Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) (31 page)

"All right, Violet, baby, where did your little
singer go? Did she run off with some man who came
in from out of town?"

"I don't know why you care so much about her,"
Violet said, pouting a bit. She had given him what
he wanted, and yet he still was thinking about Ruby.
"She wouldn't have taken care of you like I just did."

"I'm paying you to please me," he said tersely. "So
please me some more, and tell me what you know
about her and where she went."

Her eyes lit up at the thought of making more
money just for telling him all about Ruby. She
quickly told him how the singer had married Brent
Hunter, and then she filled him in on the latest gos sip about the Hunter family. They had been the talk
of the town for years.

John listened with interest. "So where is this
ranch?"

She told him, then added the talk she'd heard
about Brent living in the cabin by the creek.

"Ruby sure is lucky. Brent not only has a big
ranch; he's handsome, too," Violet finished with
envy.

She hadn't realized how her remark about Brent's
looks would affect this man. She immediately
regretted her words when his hands moved cruelly
upon her again.

"So looks are important to you, are they?" he
asked coldly, glaring down at her.

Violet trembled with fear. He truly looked like
the devil incarnate as he began to thrust within her
again. Trying to be brave, she managed a smile for
him. "No, looks mean nothing. I like money."

Before John had finished with her that night, he had
directions to the Hunter ranch. When he was finally
through, he left the bed and straightened his clothing
before throwing money on the bed where she lay.

Violet was sore and exhausted, but she grabbed up
the cash without hesitation. She was pleased with the
amount. "Will you be back?"

"No," John answered, and he walked out. He was
as sure as he could be that he'd finally located
Crystal. He knew where he was going, and he knew
what he was going to do.

Brent did not sleep soundly that night. He tossed
and turned, worried about the threat to Crystal. He
gave up the effort just before dawn. Going to stand
at the window, he stared out across the darkened
land. He used to think the view was beautiful and
peaceful, but he now he saw only potential danger.
They had no close neighbors, and there were many
places where someone could hide. Not one to turn
from any challenge, Brent tried to decide the best
way to keep Crystal safe.

"You're awake already?" Crystal asked as she
opened her eyes.

"It's almost light," he said, returning to the bed
and sitting down beside her. "I was thinking we
should ride over and talk to Pa and Abby today. We
need to tell them everything that's happened, so they can help us watch for Hall. Then we need to go
into town and talk to Sheriff Dawson. The more
people we have watching for Hall, the better our
chances of catching him before anything happens."

"How soon do you want to leave?" she asked,
coming fully awake.

"As soon as you can get ready. If we reach the
house early enough, I can catch Hank before he
heads over here, expecting to work with me again."

"Brent?"

He met her gaze.

"Do you want to tell them about the baby today?"

"Do you?"

"Yes. I want your pa and Abby to know."

He nodded, bowing to her wishes.

Crystal wasted no time getting ready. She got her
purse and took her derringer, too. Brent brought the
buckboard around to pick her up. He had tied
Storm to the back, in case he needed to ride out for
any reason while they were at the house. When they
arrived, Brent stopped at the bunkhouse to let Hank
know he wouldn't need him until they returned
from town; then they drove on up to the main
house.

Abby and Jack both came out on the porch when
they saw the buckboard approaching.

"I see you've made some changes," Jack said,
looking at her hair. "I like it better."

"Thank you," Crystal said with a smile.

"Me, too," Abby added.

"It's my natural color. I feel more like myself
now," she explained.

"So, to what do we owe this honor?" Jack asked.

"We've got to go into Diablo today, but we wanted
to stop and talk with you first," Brent told them.

"Come on in," Abby said. "Crystal, Frances told
us that your brother came looking for you."

"Yes, he did. Dan and I had a nice visit
yesterday."

"I'm sorry I missed him."

"He's going to be staying on in Diablo, at least for
a while, so I'm sure you'll get the chance to meet
him eventually."

"Good."

Brent tied up the team and helped Crystal down.
They all went inside. Frances came out of the
kitchen, smiling in welcome.

"It's so good that you're here. Breakfast is almost
ready," she announced. "Crystal, your hair looks
lovely. Go on and sit down. I take it your brother
found you all right?"

"Yes, thanks, Frances. It was wonderful to see him
again."

"What's on your mind?" Jack asked bluntly, not
interested in making small talk.

"A lot has happened, and we need to tell you
about it," Brent began.

Crystal spoke up, wanting them to know
everything. They were her family now, and they
deserved the truth.

"There was a lot about me Brent didn't know
when he asked me to marry him," she began.

Jack and Abby listened intently as she explained
what had brought her to Diablo.

"Oh, Crystal-that's terrible!" Abby interrupted
when Crystal revealed why John Hall had appeared
in her room. Abby cast a quick glance at Brent. She
was surprised to see that he was watching her. Abby
suddenly realized how blessed she'd been to have
her brothers-especially Brent. "How dreadful for
you."

"Yes, but there's more." Crystal went on with her
story, telling them how she had thought she was
wanted for murder and how Dan had just come to
reveal the real truth of what had happened that
night.

"Well, you're safe now," Jack said.

"Yes, I am." She looked at Brent and smiled. "I
told Brent the truth before we got married. I didn't
want to marry him with any lies between us, but he
loved me enough to marry me anyway."

"I told her at the time I thought she'd acted in
self-defense. I knew she couldn't have killed
anyone," he said supportively.

Jack's expression was serious during Crystal's
revelations and grew even grimmer as he listened to
Brent's words. He knew what prison life was like and
couldn't imagine Crystal surviving it. "So what of
this man Hall?"

"That's what we wanted to tell you, so you and the hands could keep a lookout for him," Brent said.

"You mean he might show up here?" Jack asked
sharply.

"According to Dan, Hall is still after Crystal.
When she hit him with the lamp she cut his face,
and he wants revenge against her," Brent told them.
"If the scarring is as bad as Dan says it must be, Hall
won't be hard to recognize."

"He's tall and dark-haired, but that's about all I
remember about him."

"I'll tell the hands," Jack said. "The more we've
got watching, the better."

"Brent gave me my first shooting lesson last night,
Abby," Crystal said. "He said I have a long way to go
to live up to your standards."

Abby was surprised by Brent's compliment. He
had always been after her to be more ladylike, so it
pleased her that he appreciated her shooting ability.
"Practice is all it takes. You'll do it."

"I hope so."

Frances served them breakfast, and they ate the
delicious fare hungrily.

"Did you say you were going into town this
morning?" Abby asked as they finished up the
meal.

"Yes, do you want to go with us?" Brent asked.

"Yes. Frances was saying we needed some
supplies, so I can get them while we're there."

Abby went to ask the housekeeper for a list of
what she wanted from town.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Abby told them
when she returned from the kitchen.

"There is one more thing I need to tell you,"
Crystal began, looking over at her husband as she
spoke. "Brent and I want you to be the first to
know-we're going to have a baby."

Abby couldn't speak for a moment. She looked
from her brother to his wife. Then she smiled and
took Crystal's hand. "What wonderful news. I'm so
happy for you." She hugged her sister-in-law, then
went to her brother to be enfolded in his arms. "I
already know you'll be a good father."

Jack's expression was guarded as he said, "You
make sure you take good care of her."

"I will."

They started off for Diablo then. Jack remained
on the porch watching them go. Only when they'd
disappeared from sight did he go back inside. He
stopped before the portrait of Beth and stood there
gazing up at her for a long moment before going to
get his bottle where he had it hidden in his room.
He needed a drink.

When they reached Diablo, they stopped first at the
hotel to find Dan.

"I didn't know you were coming into town
today," Dan said, surprised to see them when he
answered the knock at his hotel room door.

"We were worried, and we wanted to find out if
you'd heard anything back yet from the sheriff in Long Horn," Brent explained. Then, realizing Dan
hadn't met Abby yet, he quickly made the
introductions. "Dan, this is my sister, Abby. Abby,
this is Dan."

Dan managed to hide his surprise at seeing a
woman wearing pants and boots as they exchanged
greetings.

"I sent the wire first thing this morning," Dan
said. "The man at the telegraph office told me he'd
let me know just as soon as he got a reply from
Sheriff Spiller."

"Well, we're on our way over to warn Sheriff
Dawson about Hall."

"I'll come with you."

They left the hotel and made their way through
Diablo toward the sheriffs office.

"Are you really planning on staying on here?"
Crystal asked her brother. She knew how restless he
could be, and how he liked to move around a lot.

"I think so," Dan answered. He was so glad to
have found Crystal that he wasn't ready to think
about leaving her yet.

"Then you have to take a room at the
boardinghouse. I stayed there until Brent and I were
married, and I know you'd like it. The owner is
Anne Pals, and she's a wonderful cook."

"I'll do that," he promised. A home-cooked meal
sounded mighty good to him.

Sheriff Dawson was at his desk in his office, and
he looked up when they came in.

"Brent, is something wrong?" he asked,
concerned.

"I hope not-but that's what we wanted to talk to
you about. Have you heard yet that Crystal and I are
married?"

"Crystal?" he asked. "I thought your name was
Ruby."

"That was my stage name," she answered,

"Well, congratulations."

"Thanks," Brent replied. "And this is Crystal's
brother, Dan. He came to Diablo looking for Crystal
to let her know there's a man named John Hall
who's hunting her." He explained all that had
happened.

"I'm pretty sure he wants revenge," Dan
added, telling the lawman about the threats Hall
had made at the jail in Long Horn and how the
sheriff there hadn't seen him in a while. "I've
repaid my debt to him in full, and we're
waiting now to hear from Sheriff Spiller to see if
he's got any new information on Hall's
whereabouts."

"What's Hall look like?"

Dan described him as best he could, including his
scarred face.

"I'll tell my deputies. If anybody reports anything,
I'll let you know right away."

"We'd appreciate it," Brent told him.

When they left his office, Crystal took Dan to the
boardinghouse to meet Anne, while Brent and Abby went to the mercantile to get the supplies they
needed.

Edmund had come out of his office to speak with
someone in the bank lobby when he'd glanced out
the window and seen Abby across the street with
Brent and the others. He didn't know what had
brought her to town, but he was glad she was there.
He feasted his gaze on her for a long moment, until
the customer he'd been talking with spoke up and
interrupted his reverie. He'd concluded their
business quickly and then gone to take a better look
outside. He'd been shocked to find that they were
going into the sheriffs office, and wondered what
was wrong. The thought that there might be trouble
at the Half-Moon pleased him, but he didn't let his
reaction show.

Curiosity ate at Edmund as he watched and
waited for them to come out. When he finally saw
them emerge, he told the teller he'd be right back
and went outside.

"Brent! Abby!" Edmund called out, hurrying
down the street to join them.

Brent stiffened at the sight of the banker.

"You all right?" Abby asked, noticing the
immediate change in her brother.