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

summoned Brent to
discuss the Half-Moon's financial situation.
    "You're serious about this?" Brent asked.
    "Absolutely," Edmund answered. "Look, I'm just
being honest with you. I'm not trying to hurt you.
Your father took out these loans using the HalfMoon as collateral. Now that he's in prison, I may
have to call them in."
    Brent was shocked by the news that the ranch was
so deeply in debt. He'd had no idea his father had
borrowed this heavily to buy the thoroughbred stock
he'd wanted so badly. "But you can't-"
    "I can, and I will-if you don't make the
payments on time."
    Brent looked up at Edmund, wondering how the
man could have changed so much in such a short
time. At the funeral he had seemed supportive, but
now he was threatening to take the ranch from
them. They had already lost their mother and father.
The Half-Moon was all they had left, and he had no
intention of losing it. It was their home.
    "You know what a difficult time this has been for
us," Brent argued.
    "This isn't personal, Brent," Edmund explained smoothly. "This is about money. This is business. I
made these loans to your pa in good faith. Now that
you've taken over running the ranch, they are your
responsibility."

    Brent was chilled by the banker's manner.
    This is business....
    Brent had thought things were difficult before,
but discovering his father had gone in debt-almost
to the point of losing the ranch just to finance his
dream of raising thoroughbred horses-left him
stunned. "I'll take care of it."
    As he spoke, Brent looked down at Edmund. The
banker stared up at him with the hard, cold eyes of a
predator. The coldness was as shocking as if he'd
pulled out a gun and aimed it at Brent's gut.
    "I can count on your being on time?" Edmund
asked.
    Brent matched his coldness. "You have my word."
    He turned and walked out of the bank without
saying anything more. There was nothing left to
say. He wasn't sure how he was going to break the
news to Quince that they were on the verge of
losing everything. Matt, too, if he ever showed up
again. They were all going to have to work damned
hard to make the Half-Moon a paying proposition,
and according to Edmund, they didn't have much
time.
    Brent knew he could count on Quince. He
couldn't say the same where Matt was concerned.
    Brent had given Edmund his word that the loans would be repaid on time, and he would do it. The
Half-Moon meant too much to him. He would not
lose the ranch because of his father's debts.

    Somehow, some way, he would save their home.

     

Long Horn, Texas, 1880
    "What are you going to do about the money you
owe John Hall, Dan?" Crystal Stewart asked her
brother as they found a moment to talk in private at
the Palace Saloon. Dan was a gambler who liked
high-stakes poker games, and he'd just lost a big
hand to the other player. "You owe him a lot."
    "I know what I owe him!" Dan seethed, his anger
hiding his desperation. "If you'd helped me the way
you were supposed to..."
    Crystal was his shill. Dan had trained her to work
the saloon like a bar girl and to signal him and let
him know what the other men at his table were
holding in their hands. Tonight, however, the other
gamblers had been very careful not to let anyone get a look at their cards. And Dan had lost badly.

    "I tried, but it almost seemed that they were on to
me," Crystal said. "I'm tired of doing this, Dan. I
don't like trying to cheat people. It's wrong. We
need to find another way to support ourselves."
    "I'll worry about finding another way to support
ourselves right after I figure out a way to pay off
Hall," he said in a snarl.
    Dan was tired of her talk about quitting. He knew
she didn't like helping him, but he didn't care. She
was a pretty woman with her blond hair and
curvaceous figure. She could distract the other
gamblers and help him win. That was all that
mattered. They had a good thing going, most of the
time, and he planned to keep it that way.
    Dan