title: The Shepherd's Moon
author: Franklin, Barclay
description: The Shepherd's Moon, a sequel to Up the Hill, Through the Long Grass, continues the saga of the McCrea family. Rory and Marta McCrea have moved to the AmeriBasque Ranch in Montana to continue raising sheep with the help of their Basque sheepherders. Times are hard, financially. Both Rory and Marta take on other jobs in Butte to supplement their incomes. Rory works in a feed store, and Marta signs on to work for a lawyer. The law firm she works for hires a new partner, Kurt Bancroft. Rory learns Marta once dated Kurt while both of them were in paralegal classes in Idaho. Rory is acutely aware the new lawyer has the both the education and the wealth he lacks. McCrea wonders if Kurt's close association with Marta will jeopardize his marriage to her. When Kurt invites Marta and Rory to a concert in Missoula, Kurt's girlfriend, Amber, takes an immediate interest in Rory. Marta, pregnant with Rory's baby, worries Amber is more beautiful and could turn Rory's head. Rory's continuing warm relationship with his sister-in-law, Kelsey, is another bone of contention to Marta. Rory stays overlong in Boise while Kelsey delivers the son of Rory's brother, Aiden, creating more of a rift. Amber's infatuation with Rory turns into stalking, and finally leads to destruction of AmeriBasque property, a court trial, and an accident in which Marta is seriously injured. Can Rory's devotion to Marta bring her back to health, or will her return depend on the light from a shepherd's moon?