Kathie DeNosky - Rich, Rugged Ranchers

Sophia stepped away from Logan, turning her back on him to reach for the doorknob. Before she gave it a turn, Logan’s husky voice resonated in her soul. “Looks like Luke saved you again.”

Sophia put her head down, taking a moment to absorb the sensations rushing around inside her. Something was happening between them, but she didn’t know if she could trust what she was feeling. She didn’t know if she could trust Logan, period. “Maybe I don’t want to be saved.”

The sound of his receding footsteps faded on the plank floors. He’d walked away to see to his brother and hadn’t heard her. It was just as well. There were too many “maybes” involved with Logan. Sophia opened the door and stepped outside. The Nevada sun warmed her cheeks and the clear sky above brightened her outlook.

She had repaired pipes that needed her approval, a lodge guest’s temper to soothe and a meeting with her staff this morning.

She loved every crazy minute of it.

She wouldn’t have time to think about Logan Slade any more today.

Sophia never had the chance to say goodbye to Luke. He left the night after her visit to deliver the cookies. Logan had thought it best for Luke to travel late at night so that he could sleep during the trip to Tahoe. Apparently, from what she could gather, his host, Casey Thomas, was a good guy, wild in his younger rodeo days, but now a big fan of the simple life. The two would drink and shoot the breeze at Casey’s lakeside cabin.

But as Sophia gazed out the window of her cottage this evening, dressed and ready for Ruth’s surprise party, she felt Luke’s absence in the pit of her stomach. He’d been gone for five days and she’d spoken to him twice in that time, but she hadn’t confided in him. Since he’d left, she’d received two more notes on her doorstep.

You are very beautiful .

The notes were always folded neatly and always typed on plain white computer paper. While receiving one note might have been a fluke and something she could ignore, receiving two more meant that whoever was out there, whoever was sending these notes was persistent. She feared they would continue to torment her. She’d been sleeping with the lights on lately. She’d been listening intently for out-of-the-ordinary sounds in and around the cottage.

Sophia let go a deep breath to steady her nerves. Tonight, she would play an integral role in getting Ruth to her surprise party. Sophia had worked her buns off this week, making arrangements, hiding a drastic change in employees’ schedules from Ruth and working with Logan and his staff to get the Slade home ready for the party.

The cover story was that Ruth and Sophia were to meet one of Randall Slade’s high-profile friends who was interested in using Sunset Lodge as a summer retreat for the entire staff of a private college. Sophia had explained that Logan would first host a special dinner at the Slade ranch house to impress the client, then one of Ruth’s last duties would be to help Sophia put him up for the night at the lodge and give him the royal treatment tomorrow.

Ruth bought the entire concept and Sophia was certain she didn’t have a clue what was really going on. Sophia was on pins and needles, though. Without Luke here for support, being secretive with Ruth all week and receiving another one of those notes made her jumpy.

Before exiting the cottage, Sophia scanned the property thoroughly, just like she’d been doing all week long. She grabbed her wrap and her purse and looked around one last time before locking up the cottage and getting into her car. She had no proof or evidence to back her feeling of being watched, other than that one night when she heard a disturbance in her yard, yet Sophia felt the sensation deep down in her bones.

Thirty minutes later, after picking up Ruth, who was dressed very elegantly in a cobalt-blue and silver dress, Sophia delivered Ruth to the Slade home.

Logan answered the door personally, dressed in a dark Western suit and string tie—a handsome maverick with a charming smile. Upon spotting Ruth, he gave her a welcoming kiss on the cheek, and then gave Sophia a quick approving nod as his razor-sharp gaze raked over her upswept hair, shimmery sequined cocktail dress and sandaled feet.

“Our guest is outside. He is anxious to meet with you both.” Logan stepped between them, offering the ladies his arm. With Ruth chatting amiably on his right and Sophia on his left, the three of them walked through the wide parlor double doors to be greeted by the sight of twinkling lights, grandly decorated tables and about sixty of Ruth’s friends and coworkers.

“Surprise!” the gathered crowd shouted in unison, stunning Ruth into silence. Tears filled her eyes. With her hand to her chest, she truly appeared surprised.

Logan and Sophia looked at each other. For a brief moment in time they shared the triumph. They’d pulled it off.

The festivities got under way quickly. Ruth was swarmed by guests giving their congratulations, kisses and loving hugs. She was the center of attention, as she should be, with her husband, her children and grandchildren by her side.

Sophia took a minute for herself. She strolled to the edge of the beautifully landscaped yard. Beyond the whitewashed wooden fences illuminated by strings of tiny lights was pasture land that stretched for miles. It was so vast and remote, so steeped in eerily quiet darkness that a chill ran down her spine. She shivered in the warm night and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, attempting to bank her feelings of uncertainty. Those anonymous notes were weighing on her and affecting her daily routine. She couldn’t get them off her mind.

“Need some quiet time?”

The voice from behind made her jump.

She whirled around. “Oh!”

Logan’s face was cast in shadows, making him look sinister, but oddly enough his comment had been soft and calming. “Apparently not, since you’re here now.”

Logan flashed a smile. His expression wasn’t one of battle. He offered her one of the two crystal champagne flutes he held in his hand. “Here, have a drink.”

Sophia shook her head. “I don’t … drink.”

“It’s sparkling cider.”

Thoughtful, Sophia mused.

As he handed her a glass, his fingers caressed hers, and she felt the impact of his touch down to her toes. “Thank you.”

“To Ruth,” he said, and then added, “and to you. You pulled off a great surprise party.”

Warmed by the compliment, she brought her glass to his with a gentle clink. “Thank you. But you helped.”

“Very little.”

He was being magnanimous tonight. Sophia welcomed it, but as she brought the drink to her mouth, her hand trembled. She still hadn’t gotten over her initial bout of nerves. Or was it Logan making her nervous?

“What’s wrong with you, Sophia? You’ve been jumpy for days.”

Logan had noticed.

Sophia turned to face the bleakness of the distant pasture. She couldn’t look at Logan now. She was weak and vulnerable at the moment, and tears welled in her eyes. It was ridiculous that a little kindness shown by Logan Slade could bring on so much sentiment. “It’s nothing that concerns you.”

He moved closer. His presence surrounded her from behind. “You admit there is something?” His warm breath caressed her earlobe.

Sophia squeezed her eyes closed.

“Answer me, Sophia,” Logan said.

He made her believe he cared about her. Why else would he question her? But Sophia couldn’t place much faith in Logan’s motives. She’d learned that lesson long ago. If the notes persisted, then Sophia would confide in a Slade, but the man she would tell would be Luke.

Sophia spun around to face Logan. “We should get back to the par—”