Rich, Rugged Ranchers. Kathie DeNosky

her waist.

      She opened the door with flair, eager for the company, and did an immediate double take, shaking her head and blinking.

      “You’re eyes aren’t deceiving you.” The comment spilled from Logan’s tight lips. “It’s not your pal Luke.”

      Sophia stared at the man standing on her doorstep. Her heart did a little flip. Her initial reaction to him still baffled her. Why was she so susceptible to him? He wasn’t anything special, she reasoned. But then again, Sophia couldn’t lie to herself. He was special in the ways that mattered to most women—smart, handsome, capable, kind to almost everyone else on the planet but her. And he was standing on her threshold with enough confidence to fill an arena. “What are you doing here?”

      It wasn’t the most mannerly greeting in the world. Even though her body reacted to Logan, she wasn’t ready for another round of sparring. She’d looked forward to being with her friend this evening.

      “There’s been an accident. Luke’s in the hospital.”

      Shocked, she gasped noisily as her hand flew to her chest. “Oh, my God. What happened?”

      “A feisty stallion got loose this afternoon at the barn and Luke lost his footing trying to contain him. He was knocked down, and Trib nailed him good with both front hooves.”

      “Oh, no! How is he?”

      “He’s got three broken ribs, one broken arm and a concussion.”

      “I’m so sorry. Oh, poor Luke.” Sophia’s heart ached hearing the news about her friend.

      “Luke’s pretty tough, but all those rodeo injuries are surfacing again. He got hit pretty hard.”

      “Where is he?”

      “Carson City Memorial.”

      “Can I see him?”

      He shook his head. “The doctors sent me home. I’ve been with him all afternoon. He can’t have any visitors tonight. They want him to rest. Someone will be observing him during the night for the concussion. With luck, they’ll send him home tomorrow or the next day. He’s going to be laid up for a while though.”

      Sophia realized she’d kept Logan out on the front porch. “Come in.” She turned around and took a few steps into the parlor. “I’m so surprised.” She’d wished Logan had called her from the hospital. She would’ve dropped everything to see Luke, but wishing for Logan to do anything for her was futile.

      Logan followed her inside, his boot heels scraping against the floor. “Trib’s a hard case and may be just as hardheaded as Luke. He’s called Tribute in front of prospective buyers, but when they’re out of hearing range we call him Tribulation. He’s a grief maker. Of course, Luke’s not blaming the dang horse. He blames himself for getting in the way.”

      Sophia turned to Logan, noticing for the first time that he held a white take-out bag.

      “I feel terrible,” she said.

      “Your stomach aching again?”

      “No, my stomach’s fine. I feel bad for Luke. He doesn’t deserve this.”

      “It was a freakish thing. Luke never lets a horse get the best of him. Nothing like this has happened before on the ranch.”

      “But he’s going to be all right?” The thought of Luke in pain saddened her but she held back tears and told herself that Luke was strong and would probably heal quickly. At least, that was her rationalization. It was a small wonder that Logan hadn’t blamed her for bringing Luke bad luck. And a small part of her wondered if that weren’t truly the case. Luke befriends her and he winds up in the hospital. It was crazy to even consider it, yet Sophia couldn’t deny the flash of guilt forcing its way into her thoughts.

      “Yeah, eventually. He should make a full recovery.”

      “That’s good news,” she blurted. She couldn’t hide her feelings. She cared about Luke.

      Logan glanced at her with narrowed eyes, his mouth twitching, but whatever he was about to say to her he let drop. He strode past her and entered the kitchen. She followed him and watched as he removed items from the bag, placing them on the counter. “What’s that?”

      “Our dinner.”

      Any fool could see and smell the food he was arranging in the kitchen, but she never expected Logan to make the delivery and offer to eat with her. “Excuse me?”

      “Don’t be surprised. Was I supposed to argue with my brother about this?” He turned to her with recrimination in his eyes. “He made me promise to bring you dinner and work with you on Ruth’s retirement party.”

      The air bottled up inside her lungs drained out. She was speechless.

      “In fact, you and I are gonna have to pick up the slack at the lodge. Luke will be out of commission for a good long time.”

      Sophia walked to the counter, looking at the two dishes of pasta primavera Logan had taken out of the bag. Crusty Italian bread and a salad were also sitting on the counter.

      “Meaning, we’re going to have to work together from now on?”

      Logan nodded, not looking happy about the prospect.

      “He made you promise to be civil to me?”

      Logan shrugged a shoulder. “Like I said, I’m not arguing with my brother when he’s laid up.”

      “If you don’t pull any more Ruth Polanskis on me, we might just manage working together.”

      Logan held back a devilish grin, but she saw the triumph in his eyes.

      “Do we have a deal? For Luke’s sake?” she asked, her hand on one tilted hip. She did not approve of Logan’s smug look, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it.

      Once again, Logan narrowed his eyes and gave her body a long leisurely sweeping appraisal. When he did that, Sophia felt as if he were devouring her whole. It took him a few seconds, but he finally agreed with a sharp nod. “For Luke’s sake.”

      Sophia stared at him for a moment and sighed silently. They needed to eat quickly and get to work but she couldn’t resist asking, “Did he also tell you what food to bring?”

      Logan’s mouth twitched again. This time she might have actually insulted him, but he took it in stride.

      “No, I thought it up all by myself.”

      Okay, she thought, I’ll play nice. She was hungry and ready for food that wouldn’t knock her socks off. “Looks delicious.”

      Logan gave her the once-over again, his gaze fastening on the three inch-strip of exposed skin at her waist. “Yep, can’t argue with that.”

      Sophia bit her tongue, holding back from giving him a piece of her mind. She had a better way of getting even with him. She wasn’t forgetting about his ploy regarding Ruth Polanski. His scorching-hot gaze aside, she would have to show him that she wasn’t easy prey.

      They sat eating quietly in her small alcove off the kitchen. The linens were soft and white, the flowers wild from the pasture, the glasses sparkling under the fading light. Sophia was well aware of the handsome, uncompromising man sitting across the table from her. He’d brought a lovely meal seasoned mildly so that it went down easily and soothed her tender tummy. He’d also brought his underlying anger with him. It was a given, but Sophia wouldn’t let that stop her from gobbling up everything on her plate. She’d played it safe and hadn’t put food in her stomach for nearly twenty-four hours and now she was looking for seconds.

      Logan rose from the table and brought over the container of food. She scooped a few more spoonfuls onto her own plate, watching him as he held it. This was strangely nice.

      Maybe Logan had the need to control every situation. Coming here to tell her about the accident had been done on