by Bobbi Smith
If he stayed, at least he would be there to fight to keep it going. He had saved the Half-Moon from his father's stupidity once. He could do it again.
Brent thought of Edmund and knew he could never look at him the same way again. It seemed his uneasiness about the man had been justified. Edmund was no friend of the family-not after making that loan to his father and then pulling a gun on Brent.
Only the time he spent with Crystal kept Brent from even darker despair. The memory of her smile and her kiss left him counting the days each week until he could get back into town to see her.
Tomorrow was Saturday, and he couldn't leave for Diablo soon enough.
"That's the first time you've smiled in quite a while," Hank said, as he watched Brent ride a newly broken mount around the corral.
"It's the first time I've felt like smiling," Brent responded.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about going to town tomorrow and visiting a pretty little lady."
"You seeing Crystal again? Or are you going to see Melinda this week?" Hank asked with a grin. "It sure must be tough having two of the best-looking women in town after you."
The other ranch hands chuckled at his humor. They had all heard the story from Abby about what had happened with Melinda out at the cabin a few weeks back.
Brent scowled at them, but it was a good-natured scowl. They laughed at him again.
"Crystal's the only woman for me," he answered.
"I can understand why," Hank agreed.
The following day Brent made his getaway. He took a room at the hotel in town again and got ready to go to the Lone Star to watch Crystal perform.
Tonight was his to enjoy himself, and Brent intended to do just that.
Crystal stood before the mirror in her dressing room, staring at her reflection. It was almost time to go onstage. It was almost time to see Brent again.
Crystal's mood was frantic as she tried to come to grips with all that was tormenting her.
She turned sideways and studied the fit of her dress. She breathed a sigh of relief. She looked the same. No one would be able to tell-yet.
Pregnant.
Crystal finally allowed herself to face the truth. She'd tried to deny it for days but her cycle was as regular as clockwork. There could be only one reason she'd missed her monthly flux.
She was going to have Brent's child.
The knowledge frightened her. She wasn't sure what to do. How could she care for the child by herself when she was on the run from the law?
During the time she'd worked with Dan, Crystal had known a saloon girl who'd found herself in the same situation. She had been horrified when the girl had gone to an old woman who had aborted the baby.
Crystal rested a hand protectively on her still-flat stomach. Growing within her was Brent's childand her child. She would never cause her son or daughter harm. She was going to do everything in her power to protect her baby.
Her baby.
Crystal drew a calming breath and told herself there was no need to panic. She still had time to figure out the best thing to do.
There were moments when Crystal considered running away-just disappearing again, as she had in San Antonio, but in her heart she knew she couldn't-not this time. She had to tell Brent the truth about the baby.
Love him though she did, Crystal hadn't been able to justify marrying him when he had proposed before; she hadn't wanted to involve him in the danger surrounding her. She knew how he felt about his father, and she was terrified he'd feel the same way toward her when he learned of her past.
Now, though, Crystal realized that marrying Brent was her only hope. If she tried to continue on alone and the law caught up with her, their baby would suffer. If she and Brent were married, at least their child would have a home and be loved, no matter what happened to her.
All Crystal needed to do now was find the inner strength to tell Brent about her pregnancy. She only prayed that he still wanted to marry her.
As ready as she would ever be, Crystal looked up at her own mirror image once more and forced herself to smile. It was time to go to work. She had to transform herself into Ruby now and go entertain the customers.
Then Crystal remembered that Brent would be there in the saloon waiting for her when she went out, and her smile was no longer forced. It lit up her face with joy.
The Lone Star was already crowded and more than a little rowdy when Brent arrived.
"Ruby's sure drawing them in tonight," Ken said with a big grin as Brent came to stand at the bar.
"She's the reason I'm here," Brent agreed as the bartender set his usual beer before him. He relaxed at the bar, waiting for her first performance to begin.
"I just hope the rest of these boys behave themselves," Ken told him.
"It's payday," Brent said easily, looking around.
"Yeah, it's payday, all right," Ken answered, always glad when the ranch hands had money to spend. "But they just seem wilder than usual tonight. Some fellas are new here in town. I haven't seen them before."
"Maybe they heard that the Lone Star is the best place to come to have a good time."
"They'd be right then, wouldn't they?" Ken laughed as the piano player began the song to introduce Ruby.
The men in the saloon cheered, knowing Ruby was about to come out. All attention was riveted on the beautiful, mesmerizing redhead who appeared before them. The audience watched in drunken delight as she moved about the stage, singing with the voice of an angel. Some of her songs were ballads and some were fun and fast-paced, but no matter what she sang, the men applauded enthusiastically.
Brent enjoyed her performance, too, but he was eager for the evening to end so they could be together. He would have to bide his time, though, for she still had several performances that night.
Crystal had seen Brent standing at the bar the moment she'd first come out. Just knowing he was there inspired her. When she finally finished her last song, she left the stage to mix and mingle with the men in the audience. She made her way slowly and deliberately toward Brent.
"Evening, Ted. Good evening, Rick," Crystal said, flirting with some of the regular patrons as she passed by.
Crystal regretted there were no older men at the Lone Star like Andy. She'd always had a soft spot in her heart for the old man in San Antonio and found herself missing him on occasion. Andy had been a gentleman, and that was rare. She made her way over to a group of cowboys she didn't recognize.
"Evening, fellas," she said. "Welcome to the Lone Star. Are you having a good time tonight?"
"We are now that you're here!" Tex Bradley told her with a lascivious grin as he openly ogled her.
"Well, that's good to hear," she managed, but something about the man repulsed her.
"You can help me have a better time-if you want to, little lady," Tex said, giving the other men at the table a knowing look as he reached out to grab her hand.
Crystal avoided his touch and stepped away. "I'll try to do just that-in my next performance."
"That ain't what I had in mind," he said in a growl, turning red-faced and feeling humiliated as his buddies laughed at him.
"Take it easy, cowboy," one of the men at the next table said. He'd been watching and sensed trouble might be brewing. "Ruby ain't no saloon girl. She's a lady."
Tex glared at the man for interfering and then looked back at Ruby. He didn't say anything, but the lust he felt for her was still evident in his expression.
"I hope you have a pleasant evening," Crystal said, moving off. She couldn't get away from their table fast enough.
"Everything all right?" Brent asked in a low voice when she finally made it to his side. He'd been keeping an eye on her and had noticed the men at the poker table giving her some trouble. He knew how good she was at handling rowdy men, but he was always ready to go to her aid if she needed him.
"Yes, I'm with you now," she told him as relief flooded through her. "I missed you all week."
"I missed you, too."
Brent looked down at her, and their gazes met. For a moment it was as if the whole world disappeared and it was just the two of them-alone. The moment of peace didn't last long, though.
"Hey, Ruby! Come on back over here for a while!" one of the men at Tex's table yelled at her. "We got a poker game going, and I need you here with me to bring me some good luck!"
"I'd better go." Crystal did not want to leave Brent, but she was working.
"I'll be right here waiting for you," he promised.
Crystal made her rounds again, finally stopping by the cowboy who'd called out to her. She didn't like being around the card playing. It reminded her too much of the time she'd spent with Dan. Even so, she stayed on, knowing Ken counted on her to keep the customers happy.
"All right, let's see you win this big hand, cowboy," she said encouragingly.
"My name's Wes, sweetheart."
"Good evening, Wes."
"My luck's bound to change now that you're here." Wes was confident and more than a little arrogant.
Crystal was surprised by the tense mood at the poker table. She'd assumed these men were friends, but she realized now that they weren't.
The stakes in the game were very high, and each man was guarding his hand carefully.
When the play came around to Wes again, he matched their bets, raised them another hundred dollars, and called.
"Let's see what you got, Wes," Tex challenged, after throwing his money in.
"Three of a kind," Wes announced proudly, casting a triumphant glance up at Ruby as he spread three jacks out for them to see.
Two of the other three men threw down their hands in disgust, but Tex was smiling broadly.
"I hate to tell you this, but I don't think the little lady brought you any luck at all. I think she brought me all the luck," Tex said as he laid his hand down on the table for all to see. "My full house beats your three of a kind."
The other players were shocked. They'd thought for sure that Wes was the winner.
Wes was furious.
"You cheated!" Wes declared hotly, staring down at Tex's hand in disbelief. He'd just lost all his money, and he was furious.
"I don't have to cheat to beat you," Tex sneered, raking in the big pile of cash.
"Why, you...
Drunk and beyond reason, Wes surged to his feet in one violent move. He shoved the table so hard that he knocked it over. The cards and money went flying as he went for his gun, determined to put an end to what he believed were Tex's cheating ways.
Wes drew his gun, swaying unsteadily on his feet as he got off a shot at Tex.
Crystal gasped and rushed to try to get out of the way. She'd seen these kinds of fights before and knew they could be deadly.
Tex wasn't about to go down without a fight. He dove for cover as he drew his sidearm, too, and began firing.
When things had first begun to get ugly, Brent had started in Crystal's direction. He hadn't wanted her anywhere near the two drunks in case real trouble broke out.
And now it had. Everyone in the saloon was running for safety as Tex and Wes fired wildly. Brent drew his own gun, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect Crystal.
Behind the bar Ken grabbed his shotgun. All evening he'd been feeling like there was going to be trouble tonight, but he hadn't thought it would be anything this serious. He wanted to put an end to the shooting, but he couldn't get a clear shot at either one of the troublemakers.
"I can't get 'em, Brent! Can you?" Ken shouted to him.
"I'll try!" Brent struggled toward Crystal, frantic to keep her from being hurt. He prayed he could reach her in time.
Chaos reigned as Crystal sought safety behind a fallen table. She huddled down as more shots rang out. Screams and terrible, pain-filled shrieks echoed in the room.
Brent crouched low as he moved forward, trying to get off a shot at either one of the drunks to stop the bloody violence. He cast a quick look around for Crystal, but saw no sign of her anywhere. Terror unlike anything he'd ever known before filled him.
Had Crystal been shot? Was she lying hurt and bleeding somewhere?
A protective rage pounded within Brent as he realized just how deeply he cared for her-just how much he loved her. He had to put a stop to this now!
When Wes rose up to get another shot off at Tex, Brent saw his chance. He fired and hit Wes squarely in the shoulder. The force of the shot spun him backward, knocking him to the floor. Brent turned, ready to take on Tex.
"Hold it!" Ken shouted, his shotgun pointed straight at the other gunman.
Tex dropped his own sidearm as he looked down the barrel of the bartender's shotgun.
"Somebody get the sheriff-and the doc!" Ken ordered as he kept his gun trained on the drunken troublemaker who was still standing.
Two other customers lay on the floor, bleeding from gunshot wounds. Brent checked to make sure they were still breathing, then began his frantic search for Crystal.
She had to be safe! He couldn't bear it if something had happened to her.
He loved her.
He loved her....
The knowledge jolted Brent to the depths of his soul, but he finally accepted the truth of it. What else could explain the power of his feelings for her?
He loved Crystal. The thought of living without her was unbearable.
He offered up a fervent prayer that she was all right as he turned toward the place where he'd seen her last. Crystal was standing there watching him. She was pale and shaken, but he could tell she was uninjured.
Without a word, Brent rushed to take her in his arms and hold her close.
"You're all right?" he asked in a husky voice.
Crystal only nodded and clung to him, trembling. She was still too frightened to speak. She had seen Brent going for his gun and had feared he would be shot down.
Brent felt her trembling and scooped her up in his arms. "We're getting out of here right now."
"But Ken-"
"Ken can handle this," he said tersely, and strode from the Lone Star without looking back. The sheriff and the town doctor were coming toward the saloon at a run, but he didn't pause. A crowd of townsfolk were gathering.
"What happened?" they shouted to him.
"A couple of drunks shot it out," he called back to them, and kept on going. Brent wasn't stopping for anyone or anything until he had Crystal alone back in his room. He knew what he was going to do. He had made up his mind that they were going to get married, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He would never allow Crystal to put herself in this kind of danger again. Never. She meant too much to him.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"First, to my room at the hotel," he answered, his expression serious.
"Don't you think I should change clothes first?"
"No. We have to talk-now-and I want it to be somewhere private."
"I can walk now," Crystal said.
He looked so grim she thought he was angry with her, but at her words, his mouth lifted in a half grin, surprising her.
Brent looked down at her, his gaze warm upon her. "I like carrying you this way."
"Oh..." Her eyes were luminous as she gazed up at him.
Brent would have kissed her right then and there, but they were out in public. Granted, it was dark, but if he allowed himself to kiss her one time, he wasn't sure he would be able to stop.
He entered the hotel and was glad there was no one in the lobby. He strode straight upstairs and took her into his room. He set her on her feet, then lit a lamp and closed the door firmly behind them, insuring they wouldn't be interrupted.
"We're going to have a little talk," Brent announced as he faced Crystal.
"About what?"
"We're getting married," he said bluntly, offering her little opportunity to argue with him.
"Oh." She was shocked. It was what she'd hoped for. It was what she'd dreamed of, yet he sounded so... serious.
"And there's no point in arguing with me," Brent went on in his dictatorial manner.
"I wasn't going to," Crystal said in a soft voice.
Brent had been ready for trouble from her. He stopped in surprise. "You weren't?"
"No. I love you, Brent," she said simply. "I love you very much. When all the trouble started in the saloon and I thought you might get shot, I was fran tic. I couldn't bear the thought that anything might happen to you."
Brent stood perfectly still, as if not quite sure that he'd heard her right. Only when Crystal went to him and reached up to kiss him sweetly on the lips did he accept her words as reality.
Brent looked down at her. "And I love you, too."
"You do?"
He could only nod in response as his gaze went over her in a loving caress.
"But Brent, there is something I have to tell you. Something you have to know," Crystal began as she drew physically away from him.
He sensed her withdrawing emotionally as well, and he worried about it. Brent put his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to him. Whatever she had to tell him couldn't be that bad. They loved each other.
"What is it?" he asked, concerned.
"Brent..." Crystal looked up at him anxiously. "I'm pregnant."
"You're pregnant?" he repeated, lost for a moment in the magnitude of what she'd just announced.
"Yes," she answered quietly, then awaited his reaction.
Brent didn't speak. He showed her instead what he thought by gathering her even closer and kissing her.
"We'll go to Reverend Crawford tonight. There's no reason to wait any longer. You won't be going back to the Lone Star ever again. I want you with me always. That way I'll know you're safe," Brent told her, taking charge of her life.
Crystal gave him a gentle smile.
"You saved me again tonight, you know," she said softly, reaching up with one hand to tenderly caress his cheek.
"And I want that to be the last time you're in any danger," Brent said as he looked down at her. He couldn't bear the thought that any harm might come to her, and now that he knew she was carrying his child, his protective instincts were even greater.
