by Nancy Howard
She sees George look up from stocking the chuck wagon and says, “Mr. John and Lady Catherine are back. If you'll excuse me for a few minutes Miss Logan I need to go and get the buggy.”
“Sure, that's okay, George, I need to go back up to the house myself. They said they had some legal papers for me to look over. Will you and Timmins be alright doing the rest of this?”
“Yes mam, we've done more'n a few of em, for Mr. John.”
She shakes her head and smiles slightly, as the two of them walked toward the house. George walks over and gets the buggy and Logan goes inside. She enters the office, and sees John and Catherine setting in the two big chairs in front of the desk.
“Hey,” she says, going behind the desk and setting down.
“Hey to you,” John says. Catherine smiles as she watches Logan set in the chair that John once sat in, but hated every minute of it. It makes her feel good inside that he has Logan to run the ranch now. So he can be out on the range, where he loves to be.
“Are you getting everything ready for me and Brock to drive the cows to Abilene?” John says as Logan sets in big desk chair.
“I am. It's going real smooth. George and Timmins have done enough of them for you that they really don’t need me.”
She pauses and looks at them both. She knows what they have for her to look at is important to them, and she wastes no more time with small talk.
“So, how was your meeting with, Jordan,” Logan asks them? She notices right away that John has a large envelope laying on his lap. Logan figures that it must contain the legal papers that they told her about that morning.
“It went very well, Missy. Catherine and I—well we been thinking and talking about doing this for a longtime.”
“Changing your wills.”
“Yes, that's right, if you've thought about it at all, with Jennifer gone we don't have an heir to the ranch. And we also are not fond of it to falling into receivership once we are both deceased. So we went to Jordan and had him change our wills to reflect that you, Logan, would be the sole heir to this ranch, once we are both gone.”
Logan sets quietly, she just looks at the both of them, suddenly taken at what she just heard him say. She knows they love her like a daughter, and now they make her heir to the property.
“So, the ranch will be mine once you're gone? That's, what you're saying?"
“Yes, you, or your, descendant, which you don't have right now, but in the future that might change. You or that person will own this ranch. The only stipulation is that you must keep it in the family for five years after the last one of us passes on.”
“I assure you that won't be a problem, “she says, her mind off of Gavin for the moment. “Thank you. I am completely flattered, I...don't know what to say. You think enough of me to do this sort of thing?”
“Yes we do dear, and it's no secret to anyone around here how fond we are of you,” Catherine says. “We love you like our own.”
“I know that,” Logan says. “It goes both ways.”
They shake their heads.
“Which brings us to this next thing, we wanted to talk to you about,” John says.
“Those are legal documents in your hand, that you said this morning that you wanted me to take a look at?”
“Yes, yes, they are, Logan,” John says. “But before I hand them to you, and you open them to read. I want you really give what's in here very serious thought and consideration. We know what must be going through your mind being worried about Gavin and all. We are too. So if this is not something you want to do or think about right now, then that's okay with us.”
Logan looks at him and slowly takes the envelope out of his hands, and opens it. Wondering what this could all be about. She's still trying to absorb that they just told her that she is now the heir to the ranch. She knows this very important, because he just called her Logan, twice, rather than Missy, which he always does.
Logan pulls the papers out of the envelope and begins reading. After a few seconds she drops them down into her lap, and looks out the window, biting her lower lip to hold back tears. She leans forward trying to keep her composure, and puts her hand over her mouth. As she finishes reading, she sets there and looks at both of them trying to absorb what she just read.
Her voice quivers, a tear sneaks its way down her cheek. That she wipes away, only to have another form. She clears her throat, and pauses, briefly, “it uh...says here...that you, uh...want to adopt me?”
“That's right, Logan, it does,” John says. “Maybe we should have talked to you about it first. Cath and I, we been talkin' about this for sometime now, too. And with Gavin and all on your mind.”
“Is this too much for you right now, sweetie,” Catherine asks?
Logan is quiet as she listens to them, still wiping tears. She shakes her head and says softly, “no, it's not, not at all.”
Catherine begins, “Logan you don't know any of this, and of course, we've never told you. But two years before Jennifer was born we birthed another child, a little girl. She was still born. She never had the chance to grow up, and with Jenny gone we didn't have her anymore. Ever since you came here to live with us, we've always wanted you to stay here. Even if at first it was just to work for us. We never wanted you to leave, not since you walked through that front door that first day you were here. It's no secret to anyone around here how much we love you like our own daughter. And since we've lost two girls, we feel like it was the good Lord himself that has landed your here with us. Many times John and I have talked about doing this for, you. Adopting you as our legal daughter. We were always wondering if we were doing all we could for, you. From the beginning, Logan, we've always wanted you to be happy here.
“We have also wondered if that little baby girl that was still born, that she might have grown up to be a lot like you. Smart, tough, independent, sweet, and beautiful like you. You have always made us so very proud and happy everyday, since you've been here with us. And I'm not just talking about when you went after Hogg. You've always conducted yourself with such grace, poise, and intelligence, everywhere you went with us. You're a sweet, beautiful, and caring young woman, Logan. We are so proud of you and what you’ve become since you arrived. John and I thought that this would be a wonderful gift to you.”
Logan’s tears are rolling down her cheeks. Catherine is wiping them away, too, trying to keep her composure, just as Logan is. But it's futile, neither of them is doing that very well. This is an emotional time for all three of them.
John is quiet for a few seconds before he says, “And Missy, it was important for us to discuss this with you before I went on the cattle drive. But with Gavin in his condition, Catherine and I discussed on the way into town, if we should do this today. We hope you're okay with us doing this right now.”
“I am, believe me, I have no problem with this at all.” She sniffs and responds, softly, though the tears.
“Now, do you understand why I was so emphatic with you the day you went after Hogg by yourself. We didn't want you to get killed, and I did everything in my power to stop that from happening. And of course as it is, it turned out alright. Do you understand, now, how much you mean to me and Catherine.” He pauses and looks at her.
Logan shakes her head, “I do, know, yes, believe me I do. I have always known it, since the day after I arrived and you and I rode out to the mesa.”
“So what do you say about this?”
“You.” She pauses, almost speechless. “God, you both of you, you're just too much, you know. You know that, I...I Love you both. I've known since I got here, that I always wanted to stay here. I never wanted to leave. I knew I'd found a home, I just decided that if you needed me to be your daughter then I'd do it. I told Gavin that. And now, you want me to be your, legal daughter.”
“Well you done that, and very well. And yes we do, Logan, we want you to be our legal daughter,” John says.
She looks at them and wipes the tears away again.
“So my name would change to Logan Marie Sanderson. Right?”
“It would,” John says.
Then she says to them, “are you guys sure about this? I mean, about adopting me?
“We've never been more sure about anything, Logan. This just seemed like the right time to do it, that's all,” John says.
“Are you comfortable with all of this, too, Logan. We want to make sure,” Catherine says again. “With Gavin on your mind and all.”
“Oh yes, yes, I am,” she smiles, then sniffs. Her nose completely clogged from crying.
Logan sets there for a second and looks at these two wonderful sweet people, who have done everything for her, and now this. She looks down at the paper in front of her that will allow this to take place. She smiles and shakes her head yes, then picks up a pen, dips in ink and signs the document.
“There done. I love the sound of it—Logan Marie Sanderson.”
“We do, too,” John says, with a big grin coming across his face.
Then she and Catherine get up from where they're setting and hug each other tightly as they have done many times before.
John hugs, Logan, and says, “I have to take this back to Jordan tomorrow morning. He will have to present it to the court, and once the judge grants it, this will all be legal.”
“How long?”
“Well, Missy he told me that if you signed this right away, and you did. The circuit judge will be here on Friday, so until then. He said he'd send the judges signed papers out here to the ranch by courier, on Friday.”
“We sincerely hope you're happy with all of this, Logan,” Catherine says.
“Are you kidding me? I'm in the clouds, right now.”
“And Gavin,” John asks?
“That's the only thing, if he will just come back to me, I can't wait to tell him all of this.”
25
An hour passes and he slowly begins to open his eyes. He is still pretty weak, but Logan can see the improvement in him.
“Hey you.” He says weakly to her, reaching for her hand. She takes it and then kisses it, holding it tightly.
“Hey, too, you. I'm so thankful that you're getting better, Gavin. When I was in here last week after you got shot, and you were in that coma, I thought I was going to lose you for sure.”
“How long was I out?”
“Ten days.”
“John. How's he doing?”
“He's okay. He left on the cattle drive this morning. He's the trail boss.”
“He's doing my job,” he says quietly.
“Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about doing your job for now, you just concentrate on getting well.”
“Yeah, Doc Burroughs says I'm gonna be okay, eventually. I'm just gonna be here a while.”
“True, you're in no shape to go anywhere, that's for sure.”
He pauses. He's very weak, but wants Logan to tell him about what happened.
“So tell me what happened with Hogg?”
“I killed the rotten bastard, point blank. I executed him that’s what happened. I put a bullet right between his eyes.”
Gavin starts to laugh when he hears her say that, but it hurts too much.
“That's my girl,” he says, looking at her.
She smiles and kisses his hand again.
“There were still three of them left when I got here to town that day. Hogg, Charlie, and Doak, they were hold up in the saloon.” She stops talking and shakes her head. “They killed all five people that were in there, Gavin.”
“That doesn't surprise me.”
“Anyway, I originally planned to go after them by myself. I'd told the town to not go with me, because if I got killed they'd have to fight Hogg by themselves and save the town. But John told them to ignore me, and follow me anyway.”
“And?”
“Well I walked down Front Street to confront Hogg by myself, as I'd planned. I got behind a column across the street, but when they started shooting they had me pinned down really bad. It was all I could do to keep from getting killed. Thankfully the townsfolk had ignored my advice to not help me, and followed John's instructions. They followed me and gave me the cover I needed, so I could take out Hogg. They shot Charlie and Doak in the gunfight with them. So, I didn't do it alone, that's for sure. I had a lot of help.”
“I'm glad they helped, you, Logan. I really am.”
“Me, too.”
Who's Sheriffin' the town.”
“No sheriff. Sheriff Case and that one deputy, Goins got killed. Bill Chatfield wired the territorial Marshall in Santa Fe about the situation here, and he sent over a deputy, until we can elect a new sheriff. The guys name is Jerry Gray.”
“What happened to the other deputy?”
“Don't know, he got shot in the hand. John said he got on his horse and high-tailed out of town. No one’s seen him since.”
They paused.
“Girl, you do remember that there was a seventy-five hundred dollar reward on Hogg and his gang. Don't you?”
“Yeah, I do. Marshall Gray gave it to me the other day. I'm still giving you your half Gavin. But I'm gonna go back out to find the Johnson girls, and give them my share, like I promised them.”
He was quiet, thinking about what she said, “yeah, go ahead and give em my share too.”
“You sure?”
“I'm sure.”
She sat there for a second and said, “there's more. I...uh, have more stuff to tell you.”
“Tell me.”
“After I got home last week John and Catherine told me they had Jordan Whiles draw up some legal papers, that they wanted me to look at. I said okay, and that afternoon when they got back, we were in the office. First they told me that they had him change their wills.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, and they made me the heir to the ranch, Gavin.”
He turns his head slowly and looks at her, managing a big grin, and says, “congratulations.”
“That's not all.”
He looks at her again and raises his eyebrows, wondering what else she has to tell him.
“The legal papers, they wanted me to read and look over.”
“Yeah.”
“They adopted me, Gavin.”
Gavin was all ears now.
“All I had to do was sign the documents, and it was done. Of course a judge had to sign them to make it legal.”
“What did you do?”
“I signed them.”
“He smiles at her, “that's fantastic Logan. I am so happy for you. They've always treated you like a daughter, since the day you got here, anyway. Hell I could see it, everyone could.”
“Yeah, they have.” She says, as they squeeze each others hands, which they've been holding all this time. Looking at each other.
“I'm Logan Sanderson now.”
“He looks at here grinning from ear to ear, “I like that. I love the sound of it. Logan Sanderson.”
“Me, too,” she smiles.
“When I get out of here, and get well lady, we're gonna celebrate big time. I promise.”
Logan shakes her head in agreement. Then kisses him.
26
The next week Logan is content in her mind that Gavin is on the mend, so she takes the reward money and rides east to try and find the Johnson girls. As she approaches the small ranch where she found the girls that day, she remembers the carnage that Hogg and his gang of sadistic murders had left behind. She rides closer to the ranch, and she can see that the barn has been completely rebuilt, and the place is completely peaceful now. A far cry from what she saw before.
Logan sees a man with a hoe in a garden about a hundred or so yards away. She decides to ride over and see if he knows the whereabouts of Connie and Libby. He looks up to see Logan riding toward him.
Logan tips her hat in friendship, “howdy.”
“Howdy, to you, mam. What can I do for you?”
“Sir, I’m Logan Sanderson of Sanderson's Hill Ranch over by Folsom, and I'm t
rying to locate Connie and Libby Johnson.”
“Big John Sanderson?”
“Yes sir.”
“You're his daughter?”
“Yes sir, I am.”
Adopted or not Logan is proud to tell him her name. She felt the pride well up inside of her when she told him. It just feels good.
“Nice to meet you Ms. Sanderson. I'm Carl Ross, this is my wife Kendra. Kendra had just come out of the house and is standing next to him.
“Nice to meet both of, you,” Logan says back.
“She's Logan Sanderson, big John's daughter,” He says to Kendra, who is pregnant. “You said you're looking for Connie and Libby.”
“Yes sir I am.”
“Well they of course don't live here anymore, they live with Pastor Stowe and his wife. The church and the parsonage which is about five miles in that direction. Take the left fork in the road you can't miss it.”
“Much obliged,” Logan says tipping her hat and riding off.
Fifteen minutes later, she found the church just as Carl had described. The parsonage is right next to it, and Logan rides over and dismounts. Then she walks up to the front door and knocks.
She waits a couple of seconds, then the door is opened by a woman.
“Yes, can I help you young lady?”
“Mam, I was told this is where I could find Connie and Libby Johnson. I'm Logan Sanderson and I have something for them, that I promised to them the day their parents got killed. Are they here?”
“Yes, yes, they are.” She says, and invites Logan inside. I'll get them for you.”
A couple of seconds later the two girls emerged, and the first thing Logan noticed is how much they'd grown. Libby is now nineteen and Connie is seventeen.
“Logan,” Libby exclaims! “We thought, we'd never see you again.”
“Yeah, well, I had wondered that myself a few times. You of course remember what I said, that if there was reward money on the men that killed your folks I'd bring you my share. Well, they had a reward on them alright, and I did catch them though I had some help. I came to find out after I left here, that they had a seventy-five hundred dollar reward on their heads. I have that reward money right here in this bag, for the two of you.”