Rich, Rugged Ranchers. Kathie DeNosky

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      “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 his terms, not hers. He could have called her to explain about Luke. He could have alerted her that he would be coming by for dinner. Instead he chose to show up at her door unannounced.

      As if reading her mind, he set down his fork and commented, “I never thought I’d be sitting in this kitchen, having dinner with you.”

      “Boggles the mind. Our second meal together in two nights.” Sophia gave him a sweet smile, refusing to be intimidated.

      “Let’s not make a habit of this.” He surveyed the rooms in his line of vision—the kitchen, parlor and hallway that led to the bedrooms. “I don’t care for this place.”

      “The place is wonderful. It’s me you don’t care for. So just be honest about it.”

      Logan sipped water from his glass, and then eyed her carefully. “My brother kissed you today.”

      Sophia’s radar went up. She’d promised herself she would be on guard around Logan, but now he’d dropped another bomb on her that she hadn’t expected. “Did he tell you that?”

      Logan glanced at her lips, and then lifted his lids to look her squarely in the eyes. “I was at the lodge this morning.”

      “So you saw Luke give me an innocent kiss and what?”

      “Maybe I don’t think anything about you is innocent.”

      Sophia’s stomach began to ache, not from the food but from the conversation. Darn him for creating more turmoil in her belly. Logan liked playing judge and jury. In his mind, he’d already convicted her of a half-dozen crimes. “And why is that?”

      “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

      “So now I’m a cliché to you, Logan? I’ve already told you if you’re comparing me to my mother, it’s a compliment. She was a wonderful woman. I only wish I could be more like her.”

      “Yeah, well, I used to want to be like my father. Blind worship doesn’t work. Sooner or later, you find out that the person you thought you knew wasn’t that person at all.”

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