He took a seat across the desk and didn’t look any more comfortable in it than he did while he was standing. He rubbed his hands back and forth and Sophia waited for him to speak.
“It’s about Gabriel Strongbow.”
Sophia’s brow rose at the name. He was the stable boy Sophia had received a complaint about. “What about him?”
“I guess you could say we’re friends. I’d like to put in a good word for him, ma’am. If I might.”
“I haven’t spoken to him yet. But I’ll listen to what he has to say.”
“He thinks he’s gonna be fired, and he really can’t afford it. He’s helping his mother out by working this job and trying to stay in school. And I just want to say that he wasn’t rude to the guest.”
“So, you’re vouching for him?”
“Well, I wasn’t there actually. But I’ve seen Gabe with Rebecca Wagner and he’s been nice and polite to her. Rebecca has been flirting with him all week. They like each other is all. Rebecca handed him her phone number yesterday and Mrs. Wagner found out about it and accused him of all sorts of things. Gabe hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Sophia knew of the Wagner family. Rebecca was a pretty sixteen-year-old girl. Ruth had told her the three Wagners were regulars at the lodge. They’d been coming twice a year for over a decade. “Sounds like Mrs. Wagner is overprotective of her daughter. But you know that we have strict rules about employees and guests. It’s not a line but a wall that we’ve constructed at Sunset Lodge and it isn’t to be breached.”
“Yes, I know.” Hunter took a deep breath. “Just had to say my piece.”
“And I’ve heard you.” Sophia sent him a smile. “You’re a good friend to Gabe.”
“Just want what’s fair.”
“I’ll be fair with him,” she said.
Hunter relaxed somewhat, his eyes filled with appreciation. “Thanks.”
Sophia braced her arms on the desk and leaned forward. “Tell me about Gabriel Strongbow.”
Hunter shrugged and contemplated briefly before he began. “He’s a senior in high school. Working at the stables part-time. He’s got a little sister. His dad passed about three years ago and now they’re struggling to hang on to their house.”
“I see.” Sophia could relate to living from paycheck to paycheck, trying to keep from drowning in a sea of debt and hoping that her fate wasn’t solely based on the whim of an employer. “Well, Gabe’s been with us for over a year and up until this point,” she said, fanning through the boy’s file, “he’s 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
