Free Once in a Blue Moon by Diane Darcy Page A

cramped
quarters? And here she’d thought things couldn’t get any worse.
Feeling trapped, Melissa looked around as if to find a way out.
    Something moved at the
top of the hill and Melissa turned her head. Hope died quickly as
another nasty-looking man came down the hill, disgusting and dirty,
a big smile on his face.
    Where was Richard? She
wanted out of there, out of that place. Maybe she should take the
kids, start walking and hope to meet Richard on the way.
    “How far is it to the
ranch?”
    “About three
miles.”
    She considered it for a
moment, looked at her high-heeled shoes, then turned and walked
back into the cabin. She didn’t have a choice–-hadn’t from the
moment she’d woken up that morning.
    She’d simply go to
sleep. That was her only escape from this nightmare. Even the hard
floor of the loft seemed like a sanctuary at the moment. Besides,
the way she saw it, the spiders had to be a better option than the
vermin.
    * * *
    Richard topped the hill and saw Melissa, wearing the old-
fashioned dress, walking toward the door of the cabin. Sully and
two rough-looking men stood behind her. With the cabin in the
background, it looked like a scene from a Louis L’Amour novel. He
cupped his hands over his mouth. “ Hello
the house !” He grinned. He’d always wanted
to say that.
    Focusing on Melissa, he
headed down the hill, excited to share his news and set her mind at
ease. She turned and he tried to gauge her mood.
    A sudden smile animated
her face.
    She
looked happy to see him, very happy, an expression he hadn’t seen
directed toward himself in a long, long while. He liked it! His grin
widened as she ran to meet him and he opened his arms.
    She stopped short.
    Heat warmed his neck
and he let his arms drop. Their discussion of divorce--just the
night before?--flashed through his mind, and he felt the pain of
her rejection once more. His gazed dropped to her clothes, but
wisely, he didn’t mention the dress.
    “So, what happened?”
she asked impatiently.
    Richard tried a smile,
determined to recapture his good mood. “I got the job.”
    Both her hands flew up.
“That’s wonderful!”
    “And it includes a
place to live!”
    She closed her eyes for
a moment, relief evident on her face. Her eyes popped open. “How
much money will you make?”
    The dreaded question.
He’d been hoping she wouldn’t ask right away, but should have known
better. “Ah--” He tugged at his ear. “Thirty dollars--”
    ”A day?” Melissa’s
shock was evident. “That’s ridiculous!”
    Oh, this could only get
worse. He thought about lying but, of course, couldn’t. She’d find
out eventually. “A month.”
    Horror tightened her
face. “We’ll be paupers!” She whispered the words.
    “It’s not that
bad.”
    “Richard, couldn’t you
have found something better?”
    His gaze dropped to the
ground as her words pierced him painfully and what little joy was
left leaked out of the situation. Chest tight, he swallowed a
sudden lump in his throat. She always seemed to be disappointed in
him. Her criticism especially hurt after the way she’d smiled.
    Again, he was reminded
of her easy acceptance toward the idea of a divorce. Could he ever
make her happy again? Odds seemed against it lately. He quickly
stifled the thought. He’d been known to buck the odds before and
win. He’d better start talking. He took a deep breath. “Melissa,
what you haven’t realized is that things are dirt cheap in this
century.”
    He
searched for something to say, something that would make the whole
situation better for her. “Anyway, things don’t matter. We matter. Our family
matters. As long as we’re together, we’ll be okay.”
    Melissa shot him a
killer look. “On thirty dollars a month?”
    He tried a smile, one
he knew used to charm her. “It does seem a pitiful sum, but things
cost much less now.” He glanced up to see the three men watching
them. “Sully, how much for a pound of flour?” Immediately