Moon Racer by Constance O'Banyon

When Moon
Racer came back riderless, I knew something had
happened. Are you all right, Abby?"
    Jonah lifted her down, and she went into Brent's
arms. "Someone shot at us, and the mustangs are
gone!"

    Brent turned to Curly. "Round up everyone who
can ride and send someone for Quince. I'll want to
leave within the hour." He looked at his sister.
"Abby, I want you to get in the house. If someone is
shooting at us, I don't want you in the way."
    Usually Abby would have argued the point, but
she merely nodded. She looked at Jonah. "Thank
you for what you did today."
    Before he could answer, she had turned and
walked swiftly toward the house.
    "Brent," Jonah said, "whoever it was deliberately
shot at your sister."
    Brent's jaw tightened. "Then he's a dead man if I
find him."

     

Edmund closed the front door and hung his hat on
the hatrack in the entryway. He sorted through the
mail on the hall table and saw nothing interesting
there.
    The house was eerily silent because it was
Hilda's day off. She had likely left a cold dinner for
him, but he wasn't hungry. He wanted to go over
his ledger again and see just how much money Jack
Hunter and his brood owed him.
    Jack was so gullible, it was easy to maneuver him
into spending money he couldn't afford, thus
helping Edmund along with his plans to bankrupt
the Half-Moon. Jack's ignorance and naivete only
proved what Edmund had known all along-he was
superior to Jack in every aspect. His real problem
had been Brent, who was shrewd and not so easily fooled. And now there was Quince to contend with
as well. He'd outsmart them all-the deed to the
Half-Moon was almost within his-

    "I always wanted to live in a house like this."
    Edmund was startled by the voice and turned to
see a man sitting in his desk chair, his muddy boots
propped on the oak surface of his desk.
    -Kane had a malevolent air about him, and
seemed to contaminate the atmosphere around him.
His black eyes caught the lamplight and were
glowing like red coals. There wasn't anything Kane
wouldn't do for money, and that made him
invaluable to Edmund. However, Edmund didn't
want anyone to think they were on friendly termshe had stressed many times that Kane would not be
welcome in his home.
    "What in the hell are you doing here?" His face
was reddened by the anger that fired his blood. "I
don't want you here!"
    Kane swung his legs to the floor and shrugged. "I
thought you might like to know the job's done. I
drove the Hunters' mustangs to Echo Canyon like
you wanted. I also took some scattered shots at the
Hunter gal."
    Edmund stalked across the space that divided
him from the swarthy bastard and yanked him to his
feet. "If you ever so much as look in Abby Hunter's
direction, or go anywhere near her, or do anything
like that again, it'll be the last thing you ever do!"
    Kane laughed unpleasantly. "I think the day will
come when we are going to have a serious disagreement. But," he said, shrugging, "this is not that day. And by the way, you needn't worry about Abby
Hunter. That handsome young officer is looking out
for her. In fact, I probably did that officer a favor.
When I watched them eat their lunch, neither of them
seemed to be having a good time. But when I shot at
that little gal's horse, he charged to her rescue and
became very protective of her. He had to get real close
to her to do that. I bet you couldn't have pushed a
straw between the two of them."

    "I could kill you!" Edmund's face grew even
redder, and his rage was almost out of control.
Having difficulty catching his breath, he dropped
down on a chair. "If you do anything like that again,
I will kill you."
    "I don't think so." Kane laughed, and the sound of
it was pure evil. "How does it feel to be old, and to
realize that pretty little thing won't have you? She is
surely sweet, but you'll never have that sweetness."
His smile deepened the lines in his jaw. "But... that
handsome young officer