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always wondered whether she’d feel differently about Luke if she were to return to Sunset Ranch. She’d wondered if there would be something more.
    She released his hand and lifted her lashes slowly to meet his gaze. Luke had a grin plastered on his face. Clearly he had read her thoughts and had been wondering the same thing. Even though warmth crept up her neck, there was no tension between them. And that was the problem.
    “You are a knockout, Sophia, that’s for sure.”
    “You’re cowboy eye candy, Luke.”
    Dubious, he gave a shake of his head, and then each of them threw their heads back and laughed.
    Just like when they were kids.
    They were friends, period. That much was reestablished and Sophia was glad of that. There was no reason to complicate her life right now anyway. She’d been put through the wringer these past few years, marrying an older man who’d offered to help provide for her mother’s medical treatments and praying for a miracle to save her mother’s life. She hadn’t come out of it unscathed, either. She’d paid a dear price for her high hopes and naïveté.
    “Thank you, Luke. You always know how to make me feel better.”
    He gave her a wink. “Glad to oblige. So what’s your game plan?”
    “Well,” she said, leaning back against the sofa. The chintz material gave underneath her, the cushions fitting her bottom as she curled her legs under her dress and got comfortable. “I hope to make a smooth transition with Ruth Polanski and take over the reins soon. Ruth thinks I’ll be ready by the end of next week. I have my doubts.” She tilted her head to one side, keeping accusation out of her tone. “And thanks for the heads-up, by the way, buster. You didn’t mention that I’d be replacing her as manager.”
    Luke’s beautiful blue eyes rounded innocently. “I didn’t think it would be a problem. She’s been itching to retire.”
    “Yes, I found that out the hard way. Your brother led me to believe I’d have to fire Ruth in order to take my position at the lodge.”
    Luke stared at her for a full five seconds, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, hell.”
    Sophia let go a heavy sigh.
    “Logan was messing with you,” Luke said.
    “But it wasn’t done in jest.”
    Luke leaned forward to put his glass of tea down on the stone cocktail table. “Don’t let him get to you, Sophia. He’s got a burr up his butt about what happened in the past. He’ll come around soon enough.”
    “Do you really believe that?” Sophia heard the hope in her own voice. All she wanted to do was live peacefully at Sunset Ranch. She didn’t expect Logan to welcome her with open arms, but if he would simply not stand in her way, or better yet, just ignore her, she’d consider it a victory.
    Small lines around Luke’s eyes crinkled as he winced. “Honestly? Not really. At least not anytime soon. He’s more stubborn than I am.”
    She remembered the arguments she’d had with Luke when they were growing up. He rarely backed down from anything if he thought he had right on his side. “That’s saying something,” Sophia muttered.
    “Hey!”
    She smiled. “Just speaking from memory. I’m sure you’re more reasonable now.”
    “Damn straight I am. I mean, I wasn’t stubborn so much as I was right and I’ve always been reasonable.”
    Sophia nodded, not to belabor the point. It felt good bantering with Luke again.
    “So what else did you and my brother talk about yesterday?”
    “He tried to...” she began, but then thought better of it.
    “Go on.” Luke nodded his encouragement. “What did he try to do?”
    Sophia didn’t want to get between Luke and his brother. There had been enough of that when they were kids. Logan would be rude to her or worse yet, pretend she didn’t exist, and Luke would come to her rescue. As a result, the two brothers had been at odds with each other, at least when it had come to her. She didn’t want to rekindle that bad blood. “Nothing.”
    “He