by Zoe Matthews
“Hello, family!” he hollered over the plane’s engine. “Thanks for the welcome!”
Sierra grasped her daughters’ hands so they wouldn’t get to close to the plane and watched as he jumped to the ground and hugged Stella who had run up to him. Sierra shook her head in disbelief. When had Spencer learned to fly? She glanced at Sheridan and saw that he was staring at his youngest brother with a clenched jaw. She noticed Logan had arrived with his boys, although she saw that he kept them far away from the family.
Spencer shut the plane down and then turned to his family. “What do you think? Isn’t she beautiful?”
“I think you’re crazy,” Sadie said but she was smiling. Spencer always had that effect on people. It was hard to stay frustrated or mad at him for long.
“You know Dad didn’t want…” Sheridan started to say only to have Spencer interrupt.
“It no longer matters what Dad wants,” Spencer retorted, his smile disappearing. “I have been taking lessons for the last year or so and just received my license, right before he died. I thought we could use the plane for our new dude ranch business.”
Sheridan just stared at his youngest brother for a moment and then walked away without a word.
“He’ll come around,” Stella said to Spencer, giving him another hug. “I am so glad you made it.”
“I can use this plane to pick up guests that don’t want to drive to the ranch from the airport in Pinedale, as well as give tours over the nearby mountains,” Spencer told the others.
“That is a great idea,” Stephanie said to him. “It’s just hard to see you in a plane, especially after Dad…”
Spencer’s grin left his face at Stephanie’s words. “We can’t stop living, sis, and if we want this dude ranch to succeed, we need to do things differently.”
Stephanie nodded and smiled, although Sierra noticed she had tears in her eyes. “I know. Just… just be careful.”
Does anyone want a tour of this beauty?” Spencer invited everyone to peek in.
“It’s a Beechcraft G36 Bonanza,” Spencer told his siblings proudly. “It can transport up to six passengers. “
As Spencer continued to talk, pointing out many features of the plane that didn’t make sense to Sierra, she looked inside. It was a beautiful plane. The area for the passengers was a bit tight in space, but she could see why Spencer thought this plane could help them in their new business.
Logan and his boys were included in the brief tour. Spencer allowed each of the children to sit in the pilot’s seat. Eventually, everyone walked back to the Ranch House, leaving Spencer behind to put the plane in the hanger with Stella’s help.
Chapter 11
The following week Sheridan was able to hire Bridger, a contractor who was willing to live on the ranch, at least for the summer. Bridger had a large crew who worked for him, along with many college students, and he started on remodeling some of the cabins by the end of the week. Tents and RVs were set up in another part of the large meadow and it soon looked like a small village had been built. Bridger also hired a young woman to provide meals for all of his workers and a huge tent was set up to cook and eat in.
Sierra met with Sadie a few times and they started to work together to plan out different activities that would be offered on the ranch. Sierra felt that there should be three programs for the children. One program would be geared to toddlers and preschool age children. Another would be for children six to about age twelve. The last one would be for teenagers. Arrangements for babies would also be available, although there wouldn’t be a specific program for them.
Sadie felt that the ranch should offer activities geared to each of the age groups in the mornings. The afternoons should have activities for entire families so they would not be split up for the entire day. Sierra agreed with her. After all, their dude ranch would be geared to families and splitting up the families by age groups all day long defeated the purpose of a family environment.
Sierra continued to spend mornings with a preschool program for Mason and Noah, along with Sadie’s daughter, Brooklyn. Ashley and Elysha loved to be outside and enjoyed working in the vegetable and flower gardens with Kathy and Annie.
One evening after dinner, Logan asked Sierra if she wouldn’t mind watching the boys.
“There is a horse about ready to give birth. I want to be on hand in case there are complications and I don’t want to have to keep an eye on the boys, too,” Logan explained.
Sierra was about to agree when Sadie interrupted. “Why don’t you go out to the barn with him, Sierra? You could talk to him about our ideas of the activities with the horses. I can watch all the kids for a few hours.”
Sierra agreed and soon they were on their way to the horse barn. She was excited to be able to witness a birth of a foal. She loved horses and it had been too long since she had witnessed a birth on their ranch.
She watched as Logan made sure the horse was doing well, and then they both sat on a nearby bench to wait. She recognized the horse as Lacy, one of her father’s favorites. She was off-white in color with a tan mane. The horse was pacing a bit, but otherwise seemed to be calm enough.
“What did you have in mind for the horses for activities?” Logan asked her as they settled on the bench.
“Horseback rides, of course. We need to assume some guests will need lessons, so we can provide those, and we will need to make sure we have enough gentle horses for learning, especially for kids.”
“I have quite a few horses arriving tomorrow,” Logan commented. “Sheridan purchased a few smaller horses for young children.”
Sierra nodded. “That’s good. We definitely need to offer trail rides. There are many paths and trails around these mountains and we can make some more. I know Sadie will want to do overnight trail rides and camping.”
Logan nodded. “I took Dakota up along that trail to the lake last week. It wasn’t too steep and short enough for children who are comfortable on horses.”
“Yes, we call it Mirror Lake because of the reflection of the mountains that surround it is so clear on the water. The trail is about a mile long.”
Logan grinned at her. “That’s a good name for it. The reflection of the mountains was the first thing I saw when I arrived at the lake.”
They continued to talk, each of them exchanging ideas. Sierra relaxed as they talked, finding herself enjoying their conversation, until Logan changed the subject.
“I need to go into Pinedale tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?” Logan asked her. “We would take Mason and Noah, as well as your girls. Annie could come too, if she wants. After I get my errands done, we could let the kids play at a park and eat lunch there.”
Sierra looked away and didn’t answer. She suddenly wanted to be anywhere else than in the horse barn. Was he asking her on a date? Would it be considered a date with four kids and Logan’s younger sister with them?
“I don’t think that will be a good idea,” Sierra finally told him. “I don’t think we should do things that could give others the wrong idea.”
“Wrong idea about what?” Logan asked. “That I want to spend time with you, get to know you better? Get to know your daughters better?”
“I should let you know that I don’t plan on remarrying,” Sierra blurted out.
Logan was silent for a moment. “I don’t recall that I asked you to marry me. I just asked you to spend the day with me.” He grinned lazily at her and Sierra felt her heart skip a beat, which seemed to always happen when Logan smiled at her and which she immediately ignored.
“I don’t think I can accept, but thank you for inviting us,” Sierra said softly, not looking at him but at Lacy. She noticed that the horse was starting to pant periodically. Logan stood up to check her over, patted the horse on the flank in comfort, and then sat down again.
“Tell me about your husband,” Logan invited after a few minutes of silence.
Sierra hesitated. She wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about Paul, but then sudde
nly she realized she wanted to tell him. She hadn’t talked about Paul to anyone else for a long time. Maybe then he would understand her reasoning.
“I met Paul in college. I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever met. He was nice to everyone, treating whomever he interacted with, with respect. He graduated with an accounting degree and I received my elementary degree the next year.
“We married the summer after I graduated. We lived in Pinedale and I was able to teach for a year. Then we discovered I was pregnant with the twins. Paul had always felt strongly that I stay at home with our children, at least while they were young. When we found out that I was carrying two, he was even more determined that I stay at home. One week I decided to stay at the ranch for a few days with the girls. Paul had planned to come to the ranch on Friday after a meeting he had at his work and join us for the weekend.”
Sierra paused in her story. She wasn’t sure she wanted to relive the worst day of her life, the day Paul was killed. She felt Logan’s fingers intertwine with her own and, surprisingly, this gave her the strength to continue.
“I had talked to him the night before. He had told me he might not leave for the ranch until Saturday morning because the meeting was supposed to run pretty late and he didn’t want to drive here in the dark. But for some reason he decided to leave after the meeting was over. I didn’t even know he had left. It was raining hard that night, thunderstorms and hailing like I had never seen. He drove right into that storm. The police think he hydroplaned and lost control of his car. He drove right into the side of a mountain. He was killed instantly.”
“I am so sorry, Sierra,” Logan said quietly. “No one should have to lose a spouse like that. How long has it been?”
Sierra shrugged. “Almost two years. Paul and I were very close. He was so thrilled when Ashley and Elysha were born. He was a great father. He hated being away from us. I think that was why he decided to leave earlier than planned to come to the ranch. Even though the girls were only three when he died, they really struggled with it. When Paul was home, he was the one who would put them to bed. They would sing silly songs together and he would tell them a story. He had one that he made up, that he told for an entire year, telling a little bit more of it each night. He would read out of the Bible to them. It was important to him that they know who God and Jesus Christ are. Then they would say prayers together. This bedtime ritual would last almost an hour each night.
“One night a few weeks after his death, I had been doing my best to comfort them. How do you explain to three-year-olds that their dad is never going to come back? That he had been killed in a car accident? I promised myself that I would not marry again until they were grown. What if I did, and something happened to my new husband? I can’t take that risk, not for my daughters or for me.”
Logan sat quietly while Sierra talked and didn’t say anything for a while. Suddenly Lacy laid down in the straw and it was obvious that her foal was going to be born soon. Logan stayed by her side coaching her with soft words and within a few minutes, a new colt had joined the world. He was beautiful and looked like his sire, with brown markings and a long white mark on his forehead. Soon Logan had put down clean straw for the new mom and son and the foal was on his feet and trying to nurse.
Sierra didn’t move from her spot on the bench during all of this because she didn’t want to be in the way, but she marveled at the wonder of birth. She could tell Logan was very skilled with horses as he was able to keep Lacy calm. He quickly cleaned up the birthing mess without disturbing the new arrival. Lacy seemed to instinctively know she could trust him with her new baby and allowed Logan to rub the colt vigorously to dry him right after being born. Soon the great event was over. Logan washed his hands and then sat down next to Sierra again.
Sierra was surprised at his actions. She had intended to slip away right after the birth, but couldn’t bring herself to do so. She enjoyed watching Logan work. He reached out and grasped her hand with his own and started talking, as if the conversation hadn’t been interrupted by the birth and cleaning up, as if they were still having the same conversation.
“Sarah was diagnosed with colon cancer when she was three months along with the boys,” Logan said as he looked off in the distance. “Colon cancer is supposed to be found in older people, not for a young woman of 25. We found out she was having twins and that she had cancer all in the same week. When it was discovered, it was quite aggressive. The doctor wanted her to abort the pregnancy to save her life. He wanted to start treatment immediately, but he couldn’t do the certain treatment he had in mind if she was pregnant. Sarah refused. She wanted to give her babies a chance.”
“How did you feel about that?” Sierra asked.
“I let her make the final choice, of course, but I agreed with her. I spent many hours in prayer and finally felt a peace that everything will be okay. Sarah did agree that the doctor could take the babies a month early, especially since twins generally come early anyway. They were born at 35 weeks. Sarah immediately began treatment for her cancer. For a while, it seemed as if the treatment was working. But in the end, the cancer won. She died about a year after the boys were born.”
“Now it is my turn to tell you I am sorry,” Sierra told him. “I know what it is like to lose a spouse, although I don’t know what it would be like to lose one through cancer. I can imagine, though.”
“Yes, I am sure you can.” Logan continued his story. “I was devastated. I thought for sure the peace I felt from God when she was insisting in keeping them meant Sarah would be healed, but that is not what happened. I could barely function. I had to work. I had two one-year-old boys who needed care. That is why I allowed Sarah’s mother to take them. Harriett blamed me for Sarah’s death. I don’t think she totally understood all the factors of the cancer and why Sarah couldn’t be treated while she was pregnant.
“Harriett was not happy when Sarah became pregnant so soon after we were married. She had waited five years before she became pregnant with Sarah and she felt we should do the same. She felt if Sarah hadn’t gotten pregnant so soon, we could have caught the cancer earlier and saved Sarah’s life. What she doesn’t understand is that no one expects someone to have colon cancer at Sarah’s age. We found out about it because Sarah was pregnant and she was under a doctor’s care. I have never gotten along with Harriett and Sarah dying made my relationship with her even harder. I think I agreed to let her have the boys as a way to make up for Sarah dying, although I didn’t realize it at the time.”
Logan turned and looked directly into Sierra’s eyes. “I loved Sarah and will always love her for giving me Mason and Noah, but I am ready to move on. I would like to get to know you and your daughters better.”
Sierra opened her mouth to protest when Logan touched her chin with his hand. He gently brought her face close to his and she suddenly felt his lips on hers. She was instantly caught up in his kiss. She had forgotten what it was like to be so close to a man. Something started to awaken inside her that had been asleep for two years. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she jumped up and backed away.
“I… I am sorry, Logan. I can’t.” Sierra ran out of the barn towards the Ranch House.
Chapter 12
The next few days were fun ones for the children. Early the morning after the colt was born, six horses were delivered in a large trailer. Logan had been able to find some well-trained horses that came from a nearby ranch that was going under because of the economy. Sheridan was able to get a good price for all of them.
Logan spent hours making sure each horse was well cared for. He worked with each one individually to make sure they really were trained. The children spent most of their time hanging on the fence rail watching. There was one time when Noah climbed through the fence without permission. He was sent to help Kathy with the garden for the afternoon and there were no more problems.
“I think the horses are ready for riders,” Logan announced a few days after the horses had arrived. “How about we t
ake the kids for a ride up that trail to the lake?”
Sierra looked at him suspiciously. Even though she had been with the kids as they watched Logan with the horses, she had avoided him. She moved away when he approached the kids to talk to them and wouldn’t look at him when he tried to talk with her. She felt embarrassed that she had reacted the way she did when he kissed her.
Logan grasped her arms to keep her from walking away as he asked her the question about taking the kids to the lake. Sierra suddenly felt chills when he touched her and she wanted to step back and rub her arms, but she forced herself to stand still and think about his suggestion.
What would it hurt to go on this trail ride? She needed to make sure the path was clear of debris anyway and it had been awhile since she had gone horseback riding. The girls knew how to ride, having learned from their grandfather, and she assumed Mason and Noah also knew how to ride.