Sunset Surrender

by Charlene Sands

  She’d hoped so. With her whole heart, she had truly hoped so. Sophia closed her eyes, momentarily absorbing the truth of his words. Her mother always pretended to feel better than she actually felt to ease Sophia’s mind. She’d been a trouper about her treatments and always tried to put a smile on her face even when her health had begun to decline. Sophia wished she could be as strong and capable and caring a woman as her mother had been.

  “I think she would’ve liked you to stay married to me,” Gordon said.

  “I might have, if you hadn’t pressured me.”

  “I was very patient with you, Sophia. I was good to you.”

  “Yes, I can’t deny that. You were very good to my mother and me.”

  “So can you blame me for wanting a real wife? Your mother was gone, God rest her soul, and you were safe, away from a stalker’s threats. I figured—”

  “I’d owe you?”

  “No, Sophia. I had hoped you’d have real affection for me.”

  “I appreciate everything you did for me, but contrary to what some might believe, I can’t be bought. You put pressure on me shortly after my mother died and made me very uncomfortable. Gordon, you’re not a man who takes no lightly. You pressed me until I had no choice but to walk away.”

  Gordon actually looked contrite. “I’m sorry. It was a mistake on my part to pressure you. I’m a bit spoiled. I usually get what I want and, beautiful Sophia, you were my wife.”

  Sophia had walked away without a dime of Gordon’s great wealth. She’d insisted on a prenup that said exactly that. She’d never wanted his money. She’d never wanted to be beholden to Gordon. “I know,” she whispered, “but I couldn’t give you what you wanted.”

  Gordon put his head down. He steepled his fingers and spoke quietly. “You may think me a silly old man for saying so, but I fell in love with you, Sophia.”

  Sophia was touched and she believed him, but Gordon Gregory fell in love a lot. He’d been married and divorced five times in his seventy-one years. “And you deserve a woman in your life who will give you love back.”

  “I see that now.” A shrug rolled off his shoulder. “Well...I’ve done my part, Sophia. I’ve checked on you for Louisa’s sake. I see you’ve made a life for yourself here. Are you happy?”

  Sophia didn’t have to think twice. “Yes.”

  He nodded and gave her a thoughtful look. “Then I’d venture to guess Logan Slade is a very lucky man.”

  * * *

  After Sophia bid farewell to Gordon, she sat in her office staring at the paperwork on her desk. The numbers on the account sheets made no sense. She wouldn’t even try to turn on her computer. She couldn’t concentrate. She couldn’t seem to think of much else but Gordon Gregory’s appearance here today. She’d never expected him to seek her out. That part of her life, a trying, difficult part of her life, was over. Seeing Logan drive up in the limo with Gordon had really rattled her.

  While she’d silently grieved for her mother all these months, speaking with Gordon today and hashing over their lives had brought fresh pain to her heart. From her grave, her mother was still trying to look out for her—still trying to protect her. It served to make Sophia miss her mother even more.

  She’d married a man for what he could give her, yes. But it wasn’t a selfish money-grubbing move. It had been for her mother’s sake. Gordon had provided safe haven in his mansion for both the Montrose women and hopefully now that she’d grown closer to Logan, he would believe her.

  With that resolved in her mind, Sophia managed to struggle through her work. Apprehension gripped her stomach tight. Logan had been a wonderful lover and they’d shared so much with each other, but the one thing that Sophia needed from him now was his willingness to see her in a different light. It mattered now. So much. She wanted his trust. She wanted him to believe in her.

  The brim on his hat cocked low, Hunter Halliday gave a light rap at her opened office door. “It’s that time,” he said, stepping one foot into the office.

  For the past week, Hunter had come in the late afternoon to alert her it was time to feed the horses. Aside from her time spent with Logan, hand-feeding the horses with Hunter was the best part of her day. “Thank goodness. I am so ready to call it a day.”

  Hunter waited for her to straighten her desk and lock up the office. They walked out the side door that led toward the lodge stables, making pleasant small talk. Several of the lodge guests were about, the scent of horse dung and straw giving them the full ranch-type experience. She waved to them and walked farther down to where Hunter kept a jumbo-sized bag of carrots.

  At the corral, five horses trotted over and nudged each other out of the way trying to get their fair share of food. Sophia let each horse take a carrot out of her palm and then patted their foreheads, one right after the other. Hunter took a few carrots over to an elderly couple who stood watching from several feet away. He gave them each a turn feeding the horses.

  Sophia walked over to them. “They love getting extra treats.”

  The woman smiled. “Well, then we’ll have to come by tomorrow at this time, too.”

  Hunter agreed and started up a conversation with the two of them while Sophia bid them farewell. Her mood lighter, she felt a little better about talking to Logan tonight.

  “Ms. Montrose?” Hunter called as she approached her car. “You heading over to the main house?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Will you say hello to Luke for me?”

  Confused, Sophia gave Hunter a shake of the head. “Luke?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I saw him going into the house an hour ago. Luke’s back.”

  Ten

  A knot formed in Sophia’s stomach as she parked her Camry by the ranch house garage. She sat in the car a minute, still unsure what to do about Luke. If Logan was home, maybe he’d already had a conversation with him. Or maybe he’d left that privilege for her. Sophia had wanted a little more time with Logan. And after her visit from Gordon today, she’d hoped she could be honest and up-front about things he didn’t want to talk about. She’d hoped she could make headway with him. It would require faith and trust on both their parts.

  Sadly, she still didn’t have a clear definition of her relationship with Logan. And she still didn’t know what she would say to Luke. She got out of the car and made her way toward the house, wondering if she could find the right words. Deep in thought, she climbed the steps and entered the house, closing the door behind her.

  Instantly, two booming male voices resounding from the long hallway stopped her cold. She couldn’t make out the words, but she certainly knew harsh tones when she heard them. And it was clear that Logan and Luke were butting heads again. When she heard her name mentioned, Sophia moved down the hallway, compelled by a force stronger than good etiquette allowed to secretly listen to the two men she cared most about. She leaned against the outside wall of Logan’s office, out of sight.

  “You’re telling me that Sophia has moved into the house?” Luke’s voice was full of his displeasure.

  Logan’s impatient words rang out. “I told you about the threats at the cottage.”

  “So she’s here for her own safety?”

  “There’s more. We’re not going to tiptoe around now that you’re home.”

  “Meaning what?”

  Logan’s voice carried a distinct certainty. “Meaning she’s with me now.”

  There was a long pause, and Sophia squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t know what to expect from this conversation. Logan hadn’t been subtle or taken the time to ease Luke into the idea.

  “You son of a bitch.” Disbelief reverberated off the walls. “You’re sleeping with her.”

  “That’s right, Luke. It’s a mutual arrangement.”

  Again there was a long pause as Luke absorbed that for a minut
e. Sophia didn’t know if she should make her presence known, but his next words made her rethink revealing herself until she’d heard Logan’s answer.

  “So then you’ve forgiven her of all crimes? You don’t think she’s out for our money?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You’re not cutting her any slack, are you?” Luke asked angrily.

  “I’m watching our backs, Luke.”

  “You’re going to hurt her and if you do, I’ll—”

  “I’m making damn well sure you don’t hook up with her. You’d be foolish enough to fall in love with her. At least with me, I know that’ll never happen. I’m protecting our interests.”

  “You’re a bastard, Logan.” Luke’s words were sharp, cutting. “Sophia deserves better than that.”

  Logan lashed back, “Yeah, what do you know? You didn’t wake up one night and wander into the barn as a kid to find our father, the esteemed Randall Slade, sprawled over her mother in the tack room. The two of them were going at it—”

  Sophia gasped. Stunned, she moved on shaky legs into the office doorway. The Slade men both looked up at the same time, shocked to see her standing there in full view.

  She felt the blood drain from her face. Her body went limp as she faced Logan. She’d overheard everything. Logan had never cared for her. He’d never fall in love with her. She took a swallow, having to look deep into his eyes and hear him repeat the one thing that brought it all together. The one thing that proved his wicked deception.

  “The t-tack room, Logan?”

  Logan’s hard eyes softened. “Sophia.”

  Luke let out a curse. “Don’t listen to him, Sophia. He’s an—”

  “Answer me, Logan,” she demanded, raising her voice. Luke wouldn’t understand why this was so devastating to her. “You saw our parents together in the tack room?”

  Logan blinked and began shaking his head. “You weren’t meant to hear this conversation.”

  Sophia couldn’t breathe. Her chest pounded and her stomach twisted in agony. She’d never felt so completely betrayed. This was all a game to Logan—and a way to keep her away from Luke. He must have had a good long laugh over it when he seduced her in the very place he’d found his father making love to her mother. She was at a loss so profound a cold wave wrapped around her body and threatened to freeze her out. It was as if the light beaming inside her died. She was numb and brokenhearted, but forces from deep within would not allow her to walk out of here until Logan heard the truth.

  “First of all, Luke is right. You’re a bastard.”

  Logan flinched, which gave her a measure of satisfaction. The man wasn’t made entirely of stone. If her words cut him, they were only a tiny tear, unlike the way she’d been ripped apart.

  “You’ve never wanted to hear the truth about your parents. I’ve wanted to tell you but I thought I should wait until I had your trust. But I see now I’ll never have that. Luke, you should know this, too. When your mother and father married it was more an arrangement to bring two powerful ranching families together. There was never great passion between them. Randall married because she’d gotten pregnant with you. He didn’t love her the way she wanted to be loved though. The way every woman deserves to be loved. But your mother and father did merge the ranches and did build a family together.”

  Sophia put her head down. She couldn’t bear to see the look of pain in Logan’s expression. After a few seconds, she forged on. He needed to hear this. Even if he didn’t believe her, she owed this to her mother and to herself. She faced Logan again, looking him straight in the eyes, holding back her tears. “When we came to live at the ranch, there was nothing between my mother and your father but mutual respect. Over the years, they grew closer and fought the attraction with everything they had but eventually they fell deeply in love. My mother was tormented. I would hear her crying during the night. Often she’d speak of leaving the ranch, of finding another job somewhere else. But I loved living here. I loved it so much and I couldn’t understand at the time why my mother wanted to leave. I pleaded with her to stay on. I couldn’t bear the thought of not living at the cottage or on Sunset Ranch. So we stayed.”

  Early memories of her mother’s sadness were fresh in her mind. Sophia remembered her mother crying and the defeat in her voice in those brief moments when she’d let her guard down. It had been a painful time for her. “Your father was set to divorce Ivy. It wasn’t an easy decision for him but he’d been determined. My mother stopped him. She wouldn’t allow Randall to break up his family for her. Everyone thought that Ivy found out about their affair and fired my mother. But the truth was that my mother went to Ivy to apologize. She offered to move away so that she and Randall could patch up their relationship and keep the family together. Mama always told me she’d done the right thing. She couldn’t have lived with herself if she’d broken up your family. She never took a penny of Randall’s money and she made him promise to never follow her. To my knowledge he never did.”

  “But he did provide for you in his will,” Luke pointed out.

  The room got quiet. Logan’s face masked his emotions.

  “My mother loved Randall Slade with her whole heart and she gave him up. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do.” Sophia choked up then and tears spilled from her eyes when she looked at Logan one last time. “Mama...always said...it was a waste of love.”

  His dark eyes flickered and he moved toward her. But Sophia backed away, putting out a hand warning him not to come closer. “I’m moving back into the cottage. I want to be left alone. I hope both of you will respect my wishes.”

  “Sophia, me?” Luke asked.

  Warmth filled her heart for the man who was her friend. It was a blessing to see Luke looking so fit, regardless of the cast on his arm. She could barely breathe, barely talk. Her words were soft, a quiet plea for Luke’s understanding. “I’m sorry, but I need to be alone right now.”

  She turned then, and walked out the door. She’d never had hope torn from her body this way before. She’d never had such devastating disillusionment.

  She missed her mother more now than ever before.

  And she knew that she would miss loving Logan Slade almost as much.

  * * *

  Logan lowered down into his chair and squeezed his eyes shut. But the image of Sophia appeared in his head anyway. Her fiery spirit gone, she’d looked broken and beat down. Accusation and betrayal had marred her beautiful face.

  The tack room, Logan?

  Logan winced. It hadn’t been planned. He hadn’t set out to seduce her that night. It had been an ironic twist, a coincidence that Logan hadn’t thought about until after the deed was done. When he realized he made love to her there, he hadn’t put much significance in it. Until now. Until the angry words had slipped from his mouth during his argument with his brother and Sophia had overheard. He’d said brutal, harsh things about keeping Luke away from her, about how he would never fall in love with her. She’d heard it all.

  Luke walked over to him, his voice menacing. “Stand up, so I can knock you on your ass.”

  Logan didn’t bother to look at him. “With your left hand?”

  “Jerk.”

  Logan’s love/hate relationship with his brother was getting on his nerves. He wanted to be left alone with his miserable thoughts. “Get outta here, Luke.”

  “Sophia shouldn’t be alone at the cottage.”

  “I know that,” he snapped.

  “I’ll go over there tonight. She’ll let me in. She likes me.”

  Logan stood now, and got directly in his brother’s face. He felt the veins in his neck popping. “Don’t go near her. If anyone’s gonna protect her, it’ll be me. You understand that?”

  Luke opened his big mouth, but nothing came out. They stared at each other, practically nose to nose, and th
en Luke’s eyes widened and he burst out laughing. Logan balled his fists.

  “This is rich,” Luke said when his laughter died down. “You love her. You have fallen head over heels in love with Sophia, and now she can’t stand you. She’d rather risk a stalker’s threats than be under the same roof as you.”

  “You’re delusional, bro.”

  “All this time you’ve been convincing yourself that Sophia is just like her mother. And it would serve you right to find that she was exactly like Louisa—a goodhearted, kind woman who deserved a break in life. A woman who made our father happy for a short time. Hell, Logan. I knew Mom and Dad weren’t happy for years. They were partners in business and they had kids to raise so they stuck it out. Their marriage wasn’t what you thought it was.”

  “You know this because you’re the sensitive one and all.”

  “I didn’t see Dad as a god. He was mortal and had human flaws, just like the rest of us. I don’t say what he did was right and I know Dad did love Mom in his own way. They raised us and managed to keep the family together. But maybe our folks shouldn’t have stayed together. Maybe they’d have both been happier apart. Maybe you got it all wrong, Logan. Ever think of that?”

  Logan’s nostrils flared. “I don’t have it wrong.”

  “Okay, then fine. Let Sophia walk out of your life.”

  “She just did and I didn’t go after her, did I?”

  A look of disgust spread over Luke’s face. “Your loss.”

  Logan watched his pain-the-ass brother turn around and walk out of his office with slower than usual steps. The trip home had taxed his strength but at least he did look stronger than when he’d left. And the accident sure hadn’t changed his stubborn nature.

  Once Logan was alone in his office, he made a call to add extra security to the premises. He would drive by the cottage tonight as well to check up on the place.

  No one on Slade property would be in danger. He’d see to that.

  Sophia included.