Rich, Rugged Ranchers. Kathie DeNosky

been a good employee. That’s all I can tell you, Hunter. I really shouldn’t have discussed this with you at all, so please keep this conversation to yourself.”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      Hunter rose, gave her one last parting look and then took his leave.

      Sophia got up and walked to the door, closing it while deep in thought. Sometimes a manager had to be judge and jury. She had to determine what was best for the establishment without infringing on the employee’s rights. It was a balancing act, but in this case unless the complaints proved true and there was a blatant miscarriage of rules, she was pretty sure Gabriel Strongbow’s job wouldn’t be in jeopardy.

      Sophia had never fired anyone in her life.

      Putting those thoughts aside, she walked over to the lily arrangement and stared at the flowers a moment. They were truly perfect. Logan couldn’t have picked anything she would have liked more. It was uncanny how sometimes the two of them were on the same wavelength. Then there were the other times when they butted heads and saw things very differently.

      Sophia braced herself. She didn’t know what to expect from Logan Slade anymore but she was dying of curiosity to see what Logan had to say that was to be read in private. She lifted the white envelope from its plastic holder and slipped the small piece of paper out. Unfolding it, she read the handwritten note silently.

      Sophia,

      Can’t get the image of how I left you this morning out of my head.

      Have dinner with me tonight. 8:00 p.m.

      It’ll be our first date.

      Change my mind.

       Logan

      Sophia’s hand shook so much, the words she’d just read and then reread became fuzzy. She moved on wobbly legs to her chair and lowered down slowly, her fingers gripping the edges for balance. The world seemed to tilt off-kilter at the moment. She couldn’t believe what Logan had written. He told her in those few sentences that he was willing to try.

      Could it be possible?

      Change my mind.

      Moisture stung her eyes and one sole tear rolled down her cheek. Emotions welled up and a soft cautious beam of hope began to glow inside her. Was the indomitable man finally softening to her? Would he be willing to listen and really hear what she had to say?

      Maybe one day soon. Sophia wouldn’t press her luck tonight, but she would meet with him. They would go on their first date, and she would see where that would take them. There was hope now, that her love would not be wasted.

      Logan hadn’t been to the cemetery since his father’s funeral. But today he found himself standing over his parents’ graves with a bouquet of roses in his hands. He stared at the headstones, wondering about his father and mother’s relationship. To a boy who only saw what was right in front of him, Logan had thought his parents loved each other. He had thought that their family was as strong and as sturdy as the Ponderosa pines. He had thought his father was the fairest, most honest man in the world.

      It was all a facade to conceal the truth. His father had lied and had conspired to destroy the family by abandoning his mother and bringing Louisa Montrose into the picture.

      New anger rose up now as he gazed at their graves. The only crime his mother had committed in all of this was to love Randall Slade and expect his loyalty in return. After his mother found out about the affair, she’d protected her family by firing Louisa Montrose and banishing her and Sophia from the ranch. Ivy had forged on, raising her sons and loving a man who didn’t love her in return. In Logan’s mind, Ivy Slade was a hero—a woman who’d born great injury living in a house with a man who had betrayed and humiliated her.

      “I’m sorry, Mom,” he said, his voice nearly breaking. He bent on one knee to brush away dried blades of grass and fallen leaves from her headstone. And then he laid the dozen buttercup roses down—her favorite—keeping the flat of his hand on the headstone. This was his time with his mother. Every couple of months, he spent just a few minutes here where he could feel a connection to her.

      It was the second time today Logan had offered up flowers. He’d sent Sophia flowers this morning, and she’d sent him a message that she would be ready tonight at eight o’clock for their first date.

      Logan wondered if he was a hypocrite to lay tremendous blame on his father, when Logan himself had been lured in by a Montrose. Yet he understood a man’s weakness when mind and body were involved. Sophia had gotten under his skin. She was like an addiction. He had to have her, but he’d taken his father’s failures to heart. He’d learned a valuable lesson and he’d vowed to never let himself become vulnerable to Sophia.

      He could make the distinction, between lust and love.

      With that notion in mind, Logan pivoted on his heels and got into his truck. As he drove out of the cemetery, he turned on the radio. Brad Paisley’s voice carried over the airwaves with lyrics that touted the joys of fishing. Logan sang along with him, his mood lighter and anticipation stirring in his gut. Tonight, he had a date with a beautiful woman.

      Four hours later, Logan rapped on Sophia’s bedroom door, hat in hand. He hadn’t seen her since this morning. A classic oil-painting image of her had stayed in his head all day—Sophia standing nude, one hip elevated, the curve of her feminine body inviting and the look in her eyes enticing. It had taken every ounce of his willpower to walk away from her. But he couldn’t lie to her. He couldn’t tell her the things she wanted to hear, so he’d done what he had to do.

      She opened the door and gave him a small smile. “Hi.” One large gold hoop dangled from her ear. “Come in,” she said, turning and walking toward her dressing mirror.

      Logan followed behind her.

      “Sorry, I’m running late,” she said, putting on the other earring as she faced the mirror.

      “No problem.” Logan stood beside her. Watching Sophia put the finishing touches on her outfit wasn’t a hardship.

      “We had a last-minute emergency at the lodge. The sprinkler system went off right in the middle of our barbecue dinner. Everyone went scrambling and we—”

      Logan cut her off with a brief kiss. “Let’s not talk about work tonight,” he said.

      He took a step back as the delicious taste of her mouth got his juices flowing. He couldn’t imagine concentrating on irritated guests or broken sprinkler systems with the way Sophia looked tonight. Her hair was up in some sort of pretty curly twist at the top of her head. Her short gold dress glimmered and draped in soft folds over her chest. It was cinched at her slender waist, accentuating her female curves and hugging her thighs. Jeweled sandals encased her feet.

      “O-okay,” she said, touching the back of her hair nervously. “No business tonight then.”

      “You look amazing, Sophia.”

      Her scent perfumed the air. It was the same tempting fragrance she’d worn last night when they’d been dueling between the sheets. It wasn’t a smell he would soon forget.

      “Thank you. I wasn’t sure how to dress. Your note didn’t say where we were going.”

      He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well … I wasn’t sure you’d accept my invitation.”

      Her tawny eyes lifted to study his face. “You sent lovely flowers, but it was what you wrote that made me agree.”

      Logan winced inwardly. He shouldn’t have written what he had. He wasn’t sure he would ever follow through and change his mind. But this morning after the hot erotic night they’d shared, he’d been thinking with a brain located south of his belt buckle.

      He’d made no promises to Sophia though. And he clung to that reasoning as he put his hand to the luscious curve of her back, leading her from the bedroom and out of the house.

      “You’re