Hunter's Moon (Hunter Family Saga; Half-Moon Ranch 1) by Bobbi Smith Page B

the
bar as he drew near. The cowboys who were in town
for a good time always found it at the Lone Star. He
went into the crowded saloon and spotted his father
immediately, standing at the bar with his back to the
door. Even as Brent looked on, the bartender was
refilling his glass.

    Brent made his way to his father's side.
    "I had a .feeling you'd be here."
    Jack had lost count of the number of drinks he'd
had, and he didn't care. He glanced at Brent with
annoyance.
    "I'm a free man, and I can do whatever I want.
Right now all I want to do is just relax a bit."
    "You couldn't do that at the dance?"
    "No," he answered harshly. "Folks are friendlier
here at the Lone Star, and they got real good
entertainment. I'm waiting for Miss Ruby to come
back out again." Jack grinned as he thought of her.
Ruby had smiled at him and treated him like a man.
It had been quite a contrast to the way everyone else
was treating him. Her acceptance had eased the pain
in his soul.
    "Who's Ruby?" Brent wondered if some dancehall girl were going after his father.
    "She's the entertainment here. Stay with me.
She's due back out in the next few minutes, right,
Ken?" Jack looked at the man tending bar.
    "That's right," Ken answered.
    "I don't care about seeing Ruby."
    "Go ahead and leave, then, but I'm staying."
    Brent was frustrated, but he didn't want to pick a
fight with his father.
    You want a drink?" the bartender asked
Brent.
    "Give me a beer," he said.
    Ken served him and moved off.

    "You're having a beer?" Jack looked at Brent in
surprise.
    "Shut up, Pa."
    Jack changed the topic, his words starting to slur.
"You're going to like Miss Ruby. Sings like an angel.
She's damned sweet, too. She was real nice to me."
    "Sure she was," Brent said cynically as he took one
token drink of the beer, and then set the glass aside.
"They're all nice to you-when they think you've
got money.
    "No, Ruby's different. Just wait-you'll see."
    Brent took a look around and remembered the
last time he'd been in a saloon. His mood had been
dark then, too, but at least he'd had the girl named
Opal to brighten that night up a little bit. He just
hoped this Ruby was mildly entertaining, for he
needed some distraction this evening.
    The piano player began playing Ruby's
introduction.
    "Here she comes now," Jack told him, grinning as
he looked eagerly toward the stage.
    Brent frowned. The tune sounded vaguely
familiar.
    And then Ruby made her appearance.
    Brent's expression turned from a frown to a look
of surprise and disbelief.
    It was Opal....
    The red hair gave her a very different look, but
there was no mistaking her beauty or the sound of
her voice.

    Jack glanced at him and saw the look on his face.
"She's damned pretty, isn't she?"
    "You're right. She is," he agreed.
    Brent gave his full attention to her performance,
but he couldn't help wondering how and why Opal
had ended up in Diablo disguised as Ruby.
    Jack finished off his whiskey and motioned to the
barkeep to refill his glass. He was glad Brent was so
busy watching the singer that he didn't notice.
    Crystal moved about the stage, singing her heart
out to the men. They responded with genuine
enthusiasm, cheering and clapping. As she finished
her final song, she looked out across room to see if
the older man was still at the bar. He was. She went
completely still as she saw Brent Hunter standing at
his side.
    Crystal didn't know how it was that fate had
brought them together again, but she was thrilled.
Her gaze lingered on Brent. He was every bit as
handsome and wonderful as she remembered.
    "Ruby!"
    The sound of one of the other customers calling
out to her jarred her from her momentary reverie.
She forced her attention back to doing her job. As
she left the stage to mingle with the customers,
though, she slowly and deliberately made her way
toward Brent. She couldn't wait to talk to him
again.
    "Good evening," Brent said, his gaze meeting hers
as she