pushed himself to a sitting position. “Pretty good. When I was younger we depended heavily on each other. We switched schools so many times the only person we knew in school was each other.”
“Your parents traveled that much?”
Logan laughed, but it held no humor. “Endlessly. Every few months we would pack up and be gone again. My father died a while ago, but my mother still travels a lot.”
Sandra sighed, thinking of her upbringing. “Sounds kind of neat.”
“I’m sure to you it would,” Logan said dryly. He got up, held her gaze a moment, then looked down the hill.
“Here come the girls,” he said, brushing off his pants.
And once again Sandra felt as if she had been weighed and found wanting.
And once again it bothered her.
Chapter Five
Logan watched as the girls dawdled up the hill toward them. He was about to call to them when they suddenly turned and ran to the visitors’ center. He started off after them.
“What are they doing?” he heard Sandra ask as she caught up to him.
Logan knew all too well what they were up to and decided it would be better if everything was out in the open.
“My dear nieces can’t stand the idea that I don’t currently have a girlfriend,” he said dryly, glancing at her. “They’re avoiding us because they have grand visions of playing matchmaker.”
Sandra laughed.
To his chagrin, Logan felt deflated at her reaction. “What can I say,” he said, wishing he had her quick, glib tongue. “They’re young.”
“Some day they’ll grow up, Logan Napier.”
Logan sighed. “I pray for it daily.”
“Do you?”
He turned, looking fully at her. “Yes. I do.”
Sandra’s gaze flicked sideways then back. “I remember you said that you go to church.”
“Why does that always come out with a faint note of mockery?” he asked as he reached the sidewalk at the bottom of the hill.
“Like I told you before, I’m not a church person.”
“Why not?” He stopped, turning to face her. He wanted to know more about this part of her life. After all, she was teaching his nieces.
“It’s full of hypocrites,” she said airily.
“That’s the oldest excuse in the book.”
Sandra’s dark brown eyes met his, unable to conceal the sparkle that lit at his challenge. “What book?”
“Pardon me?” Logan asked.
“What book is that the oldest excuse in? Is there a book somewhere full of excuses? And if there is, how do you know it’s the oldest one? What if it’s the newest?” Sandra threw out the questions one after the other, a smile curving her lips.
In spite of his exasperation with her, Logan laughed. “I’m not even going to start a battle of words with you,” he said. “But I will challenge your hypocrite comment. You have to admit that using that excuse is pretty lame. There are hypocrites in every organization. Where there are people, there are failings.”
Sandra cocked her head as if thinking. “Okay. I’ll concede that point. Begrudgingly,” she added, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t want to let you off too easy.”
“So why don’t you go to church?” Logan asked.
“I believe in God, Logan. Just in case that’s what you’re really wondering. I just don’t believe that church fills any need of mine. I prefer to worship God in nature.”
Logan felt a stab of disappointment. He didn’t know what he had hoped for, but her answer brushed away some faint hope he had harbored. A hope that didn’t really have anything to do with his nieces’ well-being. “But nature doesn’t tell you of the need for redemption, Sandra,” he replied quietly.
Sandra’s answer was a dismissive shrug.
Right then the girls came out of the building, pretending surprise to see Logan and Sandra.
“Let’s look at the rest of the site,” Sandra said, forestalling any recriminations or feeble explanations.
The girls followed Sandra while Logan lagged behind, listening as she explained the history of Fort Walsh.
“Later, in the nineteen forties, the RCMP purchased this site and set up Remount Ranch to breed and raise their horses. They also raised and trained the horses for the Musical Ride here.”
“I’ve heard of the Musical Ride,” Logan said. “But what exactly is it?”
“A riding display developed from traditional cavalry drills. It’s very impressive. I believe 32 horses and riders are involved.”
“We saw that,” Bethany offered. “In Texas. At a rodeo. It was awesome. Those black horses. And the riders in those neat red coats.”
Logan wasn’t surprised at that. Linda and her husband traveled enough different places, they were bound to have crossed paths at one time or another with the RCMP’s Musical Ride.
The rest of the tour went fast. To her credit, Sandra could tell when the girls’ interest waned, and would quickly move on to the next place. They walked through barracks and living quarters, then took a picture by the flagpole in the center of the fort. Logan operated the camera, smiling as Bethany and Brittany crowded right up beside Sandra.
He looked through the lens and adjusted the zoom lens, bringing the little group in closer. Sandra looked up, smiling, and Logan couldn’t suppress the tug of attraction. Sandra’s open smile suffused her entire being and made him want to laugh along with her.
He snapped the picture, recognizing Sandra’s beauty and at the same time realizing that any man would be attracted to her. And that was all he felt, he reminded himself. Just a basic recognition of her appeal. He didn’t have the time or the inclination to take anything further from there. Not with someone like Sandra.
The drive back was quiet. Both girls slept in the back seat, which meant, Logan thought with a sigh, that they would be awake and giddy for most of the evening. Looked like he wasn’t going to get much done tonight.
Sandra didn’t say much. Just looked ahead, her expression serious. Logan couldn’t help but glance at her once in a while, wondering what she was thinking.
Logan wondered if his comment about church had made the usually loquacious Sandra Bachman retreat into silence. He doubted it. Someone as self-possessed as Sandra wasn’t the kind of person to be intimidated by someone else’s opinion.
But her silence made him feel uncomfortable. As they neared Elkwater,
