Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) Read Online Free PDF

he begin to think about
heading back to his hotel room for a good night's
sleep. There was no doubt in his mind that he
needed the rest-especially considering what he was
going to face over the next few days.
    As Brent stepped into the street in front of the Six
Gun, he was struck by how beautiful the evening
was. A sliver of a moon glowed high overhead, and
the stars were bright and twinkling in the cloudless
night sky. The fact that he even noticed made Brent smile. He couldn't remember the last time he'd
bothered to look.

    The streets of San Antonio were deserted. All was
quiet, and he was glad. The liquor had mellowed his
dark mood. As angry as he'd been over his earlier
failed business dealing, he was now confident he
would find a way to keep the Half-Moon running. It
wouldn't be easy, but that didn't surprise him.
Nothing he'd done in the past ten years had been
easy.
    Brent's thoughts were untroubled as he crossed
the street and walked toward his hotel. His sense of
peace lasted for only a few moments, though, for he
noticed a man lurking in the heavily shadowed alley
behind the saloon. In the darkness he couldn't tell
who the man was, but it puzzled Brent that he was
moving so furtively.
    Brent took a step back, closer to the buildings,
so he wouldn't be noticed. He didn't know why
anyone would be hiding out in the alley that way,
and he feared it might mean trouble. He decided
to keep watch for a little while-just in case.
    Crystal had regretted the end of her second
performance, for she'd known she would
never see Brent Hunter again. Her thoughts
had lingered on the handsome stranger even
after she'd left the stage and gone to her
dressing room to change. She had found Brent
intriguing, but knew there was no point in dwelling on him. As he'd said, he was just
passing through.

    Crystal donned her ordinary day gown, then left
the dressing room. She was more than ready to call it
a night.
    "Opal, before you go, here's your pay. Bill told
me to give it to you." It was Belle Moran, one of the
saloon girls.
    "Thanks, Belle," Crystal said as she took the
money and tucked it into her small purse. She
wouldn't get rich on what she made at the Six Gun,
but she could pay her bills and she was safe. That
was all that mattered to her right now.
    "You have a good night, Opal," Belle said as she
left her there in the hallway. "I'm going back out
front to see if I can get that handsome cowboy's
attention."
    "Which cowboy? Andy?" Crystal asked with a
teasing smile.
    Belle laughed at the thought. "I'm sure Andy was
quite a man in his day, but I'm after the one you
were talking to at the bar. I haven't seen him around
here before, but I'd like to see more of him-if you
take my meaning."
    Belle was a ribald, lusty woman. She'd worked at
the Six Gun for a long time, and she made no
attempt to hide her inclinations. The men loved her
for her honesty, and she loved them right back.
    "Well, good luck, Belle. I'll see you tomorrow
night."

    Crystal slipped outside into the dark, deserted
passageway. Because she wanted to maintain her
aura of elusiveness, she always left the Six Gun this
way so no one would see her.
    As she started off down the night-shrouded alley
toward her boardinghouse, Crystal found herself
thinking of what Belle had said. She hoped the other
woman had no success at all in enticing Brent
Hunter to her bed.
    Mick was waiting in the shadows. He had been in
the saloon drinking for most of the night, but when
Opal finished her act and disappeared offstage, he
knew it was time to make his move. This was the
night Bill paid his working girls, and tonight Mick
needed money.
    Mick had seen the way Opal always left the
saloon through the alley, and tonight he was
waiting for her. He figured she was going to be an
easy mark. He doubted the singer would be able to
identify him in the darkness. Besides, she didn't
know him. He never talked to her. He only