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

by Bobbi Smith

  There on the soft bed of grass they came together in a passionate blending that left them both exhausted.

  They finally moved apart and got dressed again.

  "I think I like spending Sundays with you," Crystal told him. "And I especially like going wading with you." She added the last with a grin.

  "I like wading with you, too."

  He kissed her one final time, and then they rode back toward the cabin.

  "I wonder where Brent is?" Melinda said as she and Abby looked around the deserted cabin.

  "Knowing my brother, he's out working somewhere. That's about all he does." To herself, she had to admit that he'd done a good job of fixing up the old cabin. It actually looked nice.

  Melinda intended to change his devotion to work just as soon as she could get her hands on him. But where was he? "It's Sunday. He should be enjoying himself."

  "I don't think we're talking about the same man," Abby said.

  Melinda wasn't going to give up easily. "I'm going to wait here for a little while. He's bound to show up eventually. You can go on, if you want to."

  Abby thought it was a little strange that Melinda wanted to stay there at the empty cabin to wait for Brent.

  "I'll stick around for a while," she told her. "I haven't seen much of him this week."

  Inwardly, Melinda was angry. She didn't want Abby anywhere around when Brent returned, but there was no way to get rid of her. Melinda managed a sickeningly sweet smile as they settled in together to await Brent's return.

  "There are horses tied up at the cabin," Brent pointed out as they came within view. "One of them is Moon Racer-I wonder what Abby's doing here. I hope there's no trouble."

  He urged Storm to a quicker pace, and Crystal followed after him as he rode in.

  "Abby?" Brent called out as he reined in before the house and quickly dismounted.

  He had just started up the porch steps when the door opened and Melinda walked out.

  "Hello, Brent," Melinda purred, meeting him on the porch. "I've been waiting for you."

  "Melinda?" He was caught completely off guard by her presence. "What are you doing here?"

  "Why, I came to see you. Your sister was kind enough to bring me out here."

  "Abby?" He looked past Melinda to where Abby was only) ust now coming out of the cabin.

  "She came out to the house looking for you, so I brought her over here to see you," Abby explained quickly.

  Melinda gazed at him adoringly. Obviously she was expecting a warm welcome from him. And then Melinda heard the other horse coming.

  "What is she doing here?" Melinda demanded, her dreamy expression changing to an ugly sneer when she caught sight of Crystal.

  "Crystal is here as my guest today," Brent said sharply, irritated by Melinda's audacity. He hadn't invited her to the Half-Moon, and he had no idea why she'd come so boldly on her own.

  "But I came all this way just to visit with you," Melinda said, gazing up at Brent.

  "Was there something that you needed?" he asked.

  Melinda blushed with humiliation. "No. No, there's nothing I need."

  She started down the steps, completely outraged over how things had turned out. No wonder Brent hadn't come to town this weekend! He'd been out here-with that slut!

  Melinda realized miserably that she'd ridden all the way to the ranch just to be with him, and he was sending her away. He was ignoring her!

  "I'll be going."

  "Can you find your way back to town from here?" Abby asked.

  "Yes. I'll be fine." Melinda held her head high as she left them. She wanted nothing more to do with any of the Hunters. She knew the way to the main road, and she would go straight back to town. Her hope of winning Brent had been dashed. She tried to think of another man in town as desirable as Brent, but there wasn't one. No one measured up to him. Bitterness filled her as she mounted up.

  Crystal had been surprised to see Melinda come out of the cabin when she rode up-and she'd been a bit jealous. For a moment she'd wondered what the other woman was doing there. But the abrupt way Brent had sent her off eased her anxiety.

  Abby said nothing for a moment as she watched Melinda ride away. Then she looked at Brent. "Woman trouble, big brother?"

  "You have no idea."

  "Never mind," Crystal said smoothly, dismounting and going to stand at Brent's side. "I can see why any woman would want to have your attention."

  Brent looked down at Crystal, his expression changing to one of affection.

  "Honestly, if I'd known you were here, Crystal, I would never have brought Melinda out to see Brent."

  Brent shot Abby another look of disapproval.

  "All right. I'll leave." She started to go to her horse.

  "If you'll wait a few minutes, we'll ride over to the house with you. I thought we'd come for dinner tonight," Brent told her. "There's something I need to talk to Pa about, and Crystal wanted to see both of you again."

  "All right, I'll wait."

  "What did you think about Brent's moving here to the cabin?" Crystal asked her. "He did a fine job of fixing the place up, didn't he?"

  "Yes, he did," Abby agreed. She said nothing more, though, for she didn't want to share her true feelings about Brent's moving out.

  Brent saw the hurt in his sister's gaze. "Abby, I told you that you can move in with me anytime."

  Abby looked him straight in the eye. "I know you did, but I'm staying at the house. Papa can't make me leave, like he did you."

  Brother and sister stared at each other for a long moment.

  "Well, if you want to eat, we'd better head back now. Are you going to ride or drive the buckboard?"

  "We'll take the buckboard," Brent answered, knowing he would have to take Crystal back to town after dinner.

  They rode for the main house. Crystal glanced back once toward the peaceful setting of the cabin, and she smiled as she remembered their hours there.

  Jack appeared to be glad to see Crystal again, and dinner was pleasant. Brent wasn't looking forward to talking to his father about what he'd heard in the saloon the night before, but he knew he had to ask him about it before he left to take Crystal back to town.

  "I need to talk to Pa for a minute. I'll meet you outside," he told Crystal.

  She went on outside with Abby to give them privacy.

  "What's bothering you now?" Jack challenged, immediately taking the offensive.

  "When I was at the Lone Star last night, the bartender told me you were there drinking last week."

  "Yeah, so?"

  "He also told me that Edmund was with you and that you were talking about buying more property for the Half-Moon."

  "Talk is cheap."

  "What did you and Edmund talk about?"

  "He said there was some property for sale that adjoined the Half-Moon."

  "You didn't do anything stupid, did you?"

  Jack glared at him. "Remember who you're talking to!"

  "I know exactly who I'm talking to! Don't forget I know how you are when you're drunk!"

  "You think you're so smart, but you don't know anything!"

  "What did you do?" Brent suddenly went cold.

  Jack gave him a sly look. "Remember the Sullivan ranch?"

  "Iona Montgomery's place-the one that belonged to her late husband? Edmund sold it right after he married her. Why? What about it?" A sense of dread filled him.

  "The place has gone through several owners. The last one had some trouble with rustlers."

  "So I heard," Brent said.

  "It drove him under, so he needed to sell. Thanks to Edmund, I got the place for a good price."

  "What did you use for money?" Brent demanded.

  "Edmund took care of that, too. I took out a loan, but that's no problem."

  "You didn't." Brent's jaw locked in anger as his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

  "I did. I'm going to make the Half-Moon the most successful ranch in Texas," he said with pride.

&n
bsp; Brent was beyond fury.

  Ten years... For ten years he'd worked from dawn to dusk-and sometimes longer-to get the ranch out of debt.

  And all for nothing. Pa was at it again.

  "How could you do this? Didn't any of what I've done over these last ten years mean anything to you?" He was holding himself under rigid control.

  "You did what I would have done," Jack said dis missing his argument. "You worked hard and held on to the ranch. Now it's time to start thinking about the future. It's time to make it grow again."

  "How much did Edmund loan you?" he ground out, needing to know the full truth.

  "I don't know."

  "You don't know?" Brent was appalled.

  "I signed the papers, and Edmund said he'd take care of it like he's always taken care of the banking end of things for me."

  "Don't you think it's time you put your trust in me and my judgment about the ranch-instead of Edmund's?" Brent asked in a cold, harsh voice. "He could have repossessed the ranch while you were locked up serving your time!"

  "But he didn't,'-' Jack countered.

  "Because I made the payments on time!"

  They faced off, glaring at each other.

  "It's my ranch," Jack answered, refusing to admit to Brent that he might be right.

  "That I saved," Brent stated, then turned his back and walked out.

  He was glad that Crystal was already in the buckboard. He climbed up beside her and drove off.

  "See you later," Abby called as they left.

  Crystal waved good-bye to her, but Brent didn't respond. He concentrated solely on his driving.

  Abby wondered what had happened between him and Papa to so darken his mood. Whatever it was, it must have been ugly. She went back inside to see if she could find out what had occurred.

  "Is something wrong?" Crystal, too, realized Brent's mood was drastically different.

  "Nothing that I shouldn't have been expecting," he said, a note of bitterness in his voice.

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  "Talking about it won't change anything."

  "No, but I'm a real good listener."

  He managed to smile at her then, knowing she truly cared and was just trying to help. He explained what his father had done. "After I take you back to the boardinghouse, I'm going to see Edmund."

  "Will it do any good? Will he listen to you?"

  "I think maybe I wasn't forceful enough when I talked to him before. This time I'll make sure he listens. Maybe there's still some way to stop the purchase."

  Brent saw her safely home. Anne was there to meet her, so they had no opportunity for another kiss. Crystal was very sorry, but she had her memories of the early afternoon to last her through the week. As she watched Brent leave, she hoped he would be able to work things out with the banker.

  Brent left her and went straight to Edmund's house. Iona answered his knock and he was a bit stunned by how drawn and haggard she looked.

  "Brent, what are you doing here?" Iona asked.

  "I need to talk to Edmund, if he's around."

  "Come on in. He's in the study," she said, holding the door wide for him to enter. "Go on in and see him."

  "Thanks."

  Brent had been in their house before and knew the way. He knocked only once on the door, and at Edmund's call, he entered. Edmund was sitting behind his desk looking very confident and secure.

  "Why, Brent. This is an unexpected pleasure."

  "I hardly think my visit here is unexpected, Ed mund," Brent said tersely. "And I know it's no pleasure under these circumstances."

  "What's wrong?" Edmund asked innocently.

  "You know damn well what's wrong!" Brent approached his desk and stood before him, his rage evident in his expression. "I asked you not to make any new loans to my father! I told you that I wanted to keep the Half-Moon out of debt!"

  "Ah, so Jack told you about the deal we got on the Sullivan property."

  "Pa didn't tell me anything until after I found out from talk down at the Lone Star!"

  Edmund shrugged as if it were of little importance where he'd learned of the sale.

  "Jack wanted to expand the ranch, and I knew that property was for sale. It seemed a good arrangement for all involved," he explained easily, but, sensing Brent's fury, he slipped his hand into the desk drawer where he kept his gun.

  "That property has been for sale for quite a while, and it's worthless to us! The Half-Moon doesn't need that land. We're already big enough."

  "Well, the ranch is even bigger now."

  "Cancel the deal."

  "The sale was finalized. It's done."

  "Why, you...!" Brent was ready to throttle him.

  Edmund drew out his gun and aimed it straight at him. "Get out of here now, Brent. You come any closer and I'll be forced to use this on you."

  Brent stopped. "So that's the way it is?"

  "Yes," Edmund replied smoothly.

  Brent stared at the man who was supposedly a family friend and then looked down at the gun in his hand. "Thanks for being such a good friend. I'll remember this."

  "So will I," Edmund responded.

  Without another word, Brent turned around and left.

  Edmund followed him to make sure he was gone. Only when Brent had ridden off did Edmund return to the desk and put the gun away. He sat back down and thought about what had just happened.

  And he smiled.

  Edmund's smile faded when he heard Iona in the hallway. Fortunately she had gone back to her room when Brent arrived. Edmund hadn't wanted her to hear any of what had transpired between them.

  "I just wanted to say good-night, Edmund," Iona offered as she stood in the study doorway.

  Edmund could see that she was unsteady on her feet and knew she'd been drinking while she was in her room. He stood up and walked around the desk. "It's early, dear. I thought you'd keep me company for a little longer tonight."

  Iona's expression brightened at his words.

  Edmund was filled with disgust by her drunken state, but forced a smile as he went on, "I was thinking about the letter you received from Juliana a few days ago."

  "Oh, yes. Juliana is doing so well. She's in Saratoga, New York, visiting her late husband's family, you know." Iona smiled as she thought of her daughter. "Who would have thought that my Juliana would be so well traveled at such a young age?" She gave a shaky laugh. "I was worried when she married Harlan Rains. He was so much older than she was, and so sophisticated. I thought..." She shrugged. "Well, it doesn't matter what I thought, does it? It all turned out well in the end."

  Iona gasped and her eyes widened as she realized what she'd just said. "Oh, my-I didn't mean it was good that Harlan died. He was a fine man, and he left Juliana a rich woman. Of course, money isn't everything, and I'm sure she wishes he were still alive. I just meant-"

  "I know what you meant." Edmund cut her off impatiently, tired of her endless ramblings. "I was thinking you could answer her letter tonight, and I could post it tomorrow for you."

  "That's so kind of you, Edmund." She paused, then continued in a softer voice, "I know your relationship with Juliana was difficult. Juliana can be a very stubborn girl, and I know she tried your patience sometimes. I want you to know I appreciate your forbearance."

  "She's your daughter, so of course I love her."

  "Oh, Edmund."

  The charade sickened him, but he continued. "About the letter... We can write it now at my desk, if you feel up to it?"

  "Oh, yes," she responded, brightening at the thought. "I'd like that."

  Moments later Iona was seated at Edmund's desk, pen in hand, writing the letter as he dictated it.

  My dear Juliana,

  I was so pleased to hear you're doing well. I'm proud of your accomplishments. I enjoy hearing about the interesting people you have met and the places you have visited while staying with Harlan's family.

  I am well and so is Edmund. We live a busy life. Our work at church is very s
atisfying.

  Everyone in Diablo asks about you and sends you their regards. They enjoy hearing about your adventures almost as much as I do. Edmund and I look forward to your next letter, and we send our love.

  Sincerely, Mother

  Edmund waited until she'd finished writing before asking, "Is there anything I left out that you want to add?"

  "No, the letter is fine the way it is."

  "Go ahead and address the envelope," he encouraged.

  He sealed the envelope moments later and set it aside. Iona got up and went to him.

  "You can go on to bed now, dear. I have an appointment to keep. I'll see you in the morning."

  The disappointment in her expression was so obvious, Edmund almost laughed out loud. His lips twisted into a sneer as he watched her move unsteadily back down the hall toward the bedroom. He knew she had wanted him to make love to her tonight, and he shuddered at the thought of touching her.

  Edmund watched Iona until she had disappeared into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. He'd mail the letter tomorrow, and when Juliana received it, she would read her mother's glowing report of her happy life. Juliana would stay in Saratoga, where she belonged.

  The weeks that followed passed in a blur for Brent. He was beyond anger, and he was almost beyond caring about the ranch. As his father had told him numerous times, Jack owned the place and he could do what he wanted.

  Brent kept himself busy breaking stock. He tried to come to grips with what he'd learned, but there was no way he could reason his way out of this.

  His father had done the unthinkable-he had put the ranch back in debt. And he'd done it without even asking him. Brent felt doubly betrayed, for Edmund had made the loan to his father after he'd specifically asked him not to.

  Brent knew he was the driving force behind the Half-Moon. He had been for ten years. The men looked to him for leadership. Yet he had been help less to stop his father from putting the ranch in jeopardy again.

  He was tempted to leave-to just pack up and ride away. Night after night as he paced alone in the cabin, he thought of making a new life of his own away from the Half-Moon. But each morning as dawn cast its golden glow over the land, Brent knew he couldn't leave. He loved the ranch too much. The Half-Moon had been his life for too long. He couldn't forsake it now.