'd ever met.
"You should smile more often."

Brent suddenly realized he was smiling, and
stopped. His expression sobered.

"Why did you stop smiling?" she asked.

"Some days there's not much to be happy about."

"Well, you're at the Six Gun. Enjoy yourself." She
wondered what was troubling him so deeply. A man
like him should have the world at his feet.

"I am," he admitted to his own surprise. "You've
been the highlight of my day."

"I'm glad I could make things better for you."

He gazed down at her and could see the
earnestness in her expression. A part of him believed
she really meant it.

"Are you sure your Andy won't be jealous of me
buying you a drink?" Brent asked, evoking a
mischievous smile from her.

"Andy is very understanding that way," Crystal
quipped. "He won't mind."

"Good."

"So what brings you to San Antonio? Are you
from around here?"

"No, I'm just passing through, but I'm glad I
came into the Six Gun tonight."

"So am I," she answered.

For a moment, as their gazes met again, it seemed
to both of them that time was standing still.

Only the raucous sound of the piano player as he
began pounding out the tune that signaled her sec and performance was about to begin jarred Crystal
back to reality. She gave herself a mental shake and
took one last sip of her drink.

"I have to go."

Crystal hurried away to return to the stage,
leaving him without a backward look. Applause
erupted from the crowd again as she broke into song.

Even as she entertained them, though, Crystal's
thoughts lingered on the man named Brent. She
never flirted seriously with her customers. She always
made it a point to be friendly, but nothing more.
She couldn't risk getting involved with anyone, but
she had to admit there was something about Brent
Hunter that set him apart from all the others.

Crystal brought herself up short. She told herself
she was being ridiculous. The man was just passing
through town. After tonight she would never see
him again. But all the logic in the world didn't
change the fact that she was drawn to him in a very
elemental way-and it was something she'd never
experienced before.

Brent had had too much to drink, and he smiled to
himself as he realized it. It wasn't often that he
indulged his need to escape reality, but tonight he
had, and he had to admit it felt good.

Brent stayed on at the saloon until Opal had
finished her last song and disappeared from the
stage. Only then did he begin to think about
heading back to his hotel room for a good night's
sleep. There was no doubt in his mind that he
needed the rest-especially considering what he was
going to face over the next few days.

As Brent stepped into the street in front of the Six
Gun, he was struck by how beautiful the evening
was. A sliver of a moon glowed high overhead, and
the stars were bright and twinkling in the cloudless
night sky. The fact that he even noticed made Brent smile. He couldn't remember the last time he'd
bothered to look.

The streets of San Antonio were deserted. All was
quiet, and he was glad. The liquor had mellowed his
dark mood. As angry as he'd been over his earlier
failed business dealing, he was now confident he
would find a way to keep the Half-Moon running. It
wouldn't be easy, but that didn't surprise him.
Nothing he'd done in the past ten years had been
easy.

Brent's thoughts were untroubled as he crossed
the street and walked toward his hotel. His sense of
peace lasted for only a few moments, though, for he
noticed a man lurking in the heavily shadowed alley
behind the saloon. In the darkness he couldn't tell
who the man was, but it puzzled Brent that he was
moving so furtively.

Brent took a step back, closer to the buildings,
so he wouldn't be noticed. He didn't know why
anyone would be hiding out in the alley that way,
and he feared it might mean trouble. He decided
to keep watch for a little while-just in case.

Crystal had regretted the end of her second
performance, for she'd known she would
never see Brent Hunter again. Her thoughts
had lingered on the handsome stranger even
after she'd left the stage and gone to her
dressing room to change. She had found Brent
intriguing, but knew there was no point in dwelling on him. As he'd said, he was just
passing through.

Crystal donned her ordinary day gown, then left
the dressing room. She was more than ready to call it
a night.

"Opal, before you go, here's your pay. Bill told
me to give it to you." It was Belle Moran, one of the
saloon girls.

"Thanks, Belle," Crystal said as she took the
money and tucked it into her small purse. She
wouldn't get rich on what she made at the Six Gun,
but she could pay her bills and she was safe. That
was all that mattered to her right now.

"You have a good night, Opal," Belle said as she
left her there in the hallway. "I'm going back out
front to see if I can get that handsome cowboy's
attention."

"Which cowboy? Andy?" Crystal asked with a
teasing smile.

Belle laughed at the thought. "I'm sure Andy was
quite a man in his day, but I'm after the one you
were talking to at the bar. I haven't seen him around
here before, but I'd like to see more of him-if you
take my meaning."

Belle was a ribald, lusty woman. She'd worked at
the Six Gun for a long time, and she made no
attempt to hide her inclinations. The men loved her
for her honesty, and she loved them right back.

"Well, good luck, Belle. I'll see you tomorrow
night."

Crystal slipped outside into the dark, deserted
passageway. Because she wanted to maintain her
aura of elusiveness, she always left the Six Gun this
way so no one would see her.

As she started off down the night-shrouded alley
toward her boardinghouse, Crystal found herself
thinking of what Belle had said. She hoped the other
woman had no success at all in enticing Brent
Hunter to her bed.

Mick was waiting in the shadows. He had been in
the saloon drinking for most of the night, but when
Opal finished her act and disappeared offstage, he
knew it was time to make his move. This was the
night Bill paid his working girls, and tonight Mick
needed money.

Mick had seen the way Opal always left the
saloon through the alley, and tonight he was
waiting for her. He figured she was going to be an
easy mark. He doubted the singer would be able to
identify him in the darkness. Besides, she didn't
know him. He never talked to her. He only
watched her from the back of the saloon. He
planned to strike quickly, grab her purse, and make
his getaway just as fast. He wanted cash, and
robbing Opal was the easiest way to get it. One
female was no match for him. He'd be gone before
she could even react.