Moonrise by Terri Farley Read Free Book Online Page A

while.
    Brynna’s manner was icy. Sam could feel it from here.
    If Linc had arrived ten minutes earlier, he might have had a chance to break the news of his dogs’ mistake to her. But he was too late for that and too early for her anger to have worn off.
    â€œNow, B.,” Dad cautioned, using his nickname for Brynna. He would have had better luck talking to the barn wall.
    In a khaki uniform with her red hair french braided down her back, Brynna strode toward them.
    Anyone could see Brynna’s anger was still building. For once, Linc seemed to recognize it.
    â€œI got it coming,” he said when she was still a few yards off. “I want to pay for any inconvenience I’ve caused.”
    Linc fumbled a checkbook out of his pocket.
    Sam couldn’t believe Slocum wasn’t apologizing. Instead, he was trying to pay for Dad’s pain.
    â€œUh, and Jed mentioned I might want to bring something, so…” he pointed to the plant Sam held.
    If Sam weren’t so mad, she’d feel sorry for an adult who was so clueless.
    Dad and Brynna stood, speechless, and Linc gave a nervous laugh.
    â€œAny kinda lecture you want to give me, have at it. Jake Ely says my dogs spooked Wyatt’s horse and left him pickin’ stickers out of his pants. Don’t blameyou for being peeved.”
    Then, Linc laughed.
    â€œSorry about that.” He cleared his throat, but gloating flavored his apology. Usually it was Linc, not Dad, who found himself afoot on the range. It was clear Linc found the switch amusing.
    Brynna wasn’t laughing. Her freckles disappeared on her scarlet-flushed face. Her lips turned white from pressing together.
    Finally, she spoke.
    â€œAre you aware”—Brynna’s voice vibrated with rage—“that it’s against state law to hunt deer with dogs?”
    â€œYeah, now that you mention it, Jed clued me in, right after I went and bought ’em.”
    Slocum looked down at his boots, shaking his head, then peered up, as if he expected sympathy.
    Fat chance , Sam thought.
    â€œNot to mention,” Brynna pressed on, “county statutes prohibit dogs from running at large—”
    â€œGuess I figured you and your boys couldn’t be everywhere at once, now, can ya?”
    Brynna’s eyes widened and her lips parted in disbelief.
    What? Outrage screeched in Sam’s mind. Had Slocum really just admitted he didn’t mind breaking the law, as long as he wasn’t caught and punished?
    â€œWith hundreds of miles of nothing out there…”Slocum gave a short heh, heh sort of laugh, “don’t figure the sheriff’s got time to search me out to enforce that rule.”
    â€œIt’s not a rule,” Brynna corrected him. “It’s a law.”
    Slocum shrugged. “A darned silly law.”
    Sam forgot about asking Linc for more information on New Moon.
    â€œYou wouldn’t think it was silly if you’d seen Dad’s horse fall, like I did.”
    Silence sizzled around them as Linc searched for a comeback.
    â€œThing is,” Dad said, at last, “they’re gonna get shot.”
    Linc leaned back, thumbs hooked through his straining belt. “Is that a threat?”
    â€œâ€™Course not,” Dad said. “But no one takes kindly to dogs bitin’ his livestock.”
    Not to mention what might have happened if Dad had fallen and rolled. What if all the dogs had attacked him at once?
    â€œBut you’d actually shoot my dogs?” Linc persisted.
    â€œI wouldn’t like doin’ it,” Dad said. “But if they brought down one of my calves or if they were about to attack my horse or yours”—he nodded at Linc—“you bet I would.”
    Linc’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
    â€œWhat if they’d spotted a child instead of Wyattand Jeep?” Brynna’s tone soared uncharacteristically. “Those dogs—” She stopped.
    Dad’s