Logan's Promise

by Nancy Howard

  “No, he's not aware of what I'm doing, at all. He lets me take care of everything that's ranch business. He doesn't get involved anymore at all unless I need him, too. I don't want him to know about what I'm doing here, either. If it's available, then I'll buy it. I want it to be a surprise to them.”

  “Fair enough, I'll get on it right away, Logan,” he says. “Anything else?”

  “There is one more thing you could do for me, Bill.”

  “Sure. What's that, Logan?”

  “I...uh...I need a ranch foreman. So if you hear of anyone who's looking for a job, have them get in touch with me. Put the word out that I'm looking. Okay?”

  “Okay, I'll do that. So, Gavin?”

  “He's gone. He left.”

  Chatfield says nothing in response. He senses her hurt, he can see it in her face. He doesn't question her further about it. When Logan first came here, she was very good at hiding her feelings. That's not true of her anymore, especially where Gavin is concerned. Everyone in town has known for a longtime, that they're madly in love with each other. He is just curious as to why Gavin left so suddenly. But not curious enough to pry into Logan's private life. He's also unaware of all the issues that have developed between them recently.

  Logan forces a smile, gets up and shakes hands with Chatfield and leaves the bank. Bill watches her walk out and through the door, and he remembers that first night she came to stay with John and Catherine. He and his wife Jane had been invited to dinner that evening and it was their first exposure to her. He smiles as he remembers that quiet young woman who didn't trust a soul back then. She wasn't sure how to contend with suddenly being thrust into a daughter role, either. One she wasn't at all prepared for back then, and now she is the daughter. A role she’s grown into beautifully. Bill remembers he learned that evening she had graduated high school, which impressed him then and still does now.

  He remembers that she conducted herself that night with complete confidence, and poise. Never once causing he and Jane to question why John and Catherine wanted her presence in their company. But he and Jane could also see the immediate effect she was already having on John and Catherine. They could see that the Sanderson's wanted this young woman to be there in their presence with them that evening. Even though she'd only just arrived, and at that time was supposed to be an employee. Hired to chase off cattle rustlers with Gavin.

  Back then she was still Logan Kincaid the bounty hunter, with quite a reputation for being fast with a gun. She wasn't used to just listening to normal talk. She was a bit rough around the edges. Today as he reminisces about that night, he watches a different young woman today. She's a totally different person. She wears a dress now. She's a savvy business woman, and a polished lady in complete control of Sanderson's Hill Ranch. And is John and Catherine's adopted daughter, and heir to their ranch.

  Since that night she has grown so much Chatfield thinks, as she walks by the bank windows carrying a purse. She has arguably become the most powerful woman in the territory. Now she commands respect and admiration from everyone, everywhere she goes. She is no longer that girl bounty hunter, who wandered into Folsom with Gavin that day. Many remembered that and wondered what John was thinking about when he put her in charge of their huge ranch

  Everyone who knew the Sandersons, thought that they had made the biggest mistake of their lives. That John had completely lost his mind when he put his sprawling ranch, that he and Catherine had worked so hard to build into the hands of a twenty-six year old girl. A bounty hunter. But that's what he did, and they were all wrong about John's decision, including him. Because Logan learned how to run Sanderson's Hill in just a matter of weeks.

  He also knows that the town owes it very life to this young woman. Being who she once was back then, she took it upon herself to face down Bailey Hogg and his henchmen. She had help of course, but it was her intention to defend her family and the town that day by herself. No matter what the consequences were, or regard to her own life.

  But Bill is also shocked and saddened about hearing from Logan about Gavin leaving. He knows everyone else will be too, when they learn about it. Because now there will now be no big wedding at Sanderson's Hill Ranch. An event that people around here were looking forward to happening.

  Logan reaches the dress shop, and she steps onto the walkway and opens the door.

  “Logan! My gosh girl, we haven't seen you in a long time,” The tall blonde woman behind the counter exclaims, in a friendly manner. Her name is Linda. Then the other girl Grace walks out from the back of the store and greets Logan, too.

  “Yeah, for Pete's sake, where have you been,” Grace asks her?

  “Yeah, it has been awhile, hasn't it? I’ve just been so doggone busy workin', and I just needed to get away. You know?”

  The two girls who run the dress shop Linda and Grace are now best friends with Logan. Gone are the awkward stares they greeted her with that first day she entered the store, to buy that first dress. Now they greet her with joy, as they know her well. So much so that Logan had invited them to be bridesmaids, if and when she and Gavin decided to set the date. They both accepted, almost before she got the words out of her mouth. The three of them over the years, have now become very good friends.

  Today as Logan enters, she is dressed like them this time, clean and neat. Though that has been the case when she came in here for sometime now. And today Logan is really glad to see her two friends.

  “So, when's the big date,” Linda asks?

  “Not gonna be a big date.” Logan states with reluctance.

  Their mouths gape open as they hear this.

  “What?” They question in unison.

  “Yeah, he's...gone. He left yesterday.”

  “Really? You know, we'd all heard that you guys were having trouble, but to hear this,” Grace says.

  “Do you have any idea where he went,” Linda questions?

  “No, no, I don't, I just—you know.”

  “Hope were not prying.”

  “Of course not. Not you two—you're not prying at all. Anyway, I was wondering if you two would like to come out to the ranch on Sunday, for dinner. We haven't gotten together in a longtime. So you want too?”

  “You bet,” Linda said. “A chance, to have Sunday dinner at Sanderson's Hill. You're on girl”

  Then Grace says, “I hope we’re having some of Jose’ and Lena’s fantastic fried chicken. Just teasing it doesn’t matter what we have. It’ll be so much fun to get together.”

  Logan smiles and laughs, “Yes it will, and I’ll place a special order Sunday for fried chicken. So About twoish then. Will that work for you both?”

  They both said it would telling Logan they'd be there. She's glad they accepted her invitation, just as she is equally glad that the three of them have become such great friends. And event that seemed highly unlikely for them after Logan first came here.

  JOHN IS IN THE OFFICE reading, when he sees the buggy pull up out in front of the house. It's Logan returning from her trip to town. She enters the house and walks into the office and sees him behind the desk, creating images in her mind of him setting there after she arrived.

  He looks up, as she walks in and sets down, “Missy, you didn't leave me anything to do, but read a book,” he teases her. He wants to see her smile.

  She does, she smiles at him, “that's bad?'

  “No, it's not. So, how was your trip into town?”

  “It was good,” Logan says. Just as Catherine enters the room, and the two women reach out for each others hand, squeezing briefly, then letting go.

  “So, tell us about your day. What did you do?” Catherine asks? Setting down.

  Um...I went to see Linda and Grace and invited them to come out for Sunday dinner. We haven't got together in forever, and I thought it would be great for them to come out here and spend the day at the ranch with us.”

  “Fantastic, Logan, I'm glad you ask them,” Catherine says.

  “Yeah, those two and me,
we've been best friends for a longtime.”

  “Yes you have,” Catherine agrees.

  I also went to see Bill at the bank, I been thinking about doing some things for the ranch, and he's checking on it for me.”

  “You thinking of more land,” John asks?”

  “Yeah, I am. But what I'm thinking about is a portion of Henry’s old property and it’s in the government's hands, so it may take some time.”

  “Well, I for one, don't envy you one bit, Missy, wanting to deal with those people. They don't have a ranchers best interest in mind, at all,” John says. “Anyway, you seem in a better mood.”

  Logan shakes her head and smiles hearing him say that.

  “Yeah, he's gone, and I have to move on as best as I can, right now. I may still love him, and it's gonna take some time before I actually get over him, and his leaving. But we hadn't been getting along.”

  “It's good to hear you admit that,” Catherine says.

  Logan shakes her head in agreement.

  “I'm gonna take tomorrow, and Sunday off and just rest and read all day. You know, do nothing, then I'll get back to work on Monday.”

  Then John leans forward placing the book he's been reading on the desk, and says, teasing her, “Well, I for one am glad to hear that. If I would have had to set here longer than that, I would have gone nuts.” Then he gets serious. “I'm so glad you're here and doing this Logan. And in spite of what Gavin or anyone else thinks, you're doing one hell of a job.”

  “Thanks. You, both of you, have always had so much confidence in me. I just try to do what I think you'd do. That's all.”

  “I taught you good then,” he says, smiling at her.

  “Yeah, you did,” she responds, grinning back at him.

  Catherine smiles in admiration as she listens to John and Logan. Listening to a father and daughter connect relationship to one another. Marveling at Logan's growth since she came here.

  Catherine has always been aware of how fiercely loyal Logan is to John and her. Something that she knew before they legally adopted her. Logan made a daughter’s promise to them. She vowed to protect them and this ranch, with her life if she needed too. She sees that Logan has truly become all they thought she could be, and more. And she and John couldn't be more proud of her.

  Logan gets up and leaves, telling them she’s going to lay down. She gives her mother a hug on the way out of the room and goes up the stairs. Catherine turns and watches her leave, and smiles and shakes her head.

  “What's that about?” John looks at her, and smiles.

  “She's so incredibly strong, John. We certainly made an excellent decision when we adopted her.”

  “I couldn't agree more, my dear. We couldn't ask for a better daughter, natural or adopted. That girl's got more spunk than any ten men I've ever known.”

  Catherine shakes her head, agreeing, “she seems to almost go out of her way to please us, and make sure everything here at the ranch runs smoothly.”

  “That she does, and it's because we're her family, now, and she loves us. She knows we love her, too, and she wants us to be proud of her. And we are very proud of her, and she knows it.”

  Catherine smiles and shakes her head again in agreement. As the two of them smile at each other, thinking of their adopted daughter, and how much they have come to love her as their very own.

  ABOUT THREE WEEKS LATER, and a trip to town, to close on the mesa property, Logan has George hitch up the buggy. She told John and Catherine the night before, that she has a surprise for them and wants them to go on a picnic with her the next day. So after breakfast they all get into the buggy, with Logan driving, and head north.

  “So, what's this about, Missy?”

  “I told you it's a surprise. Don't you like surprises?”

  “Yeah I do, within reason.”

  “Oh, hush! Stop being an old fuddy-duddy.” Catherine turns, and scolds him lightheartedly. “Our girl wants to surprise us.”

  Logan smiles, hearing Catherine fuss at John. It's just one of the many things over time that she's come to love so much about the two of them.

  “We're headed north,” he says. Looking and smiling at Catherine's remark toward him.

  “Yep, that we are, that's where the surprise is, that I want to show you guys.”

  The ride out to the mesa was long. Logan knew it would be, so she had Jose' and Lena pack plenty of water. It is a warm and windy day, that could blow up a storm, as clouds build to the west over the high peaks of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.

  After a two hour ride they reached the mesa, and John is curious as to what Logan wants to show them out here. He and Catherine could see that there were a lot of cattle out here now, and a couple of the boys were out there tending to that part of the herd. Logan drives the buggy to the edge of the mesa where they looked down onto the stream, and across onto what used to be Henry Baker's ranch.

  “Wow, who's cows are those over on the other side of the creek.” John asks? Setting up and alert.

  “Their ours. This is the surprise. I bought all of that land that you wanted that Henry beat you, too, and then some. I actually bought about five-thousand more acres.”

  “Can we afford that,” he asks?

  “Yes we can, I bought it for pennies on the dollar. It had reverted back to the government, and they really had no use for it. Like I told you I had Bill Chatfield do some looking into it for me, and when he told me the price. I jumped on it. I closed on it last week.”

  “Well I'll be. You're one smart girl, Logan.”

  “Thanks, I'm glad you think that, but this really has nothing to do with me being smart. I wanted this land out here for you. I saw how disappointed you were when Henry beat you to it. And after you put me in charge of everything, I decided I would buy it for you guys if it came available. It did, and now it's ours.”

  “What a wonderful surprise,” Catherine says. “Thank you, Logan.

  “Yes, Missy, you were right, I was disappointed. As Catherine just said, thank you. You know how much we care about the land, and this is one fine gift you’ve given us. I love surprises like this, daughter.” he says. Smiling and putting his big strong hand on her shoulder, and squeezing it.

  Logan looks back at him with a big smile, “The only thing is we have over three hundred head out here now, and I keep a couple of the boys out here, but not all the time.”

  “That is not a bad thing at all,” John says smiling, “Well I feel like celebrating, so let's get into this picnic lunch you had Jose' and Lena fix for us”

  “Done,” Logan says, with a smile. Then she drives the buggy over to a grove of trees, where the three of them can look down on the land and the herd. And enjoy their picnic lunch under the bright blue summer sky.

  31

  After leaving the ranch, Gavin made his way west then he turned to the south riding along the lee side of the Sangre De Christo Mountains. He has no intention of trying to go over them, instead he wants to traverse south and into the desert. He wants to ride as far away from Folsom as he can, as he tries to forget what happened there.

  It was good while it lasted—him and Logan. Right now he's not sure where he'll go or what he'll do. Like Logan, he doesn't want to be a bounty hunter anymore. It's too dangerous. So he's really is just riding for now, looking for nothing in particular.

  He's made camp during the second week of his travel. And tonight as he lays on the cold hard ground in his bed roll, he watches the flames of his campfire jump around randomly. Mesmerizing him, and causing him to think about Logan. His mind's eye is filled with images of her. He can't get her out of his head.

  But, he remembers also what had happened to them the past few months. They drove each other away. They argued and fought about everything, to the point that he just moved out and down to the bunkhouse. Ending their engagement.

  The thing about being at the ranch was that he had a direction to his life, now that's gone as he’s departed. He misses John, Catherine, and al
l the boys. But he will miss Logan most of all, in spite of the differences they had over the last few months. He will miss her laughter, her softness, the smell of her hair, and most of all her grace and beauty. He will miss all that they had become together. Logan Sanderson and Gavin Sloan, the talk of Folsom, are no more.

  OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Gavin makes his way down to Silver City in the extreme southwestern part of the territory. With his money starting to run low, he figures that he needs to start looking for work. He's still not sure what he wants to do. He isn't ready to do ranch work again, he thinks he'd like to find something different. Running a ranch is difficult as he learned at Sanderson's Hill. And while he and Logan differed on may issues, he's not sure being a ranch foreman is in his future.

  As he rides into Silver City on this hot summer afternoon, he rides up to a saloon—he's thirsty. He dismounts and ties his horse Joe to the hitching post, steps up on the walkway and goes through the doors. It's quiet inside as he walks up to the bar, only two other patrons are in the place, playing checkers.

  “What do you have cowboy,” the barkeep asks?

  “A beer,” Gavin answers.

  The bartender gets him his beer, and sets it down in front of him. Gavin lays a nickel on the counter paying the man. He takes two long drinks, the beer is cold and refreshing. Gavin decides to ask the bartender if he knows of any ranches in the area that are hiring. Bartenders are good ones to ask, they hear everything and are walking sources of information. The bartender said he didn't know of anyone off hand.

  “You lookin' for a job mister,” he asks?

  “Yeah, yeah, I am.”

  “Well, you might check over at the Territorial Marshal's Office, I know he's lookin' to hire deputies. That is, if you want to be a lawman.”

  “It's an idea, though I’ve never given that much thought.”

  “What have you been doin' lately,” the barkeep asks?

  “Well sir, up until about a month ago I was the foreman of a huge ranch up by Folsom, called Sanderson's Hill. Every hear of it?”