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

was the night. Tonight he honestly
believed he was going to catch up with Crystal. It
hadn't been easy tracking her down, and once he
found her, he was going to make sure she never got
away from him again.
    It had been a long afternoon, but this moment
was worth the wait. Dan smiled thinly to himself as
he strode up to the bar.
    "Evenin', friend. I figured you'd be back," Bill
greeted him.
    "I told you I would," Dan replied.
    "What'll you have?"
    "Give me a beer."
    Bill set the drink before him.
    "How much longer until Miss Opal goes on?"
    "About fifteen minutes," Bill assured him.
    "Good." Dan turned and positioned himself so he
had, an unobstructed view of the stage. He wanted
to make sure he could see her perform.
    Bill turned to wait on other customers. The saloon
was busy, and he was glad. Opal always played to a
full house. He was pouring a whiskey for a man at the far end of the bar when Belle came up to the
bar and signaled for his attention.

    "What is it?" He noticed she looked worried.
    "I have to talk to you," she said urgently, but kept
her voice low.
    "So talk. I got customers to wait on."
    "Not here."
    Bill finally understood something was really
wrong. "Let's go in back for a minute."
    Belle came around the bar, and they disappeared
into the small storage room.
    "It's Opal," she began.
    "What about her?"
    "She's not here, and she's due to go out onstage in
a few minutes," Belle explained.
    "Opal will be here," he said. "She came by
earlier this afternoon looking for you, and she
seemed fine."
    "She may have been here a while ago, but she
ain't here now," she insisted.
    "You checked her dressing room?" He frowned.
    "I've checked everywhere. There's no sign of her."
    "This isn't like Opal," Bill said, growing
concerned. "She's never missed a performance
before."
    "That's why I'm so worried. She would have told
one of us if there was going to be a problem."
    "Maybe she got sick and went back to her room at
the boarding house. I'll send one of the boys over to
check."

    "Thanks, Bill." Belle was relieved that he was as
concerned as she was. Any of the other working girls
they wouldn't have been worried about. The other
girls were known for their wild ways, but not Opal.
Opal was far different from the rest.
    Bill took Gus, one of the men who worked for
him, aside and sent him off to the boardinghouse to
see if Opal was there. He went back to tending bar,
hoping that everything was all right, and that she
would show up on time for her performance. He
didn't need a bunch of drunk cowboys getting angry
at him.
    Just a short time before Opal was due to make her
grand entrance, Gus returned. Bill was relieved when
he saw him.
    "Well? Is she on her way? What did you find out?
Is she sick?" he asked when they'd gone in the back
room to speak privately.
    "I don't know what happened to her, but she
wasn't there."
    "What do you mean, Opal wasn't there?" he
demanded. "Where is she?"
    "Damned if I know," Gus answered. "The lady
who runs the boardinghouse checked her room and
said it looked like Opal packed up her things and
took off. She didn't realize she'd left until then."
    Bill was shocked and troubled by Opal's sudden
and unexplained disappearance. It wasn't like her.
She'd proven herself reliable the whole time she'd
worked for him. He couldn't believe she'd go off without a word-especially since he'd just talked
with her that afternoon.

    Disgusted, he prepared himself for the fury to
come as he went out into the crowded saloon to
announce that the show had been canceled.
    "I got bad news," Bill shouted out as he climbed
up on the stage.
    "What kind of bad news?" one cowboy yelled
back as a rumble of discontent went through the
crowd.
    "Miss Opal won't be performing tonight."
    The rumble turned to a roar.
    "Quiet down, now! The poor woman's feeling
sickly," he lied. "She'll be back performing
tomorrow night. She sends her regards to you."
    The roar didn't abate