Free Sunset Surrender by Charlene Sands Page B

her threshold with enough confidence to fill an arena. “What are you doing here?”
    It wasn’t the most mannerly greeting in the world. Even though her body reacted to Logan, she wasn’t ready for another round of sparring. She’d looked forward to being with her friend this evening.
    “There’s been an accident. Luke’s in the hospital.”
    Shocked, she gasped noisily as her hand flew to her chest. “Oh, my God. What happened?”
    “A feisty stallion got loose this afternoon at the barn and Luke lost his footing trying to contain him. He was knocked down, and Trib nailed him good with both front hooves.”
    “Oh, no! How is he?”
    “He’s got three broken ribs, one broken arm and a concussion.”
    “I’m so sorry. Oh, poor Luke.” Sophia’s heart ached hearing the news about her friend.
    “Luke’s pretty tough, but all those rodeo injuries are surfacing again. He got hit pretty hard.”
    “Where is he?”
    “Carson City Memorial.”
    “Can I see him?”
    He shook his head. “The doctors sent me home. I’ve been with him all afternoon. He can’t have any visitors tonight. They want him to rest. Someone will be observing him during the night for the concussion. With luck, they’ll send him home tomorrow or the next day. He’s going to be laid up for a while though.”
    Sophia realized she’d kept Logan out on the front porch. “Come in.” She turned around and took a few steps into the parlor. “I’m so surprised.” She’d wished Logan had called her from the hospital. She would’ve dropped everything to see Luke, but wishing for Logan to do anything for her was futile.
    Logan followed her inside, his boot heels scraping against the floor. “Trib’s a hard case and may be just as hardheaded as Luke. He’s called Tribute in front of prospective buyers, but when they’re out of hearing range we call him Tribulation. He’s a grief maker. Of course, Luke’s not blaming the dang horse. He blames himself for getting in the way.”
    Sophia turned to Logan, noticing for the first time that he held a white take-out bag.
    “I feel terrible,” she said.
    “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