Rich, Rugged Ranchers. Kathie DeNosky

rose from his desk, hawklike eyes watching her every move. She rose, too. Thankfully, her legs were stronger now, and her nerves not quite so raw. She had a full day of work ahead of her and a party to plan.

      “I’ll call you tonight to check on the progress,” he said.

      Sophia slipped her purse strap over her shoulder. “Fine.” He came around his desk to meet her, and walked her toward the door. “How is Luke this morning?” she asked.

      “Better, from what the doctors tell me.”

      “Is he coming home today?” Sophia couldn’t keep hope out of her voice, which garnered a tight-lipped response from Logan. “If he has anything to say about it, he will.”

      “Give him my best when you see him.”

      “Will do,” he said as they reached the office door. “Oh, and Sophia.”

      “Hmm?”

      “Eat something. Can’t have Sunset Lodge’s manager faint dead away in the middle of the lobby.”

      Sophia sent him a sugary-sweet smile. “Thanks for your concern.”

      “Anytime.”

      Sophia had the distinct feeling that Logan Slade had his eyes trained on her backside as she walked out of his office and down the hall.

      “I’ll go crazy if I stick around here much longer.” Luke’s frustrated words issued from his mouth in a whisper.

      Poor guy, Sophia thought. He couldn’t move too much in his bed without feeling tremendous pain. Yet he stubbornly refused to take the meds the doctor had prescribed for him.

      “You have to give yourself some time, Luke,” Sophia said. “You’ve been home only a few days.”

      “Can’t do a damn thing on the ranch, either. With my cracked ribs and this here busted-up arm.”

      Sophia glanced at the cumbersome cast that went more than halfway up his right arm and couldn’t argue the point. Luke wasn’t one to sit still, yet what option did he have? He’d ridden the rodeo circuit and from what she’d gathered he’d never suffered an injury like this before. “What you need is something to take your mind off your troubles.” Sophia leaned toward him to bring a freshly baked butter cookie dusted with powdered sugar near his mouth. “Here, try one of these,” she said. “I made them early this morning for you.”

      Luke’s gaze lowered to the cookie hovering by his lips. “Smells delicious. Lay it on me.”

      He opened his mouth, and she inserted the cookie. He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed and sighed with appreciation, laying his head back against the bed pillow. “You’re an angel, Sophia.”

      Too bad his brother didn’t think so. She was an angel to Luke, and the devil’s spawn to Logan. One wouldn’t think the two men had the same blood running through their veins.

      “That cookie melted in my mouth. Gotta be the best cookie I’ve ever had.” Then he added, “Don’t be telling Constance I said so.”

      She put the rest of the cookie into his mouth. Her mother’s recipe never failed to make people smile. “I made two dozen,” she said, gesturing with a head tilt toward the plate on his nightstand, sitting next to the bouquet of flowers she’d brought him when he first arrived from the hospital. “You can thank me later, after you’ve finished all of them.”

      Luke’s left hand came out to take hers. “I can thank you now—”

      “No problem, I love to bake—”

      “For coming to see me twice already since I’ve been home,” he rasped out. “And for listening to me moan and groan.”

      “That’s what friends are for.”

      Morning sunshine streamed in through the shuttered windows facing east. But the beautiful day didn’t have an effect on Luke’s sour mood. He was a man accustomed to being on the move. “There’ll be a hell of a lot more moaning and groaning,” he confessed.

      “I know. I can’t blame you. But you’ll heal. You have to be patient.” Sophia moved from the chair to the side of his bed, carefully lowering down so as not to disturb him. “Here,” she said, leaning forward and offering him a second cookie. “Have another.”

      He bit down, and closed his eyes while he chewed. “How are things at the lodge?” he asked quietly.

      A pipe had burst, leaking water into the rooms on the second floor, the smoke alarm had gone off for no apparent reason in the kitchen and one of the guests had slipped and sprained an ankle while stepping down from their saddle since Luke’s accident. Business as usual, she mused. “It’s coming along.”

      “Glad to hear it. You fit right in on Sunset Ranch.”

      Sophia sighed. “I love it here.”

      “And I love that you’re here, feeding me cookies.”

      She laughed and Luke cracked a smile, but a second later, he paid for the movement with a grimace of pain. Sophia grimaced, too, sympathizing with him.

      “Is there anything I can do for you before I go to work?” she asked.

      Luke shook his head. “Nope. You go on. Thanks for the visit and the cookies.”

      “I spoiled your breakfast.”

      “You spoiled me, period.”

      “I’ll come back again soon.”

      “I might not be here.”

      Sophia thought he was kidding until she saw a spark of determination in his eyes. “Where would you be?”

      “An old rodeo buddy of mine is recovering from a bad injury. Broke his back a while ago. He’s got a cabin on the north shore of Tahoe and is itching for a drinking partner. I’m thinking on it. I’m gonna be pretty darn useless around here for the next couple of weeks.”

      “Can you travel?”

      “I can if I take those dang pills. It’s not a far trip. Logan offered to drive me if I decide to go. He thinks it’s a good idea. Wants me outta his hair, from all the complaining I’ve been doing.”

      Sophia shook her head. “I’m sure your brother wants what’s best for you. Will you let me know if you decide to go? I’d want to say goodbye.”

      “Sure thing.”

      Sophia rose from the bed gingerly, and gave him one last look before exiting the room. She moved through the house with familiarity, as if it was only yesterday that she’d played in these stately paneled rooms and raced down the hallways on her way out the kitchen to a backyard that had doubled as an amusement park in her childhood.

      The Slades had a tree house that looked like a Western fort with a steep slide and rubber swings. They had bicycles and wagons and a giant fenced-off pool. They owned horses and had been taught from an early age to respect animals, and all of their other possessions, as well. Sophia had often heard Mr. Slade instruct his boys, “Take care of things, or be prepared to lose them.”

      The boys took it strictly as a warning then, but later in life Sophia realized how smart Randall Slade had been. He’d meant it as a life lesson.

      Sophia had almost reached the front door when Logan’s deep voice stopped her cold. “Sophia, I’d like a word with you. Got a second?”

      His words echoed in the entryway as Sophia slowly pivoted on her three-inch heels. She found Logan striding toward her, his face a mask of indifference but for a jaw that twitched as he approached.

      Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. She asked herself, why him? Why did she find him so darn attractive when clearly the two of them would never happen? Logan had a perfectly gorgeous, fun-loving sibling whom Sophia adored, but Luke didn’t make butterflies take flight in her belly or make her