Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) (34 page)

The bullet took Hall squarely in the chest, and
the force of it flung him backward. He crashed to
the floor and lay still.

Crystal had been frozen in place for a moment.
Then she gave a small cry as she got to her feet and
ran to Brent.

"I knew you'd come! I knew you would!"

Brent took her in his arms and held her close. He
could feel how fiercely she was trembling.

"It's all right now. He's never going to hurt you
again," he declared.

"Are you two all right?" Hank asked as he came
running inside, his gun in hand.

"Yes. It was Hall. I got him," Brent answered
quietly.

Drawing Crystal with him, Brent went outside on
the porch. When he gazed down at her and saw her
bruised face, he hated Hall even more.

"He hurt you." He lifted one hand to gently
touch her cheek, where a bruise was beginning to
discolor her pale complexion.

Crystal saw the rage within him and sought to
calm him. "I'm only bruised."

"Thank God I reached you in time." Brent drew
her back into the circle of his arms and leaned down
to kiss her ever so tenderly.

Brent found he was trembling, too, from the force
of all his turbulent emotions. His violent rage had
been replaced now by an incredible sense of relief.
He held Crystal to his heart, knowing he never
wanted to let her go.

She was his life-his love.

One week later

Brent stood silently over his mother's grave for a
long moment, then bent down and laid the single
blossom he'd brought with him next to her
tombstone.

"I saved Crystal," Brent said quietly. "I got to her
in time, and I saved her."

A sense of peace stole over him as he stood back
up.

"Brent?"

He hadn't heard anyone approaching, but when
he turned, Crystal and Abby were coming toward
him.

"I had a feeling you might be here," Abby said. "Frances said to tell you dinner is almost ready."

"All right." Brent had been working at the main
house that day, and Crystal had driven over to visit
Abby. They had decided to stay on for dinner. It
wasn't easy for him to be around his pa, but he
wanted to spend some time with Abby.

"So this is your mother's grave." Crystal paused,
staring down at the tombstone. "I wish I'd known
her."

"I wish you had, too. You would have loved her,"
he said.

"I'm sure I would have. She must have been
wonderful. She raised you and Abby," she told them
both with a smile.

"And Quince and Matt," Abby said as they left
the grave site and made their way back to the house.
"I'm starting to get worried about them."

"You shouldn't, especially where Quince is
concerned. He can take care of himself," Brent said.
His tone turned cold as he spoke of his brother.
"He'll show up here when he's good and ready, and
not a minute before. As for Matt, it's anyone's guess
whether he'll come home."

"You're right," Abby agreed.

Brent was about to tell his sister that Quince
didn't care about anyone but himself, but he
didn't. She'd have to figure their brother out on
her own.

They reached the house, and Abby went in ahead
of them.

Brent and Crystal had just started to go inside
when Crystal suddenly stopped.

"Oh," she said, startled. She put a hand on her
stomach as she looked at Brent.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Brent was
instantly concerned.

Crystal stood still for a moment longer, a look of
wonder on her face. "No. No, there's nothing
wrong. In fact, I think everything is very right. I just
felt the baby move."

"You did?" Brent was stunned.

"Yes."

Brent stood, gazing down at Crystal. He had
come so close to losing her that he now cherished
every minute they had together. "I love you,
Crystal."

"And I love you."

He kissed her sweetly before they started to follow
Abby into the house.

Brent paused at the door and looked back out
across the ranch. The sun was sinking lower in the
western sky, bathing the lush land in a golden glow.

For the moment, he could forget the cloud
hanging over the Half-Moon-his father's venture
back into debt. From this vantage, the land looked
like paradise, and Brent knew that as long as he had
Crystal by his side, it would be heaven.

Edmund dismounted in front of the secluded cabin.
It was late, but he didn't care. He had business to
take care of. As he drew near, the door to the cabin
opened and a disreputable-looking man came out,
gun in hand.

"Oh, it's you." The man lowered his gun when he
saw that it was Edmund.

"Yes, Kane, it's me," Edmund said with a confident
smile. He had been there many times before to see
this man and knew what to expect. Kane was a loner,
a man without principles, but he was also both
efficient and dependable about accomplishing any job
he was hired to do-for the right price. And Edmund
always paid him handsomely.

"Come on in."

Kane led the way inside. Edmund followed him, but didn't say anything until the other man had
closed the door behind them.

"Here." He handed him an envelope.

Kane opened it to check the contents.

"Don't worry; your money's all there."

He ignored him and started to count out the bills.

"I said-"

"I heard you." Kane looked up at him and smiled
coldly. "But your reputation as an honest man
doesn't impress me, Edmund. I know better."

Edmund fought to conceal his irritation. As filthy
and arrogant as Kane was, he had still proven
invaluable to him in the past, and he'd be even more
valuable in the future. Forcing himself to remember
that, Edmund said, "You did a good job handling
things at the Sullivan ranch."

"Rustling is my specialty," Kane answered with a
grin.

"I've already foreclosed and sold off the property
to someone else, so you won't need to do anything
more there until I let you know. In the meantime, I
have another job for you."

"Good." Kane looked at him with interest.

Edmund knew this man loved his work. He
continued, "You've done work on the Half-Moon
Ranch before, but things have changed since Jack
Hunter returned from prison. You're going to have
to be careful. Do you think you can handle it?"

Kane's expression was contemptuous. "What do
you think?"

"Don't get cocky with me, Kane. I can't afford
any mistakes."

"Just tell me what you want me to do."

Edmund paused, then smiled coldly. Yes, Kane
would do anything for a price.

Edmund started to speak.

A short time later, Edmund rode back to
Diablo. He was satisfied with the outcome of his
meeting with Kane. Things were going his way.

An image of Beth Hunter flashed in his mind,
and his satisfaction faded. It had been ten years since
Beth had died, but his rage was still as powerful as
ever.

Edmund knew he had Jack in the palm of his
hand. He had set his plans into motion, and he was
confident everything would fall into place. But no
matter how successful his scheme was, he could
never possess Beth.

It was Jack's fault Beth was dead. It was Jack's
fault that he had never known her intimate touch. It
was Jack's fault that he would never hear her admit
she had made a mistake when she'd refused him. It
was Jack's fault that he would never hear Beth plead
for his forgiveness.

Edmund's expression grew resolute. Jack was
responsible for the one great failure in his life, and
for that, he would pay.

For that, all the Hunters would pay-all of
them.

He would see to it.

After working as a department manager for FamousBarr, and briefly as a clerk at a bookstore, Bobbi Smith
gave up on career security and began writing. She sold
her first book to Zebra in 1982. Since then, Bobbi has
written over twenty books and several short stories. To
date, there are more than three million of her novels in
print. Awarded the prestigious Romantic Times
Storyteller of the Year Award, her books have appeared
on several bestseller lists. When she's not working on
her novels, she is frequently appearing as a guest
speaker for Romantic Writers Association conferences.
The mother of two boys, Bobbi resides in St. Charles,
Missouri, with her husband.