Moon Racer (18 page)

Glory had arranged Abby's hair on the crown of her
head and allowed one long curl to hang over her
right shoulder. Standing back, she nodded with
satisfaction. "You are stunning!"

Abby turned her head from right to left and
smiled. "I don't know-it doesn't seem like me."

Crystal lifted the canary-yellow gown off the bed
while Glory adjusted Abby's stiff petticoats. "I wish
I could be there tonight and see everyone's reaction
when you walk into the dance."

Abby turned to face Crystal. "Why aren't you
going?"

Her sister-in-law patted her stomach. "I have to
be careful from now until the baby is born. Brent
says no dancing."

Glory nodded. "A wise decision." Then she
looked slightly dreamy-eyed. "I can't wait to have
Quince's baby."

Abby was only half listening to Glory and Crystal
talk about babies. "I'm grateful that bustles have
fallen out of favor. I would never have worn one of those contraptions. As it is, I can hardly breathe
with this corset on. Do I have to wear it?"

"Yes," Glory and Crystal said in unison.

Crystal lifted the gown over Abby's head, and it
drifted down about her body. Then she fastened the
hooks while Glory fluffed it out.

Abby lifted the skirt in front and glared down at
the matching slippers in disgust. "I'll probably
break my neck in these." She frowned. "But the
heels probably aren't much higher than my boots."

The room 'had fallen silent, and Abby became
aware that Glory and Crystal were staring at her.

"What?" She turned around and reached toward
the mirror, looking at her reflection in stunned
surprise. "Can that be me?"

Glory opened the door and called down the
hallway, "Quince, Brent, come in here."

Moments later Quince entered the room, looking
quizzically at his wife. Then he saw Abby, and his
eyes shimmered. "Darlin', you're all grown-up, and
so pretty."

Brent stood in the doorway for a long moment,
looking for any evidence of his little sister. "You
are grown-up. I suspect some man will soon come
along and take you away from us." She walked into
his outstretched arms. "But not yet, Abby not for
a while, I hope."

The road in front of the town hall was choked with
the many conveyances that had transported the
merrymakers to the celebration.

As Grant helped Abby out of the buggy, she
watched fireworks illuminate the night sky, and she
heard the music from inside the hall drift out to her.

Grant took her hand warmly in his. "Have I told
you how pretty you look tonight?"

She glanced back to see Quince helping Glory
out of their buggy, and she waved to her sister-inlaw before she answered. "You have made mention
of it at least a dozen times."

He grinned. "Too much, is it?"

"Yes. You are like a brother to me. I don't want
you to think you have to flatter me."

Her words cut him deeply. "I'm like a brother to
you?"

"Of course. But you already know that."

He was not going to be shy where Abby was
concerned. The night was young, and he would do
his best to make her see him as a man and not as a
brother.

The hall had been decorated with red, white, and
blue banners and streamers. There were three
fiddles and a flute playing a lively tune. It looked
like everyone in the county had turned out for the
occasion. Those who weren't already dancing had
grouped together to talk with their friends.

Jonah was standing near the door, and he saw Quince
and Glory come in, but he hadn't seen Abby. He
edged closer to the entrance for a better look and
stopped in his tracks. Abby was a breathtaking vision
in yellow as she laughed up at Grant. Gone were the
trousers and boots, and he stared at the most
heartbreaking, enchanting woman he had ever seen.

He watched her search the crowd, and her search
stopped when she saw him. His heart was thumping
inside him; he wanted to go to her and push her
hand off Grant's arm and place it on his. But he did
not have that right. He turned away, no longer able
to watch her with the ranger.

Abby noticed that Jonah was surrounded by people
who wanted a chance to speak with such an illustrious
officer. He stood tall and so handsome in his dress
blues, and he seemed somehow out of place among country folk who, though dressed in their
best, could not compare with his regalia.

She bristled when Melinda Barton, the town flirt,
paraded in front of Jonah twice before she actually
got the courage to stop and speak to him. Jonah
acknowledged the woman with a mere dip of his
head before his gaze returned to Abby.

Abby felt Grant tug on her hand, and she smiled
at him as he whirled her into a lively dance. She did
not have time to wonder whether she could
remember the steps her father had taught her. Grant
was such a good dancer, he took her right along
with him. By the time the dance ended, she was
breathless and laughing.

She was having fun!

She felt Jonah beside her even before he spoke.
When he was near, the atmosphere became charged
around her. Her gaze went to his.

"I wonder if you might save the next waltz for
me, Miss Hunter?"

Why was he being so formal? she wondered.

She had not seen him dance with anyone else.
Why did he want to dance with her? Her face
flushed at the thought of being held in his arms.
"I... yes. If you like."

Being an astute man, Grant noticed Abby's
reaction to Major Tremain. She was drawn to him,
but he didn't yet know how deeply she was involved
with the officer. And he didn't know how Jonah felt
about Abby. He did know that Jonah was committed
to another woman, and Abby could end up being
hurt. He intended to make sure that didn't happen.

Quince took his sister onto the dance floor, and
when she looked up at him she found that he was
frowning. "What's wrong, Abby?"

"Who said anything's wrong?"

"We spoke about this before, darlin'. Jonah is a
good friend of mine, and I know him well enough
to warn you that he will always do the right thing."

"I know that."

"He will marry the woman in Philadelphia."

"I don't expect anything from him." She managed
a small smile. "And I'm not foolish enough to think
he would be interested in me. He would probably be
more drawn to Melinda, the flirt, than to me."

Quince guided Abby into a sidestep so he could
watch Jonah. His friend was definitely not watching
Melinda; he was staring at Abby with a thunderous
expression on his face.

`Beware, Abby. Jonah is from a different kind of
world from the one you know."

She lifted her chin. "Yes. I realize that."

Quince could see she was close to tears, although she
tried to hide it from him. He had said enough on the
subject, and would say no more. He wanted her to enjoy
this dance. "I wonder if you have noticed that you are the
center of attention? Everyone seems to be watching you"

"It must be because I cut my hair."

He grinned at her naivete. "I'm sure you're
right that's probably why all the men are
watching you so closely."

Abby swallowed hard, thinking everyone must
be gossiping about her. "I don't care what they
think." She managed a smile. "I like dancing."

Edmund shouldered his way through the crowd to
get to the Hunter family. He had come in late and
hadn't seen Abby, so when he heard her laughter
and turned in her direction, he paled, feeling as
though a knife had just stabbed him. It was like
Beth had come back from the dead. But it wasn't
his beautiful Beth, it was her daughter reborn in her
mother's image.

"Abby," he said, distracting her from talking to
Grant. "I believe this is my dance."

She would have liked to have refused him, but
she could not think how to reject him without
drawing attention to herself. She nodded and placed
her hand on his arm, hoping it would be a short
tune.

Edmund was a good dancer, and it was a lively
polka. But the touch of his hand on her made Abby
wish she had worn gloves, as some of the other
ladies had.

"Temptress."

"Please don't say things like that to me. You are
Papa's friend, and he wouldn't like it." She would
have liked to have added that he was not her friend,
but she kept that thought to herself.

"I suppose you think I'm too old for you."

She was in a quandary. Edmund was always
saying suggestive things to her and touching her in
a way that made her shiver with revulsion. "Why,
no, Mr. Montgomery, you are not old -I believe
you are my father's age, or perhaps you are a few
years older, I'm not quite sure."

He gripped her hand so hard she bit her lip to
keep from crying out. When she tried to jerk away
from him, his grip only tightened more.

"Stop it-you are hurting me."

"Abby," he said, his voice thick with passion, "I
know your family is in financial trouble, but I can
help if you'll let me."

"We- don't need your help, Mr. Montgomery."
She glanced in the direction of her brother, wishing
she could catch his attention, but Quince was
dancing with Glory on the other side of the room.

"Sweet Abby, if you'll be nice to me, I'll tear up
the notes I hold on the Half-Moon."

His hot breath against her neck made her feel
nauseated. She took a determined stance, choosing
to misunderstand his intent. "I have always been
polite to you, Mr. Montgomery. As for the note,
Papa signed it in good faith, and we'll pay it off in
the same way."

His handy slid up her arm. "You are such an
innocent. I can only imagine the delight your
surrender would be for a man."

She stared at him in disbelief, stopping in
midstep. "Mr. Montgomery, I don't know what
gave you the notion that you could insult me this
way." Anger pushed her further. "If you ever say
anything like this to me again, I'll tell my brothers."

His eyes became so cold she shivered when she
looked into them, and he forced her into step with
him. "I will have you, Abby, one way or another, and
I don't care much if you come to me willingly or I
take you against your will. And when I do, neither your brothers nor that fancy officer will get in my
way."

He had threatened her with the deadliness of a
rattlesnake ready to strike. "You are a monster, and
the last man I would ever let touch me!"

"You may feel that way now, but I can change
your mind, if you will only let me."

"Never!"

"I have a way of getting what I want and I want
you. You will come to me one day because you'll
have no choice."

She tried again to pull away from him, but his
hand at her waist anchored her tighter to him.

"Don't make a fuss, Abby. Do you want
everyone to see your distress? They already gossip
about your family. Do you want to give them more
to talk about? Imagine how they would react if I
told them you offered yourself to me if I would tear
up your father's bank debts. Who would they
believe, Abby-me or you?"

"My brothers wi11 ..."

The hard expression on his face dared her to say
more; his eyes were like dark, bottomless pits of
unspeakable evil.

"If you get your brothers involved in this, one
or both of them will end up dead, and that's the
truth."

The music had stopped, and she was stunned as
he led her off the floor. She blinked her eyes when
he raised her hand and kissed it.

"Don't touch me!"

He smiled and bowed slightly. "I will touch every
place on your body before I'm finished with you,
Abby."

She stood paralyzed by fright as he walked away,
and tears gathered in her eyes despite her effort not
to cry. She had been touched by something vile and
evil. Mr. Montgomery not only wanted to hurt her,
he said he would kill her brothers if she told them
what he had said to her-and she believed him.

What should she do?

She hurried in the opposite direction from Quince
so he wouldn't see how distressed she was and ask
questions she could not answer. As she stepped
outside, the sky was glowing with silvery bursts of
fireworks. She stared upward, wishing she knew
what to do.

"Abby?"

She turned her head and tried to smile at Grant.

"What are you doing out here alone?" he asked,
placing his hand on her arm.

"I the sky is so beautiful. This is the first
time I have attended this celebration."

He saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes, and he
knew Edmund was responsible. "You can't fool
me. I was watching you dance with the banker. He
upset you, didn't he?"

She wanted to tell Grant about the foul,
disgusting things Edmund had said to her, but she
didn't dare. He would probably tell Brent and
Quince, or face Edmund himself, and she didn't
want him hurt either.

"I just don't like him very well."