Saving Sophia

by Isabella Laase

  “Still a little tender?” he said softly.

  “I’ll live,” she said and buried her face in his shoulder. A few minutes went by, and she added, “I… It’s weird. I’m not even mad at Linc. He… I think he really was scared when I was missing.”

  “Of course he was scared. We were all scared. Nobody’d seen you for hours. We had no idea where you were. If you hadn’t left your sweatshirt under the tree, you probably would have spent the night out there, and we’d be looking with the sheriff’s search and rescue team tomorrow.”

  The thought of all that open, wild land in darkness was almost suffocating, and she shuddered openly. “I know. I just needed to get away. I like being alone sometimes. It’s easier to think. And it’s easier to just… be.”

  “Easy isn’t always the best choice,” he added while stroking her cheek. “Forming relationships and making a family is hard work.”

  “I know… and I’m sorry about today. Do you think they’ll still be mad at me tomorrow? I ruined their holiday for them.”

  “You know how this works,” he said while he relaxed a little more firmly into the pillows. “You were settled up as soon as Linc blistered your backside. It’s all good.”

  Her lonely past seemed somehow less important, and she laid her head on his chest. Her body curled against his side in a perfect fit and sleep came a tiny bit closer. Her next thoughts formed into words before she could stop them. “The summer is more than half over. I have go back to Jackson in another few weeks.”

  There was a brief hesitation. “We can only enjoy what’s in front of us today,” he said as he took her more firmly into his arms. “We’ll worry about Jackson when the time comes. We’ll make it work.”

  Nodding her head, she curled back into his body. Her hand stroked the smooth muscles of his chest and soon his regular breathing accompanied his relaxed slumber. Time crept by, but she was content to just watch him sleep. The idea that this man was so firmly attached to her was still amazing. Tracing his brow and chin lightly, she worked to memorize each and every aspect of his handsome face.

  His firm connection remained while she settled into her own peaceful sleep, but it took until the next morning before she realized that she’d finally defeated her old nightmares. She did not think the edge of the abyss would ever return to torment her.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dramatic rescue didn’t automatically equate to peaceful coexistence at Cloudcroft, and Bella continued to deliver inconsistent support to the newcomer. Some days were filled with smiles and acceptance, but if Sophia crossed some unknown line of behavior, Bella snapped for no reason. Her sarcastic rudeness left sensitive Sophia with hurt feelings, and she’d withdraw slightly until Bella’s mood passed. The men tried to run interference, but Sophia often felt their help was more harmful than productive.

  One quiet afternoon in the ranch office, Sophia was completing some paperwork for Jack. She enjoyed the work, but remained lost in her own thoughts after they’d sold a two-year-old colt to an out-of-state buyer. A long lecture on the logistics of a paying ranch helped her process, but she’d developed a fondness for the animal’s elegant presence. Jack had allowed her to work with him in her spare time, and his loss led to another reminder of an empty past where meaningful things disappeared without warning.

  Bella’s voice broke through her daydream. “Shit, Sophia. You live half your life in a fog. Don’t you ever listen?”

  She shook her head with a frown while Jack scolded, “Watch yourself, Bel. There’s no reason to be rude.”

  Bella’s glare was so apparent that Sophia simply walked out of the building without responding. Hours later, Marcus found her in his room buried behind a book, but she stubbornly refused to join the family for dinner and added a small pout for emphasis.

  “Jack told me what happened,” he said calmly as he grabbed her wrists to pull her off the bed. “You and Bella have to work this out. That’s the way she talks. She isn’t trying to be mean, but I know it’s rude and she’ll apologize.”

  Sophia sniffled with sensitive indignation. “I just don’t like fighting. It’s not who I am.”

  He settled her under his chin. “Some things might be worth fighting for. I’m not saying engage in conflict all the time, but standing up for something you believe in is worth the time. Now get your ass down to dinner if you want to sit on it for the next few days.”

  The rest of the family offered no companionship challenges, but Marcus continued to form the solid foundation to her new life. They spent hours together talking about everything from their past fears and successes to their future dreams and goals. She learned more about his family and even his childhood before his father passed away. He said sincerely, “I’m not saying I understand what it was like to be all alone, but I do understand loss and fear. You must have been one amazing kid to survive with such a great attitude.”

  The continued validation was empowering for a woman who’d heard few good things about herself. With each connection, Bella’s smartass comments were a little easier to bear, and Sophia became better at ignoring the bits of temper.

  Jack and Linc were easy to talk to as well. Long hours were spent as a family talking about plans for the ranch’s future. Linc and Marcus hoped to expand the resort, but Jack said, “I’d really like to spend more time training horses. My grandfather was an amazing trainer. I think he would have focused solely on the horses if it would have made the ranch pay, but the hay supports the cattle, and the cattle remains our biggest money maker.”

  “That would be amazing,” she said sincerely. “But why you don’t use the kennels anymore? You have a dozen of them.”

  Linc answered with a shrug, “My grandmother used to raise a little extra money and boarded dogs for people when they went on vacation. She also bred and trained Gordon Setters. They’re great hunting dogs, and we had them around for years. When the last one died, we just didn’t have the heart to replace her. She was really family.”

  She rested her head in her hands with a wistful sigh. “I’ve always wanted a dog. Once I lived with a family who had an old cocker spaniel. She was a nippy little thing, but I adored her. I actually felt worse about leaving her than leaving the rest of them when they were transferred.”

  “Well, now you have Bella,” added Jack with a laugh as he pulled his grinning wife into his arms. “And she’s a nippy little thing too.”

  By the beginning of August, Sophia had her driver’s permit, and Jerry expanded her training to the roads. She remained fascinated by the machinery and followed anybody available to learn more about the trucks and heavy equipment that kept the ranch running. Within weeks, she’d moved past simple maintenance to help Jerry install new brakes on one of the ranch pickups.

  The three doms were impressed with her quick instruction, but prim Bella was predictably not as supportive. “You’ve always got oil all over you. Look at your nails. They’re a mess.”

  Sophia scowled with the not so subtle reminder that she lacked a certain femininity, but Bella continued, “You’re coming with me on our next day off. We’re going shopping in Jackson and getting our hair and nails done. I didn’t agree to take an extra sub in the house to pick up another male roommate. I want some estrogen around here.”

  “I can’t afford that,” she responded with quiet stubbornness. “I need every penny to go to school. You and Tami were really nice to get me the outfit, but it’s going to have to be enough.”

  “I’m not taking no for an answer,” grumbled Bella. “You look like shit half the time. We just got paid so you have a few bucks to spend on yourself, and that’s final. I know where we can find some decent consignment shops, and we have a customer who works at a beauty salon. You’re going, and I promise you can afford it.”

  To keep the peace, Sophia buried her anger but went to Marcus with a rare complaint. “She doesn’t listen. I told her I couldn’t go, and she just pushes and prods. Not everybody is as beautiful and rich as Bella. I never had a
trust fund or a brand new car. She doesn’t understand the real world.”

  His tone offered no true sincerity. “Yeah, well… tell her, but Bella isn’t stupid. It took a lot of work, but she understands what it means to live on a budget. If she says she can give you all that stuff without costing a lot of money, she can probably do it. Besides, what does it hurt to go along? You might have a lot of fun without spending much. If she wants to go to a restaurant you can’t afford, just don’t go.”

  Despite Sophia’s efforts to avoid the commitment, Bella remained annoyingly persistent. “Don’t be stubborn. You’re coming with me, and that’s final. You’re a reflection on all of us now, and you’re a mess.”

  Sophia bit her lip to withhold the simple retort that she worked for an honest living without the spoiled wealth of a trust fund, but Bella walked away with a snapped order. “Be at my car by eight. It’s a long drive.”

  Backed into a corner and unwilling to pick a fight, she reluctantly climbed into the Jeep, but retained her silent rebellion. Bella chattered about some Hollywood gossip that didn’t interest her in the least, and her mood did not improve under the horrible noise of the satellite radio station with words she couldn’t understand and a thumping beat that sounded like a bad muffler. With no other option, she devoted herself to her sulk while Bella remained oblivious.

  They got as far as Marion when Bella’s cell phone chimed, and she checked the message while negotiating the steering wheel. The action made Sophia nervous, but she remained quiet while Bella tapped in her reply. After a few patient seconds, Sophia murmured, “You should put the phone away, Bel. It’s against the law to text and drive.”

  Bella dismissed her with a wave of the naughty electronic. “It’s just a minute. Don’t worry so much, but don’t tell Jack. He’d murder me.”

  The texting continued, and Sophia repeated her request. “Put it away. It’s not safe.”

  “Give it up, already,” grumbled Bella. “Just sit there like the quiet little mouse you are. I’ll just be a second.”

  Repressed frustrations and bottled anger snapped her patience, and Sophia grabbed the cell out of Bella’s hand with a powerful glare. The pint-size blonde was momentarily stunned, but when she found her voice, Bella spoke with a clear emphasis on each syllable. “Give me my fucking phone.”

  Entitled Bella with her perfect hair and perfect clothing was just too much perfection for one person. Sophia snapped, “No. Just drive the fucking car, Bella. There’s a reason why you can’t text and drive. It isn’t safe.”

  Confronted with a tougher Sophia, Bella remained silent for a long few seconds before she made a sudden grab for the phone. Sophia saw it coming and held it a little farther out of her reach. “Stop. You’re not getting this in the car.”

  “I said give it back, Sophia. Now!” Bella leaned over, but Sophia slapped her hand away.

  The car swerved suddenly. Bella returned her focus to the steering wheel in a panic, but the damage was done. The Jeep ran over the curb and back to the road with a thud. The sound that followed made it clear that something was very wrong.

  They exchanged a look of horror, and Bella pulled the car to the side of the road. A closer inspection revealed the tire had pulled away from the rim and no longer held the simple roundness that reflected its purpose. Sophia ran her hands over the damage to the rim itself and groaned softly.

  Bella spoke first. “Fuck. How the hell am I going to explain this? Why didn’t you give me the damn phone?”

  “Me?” snapped Sophia. “You have to be kidding me! This was all your fault. You were texting and driving. You could have gotten us killed.”

  “Bull. I could have gotten us a ticket at the most. I was fine.”

  Sarcasm was her only response. “Yeah, that’s why Jack would have murdered you. You were fine.”

  “Well, what do you think Marcus is going to say when he finds out you were physically fighting with the driver of a car while she was actually driving?”

  The thought hadn’t occurred to her, and her bottom wiggled in despair. “Dammit, Bella, you can be such a bitch.”

  “Well, you’re a dumbass.”

  They glared at each other with unblinking eyes for a long few seconds until Bella’s phone rang. The ring tone was clearly a Christmas carol, and the confused look on Bella’s face was more than Sophia could handle. ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ on a hot August afternoon in a tiny town in Wyoming caused her to burst into laughter under the direst of circumstances. With no clear choice, Bella joined her.

  Bella dismissed the call. “It’s a ring tone for a friend from Florida. It wasn’t a very nice choice for a girl whose allergies are so awful that she’s always congested. I haven’t heard from her in months, and I’m sure she doesn’t have anything important to say now.”

  Sophia’s careful inspection of the tire relieved some anxiety. “It’s not as bad as it looks. The rim is bent, but I think the tire can be saved. If we change the tire here, we could get the old one repaired and buy a new rim. The guys would never know.”

  Bella whistled slowly. “Damn. When did gentle Sophia get all slippery and devious? I thought you were the good one?”

  Sophia rolled her eyes and added a shrug. “I don’t want to get into trouble any more than you do. Trust me. I can change the tire, and we can just wait in Marion for it to be fixed. I wouldn’t want to go all the way to Jackson without a spare anyway.”

  Her partner in crime remained skeptical. “Can you really change a tire all by yourself? I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “Of course I can. It’s easy.” To prove her point, Sophia was halfway to the back of the car to get the necessary equipment.

  Within an hour they sat at the local diner eating lunch. Bella spoke with gleeful conspiracy. “I think we can really pull this off. Nobody was working at the garage the guys know, and we haven’t run into anybody else. This might just work.”

  Sophia shot her a grin over the hot dog and Coke she’d ordered for lunch. She seldom spent money on herself and even though her meal had cost less than five bucks, she felt good about being out in the world with a friend. “Trust me. Just don’t talk a lot when we get home. You betray everything when you open your mouth.”

  Bella nodded with full agreement. “Okay, but the guys will be suspicious if we don’t come home with something from the store. I would have had to pay to get the tire changed or the car towed if you couldn’t do it. Let me pay for your haircut and something nice to wear. After all, you represent Cloudcroft now, and nice things really do make you feel better.”

  Confronted with a truly sincere offer, Sophia added, “Okay. I’ll split the cost for the day. But you’re paying for the new rim and tire repair. That was all your fault.”

  Bella knew the stylist at the local shop who agreed to slip Sophia in without an appointment. Surrounded by the pungent smells of hair coloring and shampoos in a very alien environment, she sat nervously in the chair while he fastened the plastic smock around her neck. She murmured softly, “I… I just want the ends trimmed.”

  The metrosexual talents of the young stylist could not let it go. “Oh, honey. I’d lose my license if I let you out of here like this. Your hair needs a deep conditioner, and it looks like somebody took a hatchet to these ends.”

  “Probably a weed whacker,” laughed Bella, “but you were close. Do your magic, Seth. She’ll sit still. I can blackmail her now.”

  An hour later, she’d had the first real haircut of her adult life. Seth raised the length to her shoulders and added deep reddish highlights to her chestnut brown hair. Long layers reduced the thickness to a manageable style and the conditioner left her hair soft and shiny.

  She was thrilled. “It just feels so different. I… I do love it. Thank you, Seth. How much do I owe you?”

  His answer earned her cringe, but the tingling confidence was worth every penny. She delivered a gentle kiss on his cheek before they left the shop with a bag full of shampoo and conditioner
s.

  At the clothing store, Bella said, “My turn. You paid for the haircut, and I get the clothes. And we’re going to get something that fits properly. You buy things that would fit a linebacker.”

  “That’s an exaggeration. It’s not that bad. Besides, I’m a little larger than you in case you didn’t notice. Not everybody has a skinny little frame, so we don’t all look great in ass-fitting clothes.”

  Bella stopped looking through the racks. “You don’t know, do you? You really don’t see it?”

  “See what, Bella?” she responded with exasperation. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Sophia. You’re gorgeous… your hair, your face, your curvy frame with those crazy long legs. You could be a model. People would kill for your skin tone and your eyes. You have it all. It’s no wonder Marcus fell hard for you. Any guy would be lucky to have you for a girlfriend.”

  Sophia’s mouth would not close, but she couldn’t think of a single response. An entire lifetime had passed, and other than Marcus, nobody had ever told her that she was pretty.

  When facing a challenge to her own self-awareness, denial was always easier than acceptance. “Don’t be silly. Marcus only says that because we’re sleeping together, and he’s polite. And… I’m not his girlfriend. I’m done here in a few weeks and have to go back to Jackson. This is just a… a summer fling.”

  Hearing the words out loud dropped the fun out of the afternoon, but in a surprisingly dom-like move, Bella raised an eyebrow. “You’d better never say that in front of Marcus, or you won’t sit down for a week. He cares about you, Sophia.” With a quiet touch, Bella pushed Sophia’s freshly cut hair out of her eyes. “And you really are beautiful. I’m sorry you didn’t hear that enough when you were growing up. Now try on this bra so we can see what size you should really get.”