Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) (21 page)

Brent had made love to her. He had even asked
her to marry him. Obviously he had never proposed
to Melinda or she would have already had him at the
altar.

That thought made Crystal smile, and eased the
pain within her. But even as she felt a little better,
she realized nothing had changed. She was not of Brent's class. She did not belong in Brent's world.

No longer in the mood to think about shopping,
Crystal left the store without buying a thing.

Dan finally admitted to himself that he'd made a
mistake. Crystal had not gone to Houston. He'd
been looking for her there for several weeks now, but
had found no trace of her. He would have to return
to San Antonio and then head out in the other
direction. He had to check the towns where the
other stage had been going the day she'd run away
from him.

His hunt wasn't easy, but he wasn't going to
give up. He had to find her. He knew Crystal
could be a master of disguise, so he had to be
careful.

He didn't want to risk missing her. He just hoped
it didn't take him too much longer to locate her.
Time was of the essence.

He knew her very life was in danger, and it was
up to him to save her.

John Hall looked in the mirror of his hotel room in
Houston and swore violently as he studied his own
reflection.

Gone was the handsome, debonair gambler
who'd gotten anything and everything he'd ever
wanted.

In his place was a disfigured freak-a man so
ugly that his scarred face caused revulsion in all. Young children actually ran crying to their mothers
at the sight of him.

John had always liked being the center of
attention. He always liked people to stare at him and
admire his good looks and slick ways. But he didn't
want them watching him because he was hideous!

In one vicious, savage move, John hit the mirror
with his fist. It shattered, destroying his mirror
image.

His senseless attack left his knuckles cut and
bleeding, but he didn't care. At least now he didn't
have to look at himself anymore.

The pain and fury he was already feeling were far
greater than any gash on his hand.

John just wished the mirror had been Crystal
Stewart. He wanted to get his hands on her. He
wanted to beat her and torture her. He wanted to see
her dead for all the horror she'd caused him.

In frustration, he cursed out loud as he stared
blankly around the hotel room. He'd been secretly
trailing Dan Stewart, believing the man had had a
part in his sister's disappearance and that Dan would
eventually lead him back to her. But after endless
days and useless miles, it seemed Dan was no closer
to the elusive Crystal than he had been in the
beginning.

The trek to Houston had been a complete waste
of valuable time.

But Crystal was still out there somewhere, and
John would not be deterred from finding her.

He would not give up. He would not let the
woman who'd injured him so severely walk away
unpunished. He would get his hands on her, and
when he did, he would teach her a few lessons.

John was looking forward to their reunion. He
planned to enjoy every minute of it.

Jack rode like the wind across the countryside. He
thought if he rode long enough and hard enough he
could escape the hell that his life had become. But
when he finally reined in and sat there staring out
across the endless miles of unspoiled Half-Moon
land, he realized there was no escaping the misery. It
was not those around him who caused it. The pain
was deep within him. He could run from it, but he
would never be able to escape.

Jack thought about his fight with Brent and
remembered the last thing he'd shouted at his son:
Maybe I should be the one to go.

In all the years he'd been in prison, the only thing
that had mattered to him was coming home to the
Half-Moon.

And now he was back, but nothing was working out the way he'd hoped. His children despised him.
Even the ranch hands, men who'd worked for him
for years, didn't want anything to do with him.

Jack's mood turned even blacker as he thought of
Beth, and with the pain that seized him, he knew he
needed a drink. Silently he cursed Brent and the fact
that he had destroyed his bottle of whiskey. His need
to find forgetfulness drove him as he wheeled his
mount around and rode for Diablo-and the Lone
S tar.

Ken would be more than happy to sell him
another bottle.

And he knew no one would miss him on the
ranch.

"Brent, what are you doing?" Abby asked when she
glanced into his bedroom as she was passing by on
her way down the hall. She could see him inside
emptying out the drawers of his bureau.

"So you finally got up." He glanced over his
shoulder at her, but didn't stop packing.

"I didn't expect to sleep this late. Why? Did
something happen with Papa?"

"It's good you missed it."

"What happened?" She was worried as she came
into the room. She looked from her brother's stern
expression to the clothes he was packing away in a
trunk. "Where are you going? Are you leaving on a
trip?"

11 I had it out with Pa this morning," Brent began, wanting to explain his decision to her. "I'm leaving
here, but I'm not going on any trip."

Abby stared at him as a deep, abiding sadness
filled her. "Was it that bad?"

"Pa gave me no choice," he answered.

"But Brent, you can't leave!"

"The hell I can't, Abby," he said fiercely. "I
confronted Pa about the liquor this morning, and he
made it clear he has no intention of changing his
ways. So I'm going to move out and go live at the
cabin down by the creek."

"Why are you letting him push you out this way?"
she asked, devastated by his news.

"He's not pushing me out. I'm walking out under
my own power and of my own free will. You can
stay here with him if you want, Abby, but I'm tired.
I need some peace in my life, and I'm not going to
find it living under the same roof with him."

"Brent, think about what you're doing!"

"I have thought about it, and I have to do this.
You can come with me or you can stay here. The
choice is yours."

Abby was shocked over everything that was
happening. "But this is my home."

"Well, you know where I'll be if you need me."
Brent picked up what he could and left the room.

As Abby watched him walk out, a great sadness
filled her. It seemed she had lost everything.

Her mother was dead. Her brothers were gone.
And now she was going to be left at the ranch house with only her father-the man who was the
very cause of all her sorrow.

Brent knew he was going to have to do some work
on the cabin to make it livable. He went out to the
bunkhouse and got Hank and Curly to ride along
with him and help him make the needed repairs. He
hoped they could get most of it done in one day.
They loaded up two wagons with Brent's personal
things and the tools they'd need to get the work
done.

As they rode away from the ranch house, Brent
glanced back one last time. He was surprised to see
Abby standing on the porch watching them leave.
He lifted one hand to wave to her, but she didn't
respond. She turned and went back inside.

Brent understood why she was upset, but he could
not back down.

He was leaving.

It was time.

Jack took a deep drink from the tumbler of whiskey
Ken had set before him. He enjoyed the power of
the liquor as it burned its way down.

"So what brings you back into town today?" the
bartender asked. He'd been surprised to see him so
soon.

"I just needed a little relaxation," Jack answered,
lifting his glass in a mock toast. He drained the rest
of the whiskey and then shoved the glass back across the bar toward the barkeep for a refill.

Ken obliged.

"Looks like you've got company, Jack," Ken told
him as Edmund walked in.

Jack glanced up as Edmund came to stand with
him at the bar. Jack smiled at him. It was good to
know he had one friend in the world. "What are you
doing here?"

"I saw you ride in, so I came over to see what
you were up to. I hadn't thought you'd be back in
town so soon," Edmund replied. "Have you got
something to celebrate?" He motioned toward his
drink.

"No, I had a run-in with Brent this morning, so I
went for a ride and ended up here."

"What's the problem with Brent?" Edmund
sounded concerned.

"He's so damned high and mighty," Jack swore.
"Just because he ran things while I was gone, he
thinks he can order me around and tell me what to
do on my own ranch."

Edmund was secretly pleased that the
Hunters were fighting, but his expression
betrayed nothing. "Brent did work hard while
you were away, Jack. You should be proud of
him."

"Proud of him? For what? Training a lot of nags?"
Jack said with a sneer. "Brent's too damned arrogant.
Quince would still be here helping out if it wasn't
for him. He drove him off."

"Do you know what you want to do now? Have
you made plans for the ranch?"

Jack's mood improved, for Edmund was talking
to him as if he were in charge. "I have a lot of
plans."

"I figured you did," Edmund said smoothly. "I
know how much you love the Half-Moon."

"It's got to be the biggest and the best," he
declared. He stopped to take another deep drink.

Edmund saw his opportunity and took advantage
of it. "Why don't you come over to the bank with
me? I've got an idea I think just might appeal to
you.

"What kind of idea?"

"Well, there's some property for sale that you may
want to add on to the Half-Moon."

"That sounds good." Jack smiled at the prospect
of increasing the size of the ranch.

"Are you done here? Are you ready to go?"
Edmund asked.

"Sure, but wait just one minute." Jack motioned
to the bartender as he finished off the last of his
drink. "I want a bottle to take with me."

Ken brought it to him. Edmund pushed Jack's
coins aside and insisted on paying the bill; then they
went to the bank.

An hour later, Edmund was ready to celebrate.
He took out the decanter of whiskey and the two
glasses he kept in the cabinet behind his desk in
the office.

"Let's drink to this deal. It's a good one. I'll take
care of finalizing all the negotiations for you," he
assured Jack.

"I appreciate it." Jack trusted him implicitly.
"And you did add in the extra hundred dollars cash
for me, didn't you?"

"I sure did, just like you said. Just sign right here."
Edmund indicated the place at the bottom of the
loan papers where Jack was to sign his name. Jack
proudly signed the document, and Edmund poured
them each a drink. Edmund gave Jack considerably
more than he took himself, but Jack didn't notice.
He was just glad to have another drink.

"To the success of the Half-Moon," Edmund
toasted their deal.

"Sounds good to me." Jack downed the whiskey,
celebrating the heady feeling of knowing he was
buying more property for the Half-Moon and
getting some cash of his own to use as he saw fit.

He'd show Brent who was the boss.

Brent smiled in satisfaction as he looked around the
cabin.

"Thanks," he told Curly and Hank. They'd
worked hard all day to put the place in order.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Hank asked.

"It's time."

They shared a look. Hank understood his
reasoning.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"Not that I can think of right now. You can head
on back. I'll meet you tomorrow morning in the
north pasture."

Curly and Hank left.

Brent took the time to look over the cabin once
more. They'd repaired the roof and fixed the broken
porch steps. Structurally it was sound. It still needed
some serious cleaning, and he'd work on that as best
he could. He'd brought his bed and bedding, and a
chest from the main house, and Frances had given
him a good stock of food.

This was now his home.

When he'd told Crystal he wanted to live there,
he'd never imagined it would be so soon. He
remembered Crystal's reaction to the place and
wished she were with him now to see the
improvements they'd made. The thought made him
smile and motivated him. He set to work cleaning
the inside. As soon as it was ready, he was going to
go into town and bring Crystal out for a visit. He
needed to see her again.

Jack's mood was confident when he returned to the
Half-Moon late that afternoon. His deal with
Edmund had made him feel powerful. For the first
time since he'd returned, he felt like the man in
charge, and it felt good.

Jack was drunk when he dismounted in front of
the house. He stood there looking around for a
moment, taking pride in what he owned. Bottle in hand, he went inside and stashed the whiskey in his
room. Since it was so quiet in the house, he figured
Abby and Brent were both out working. He was
surprised when he returned to the living room and
came face-to-face with Abby.