Read Online Jenny by Bobbi Smith - Free Book Online

other men.
    "As executor, Cole, you'll be in charge of what's
going on out at the Lazy S.It's your responsibility
now, and from the looks of things, Jenny's going to
need all the help and guidance you can give her,"
Judge Lawson informed him. Then he asked, daring
to broach the subject that no one had spoken of yet,
"Working with Jenny is not going to prove too awkward for you, is it? If you find you can't deal with
her, there may be some legal way to replace you." He
had sensed an unspoken tension between them and
wanted to make sure that they would be able to get
along.
    "No. There won't be a problem. I'm doing this for
Paul. It was what he wanted," Cole assured him.
    They shook hands all around, and Cole left.
    Jenny had already gone when Cole emerged onto
the street. For some reason, it disappointed him,
though he wasn't sure why. He mounted up and
started home to the Branding Iron. He had ignored
his own duties for too long.
    Even as Cole made the ride home, though, his
thoughts lingered on Jenny. In spite of all his irritation over her decision, he reluctantly admitted to himself
that she was an exceptionally brave woman. He didn't
know another female who would be capable of taking
over and running a spread the size of the Lazy S.Of
course, he wasn't sure Jenny could do it, but the ranch
obviously meant a lot to her and she was going to
fight for it. She was proving to be every bit as stubborn as Paul had told him she was.

    Cole decided that he would make a weekly visit to
the ranch to check on things. He would also continue
with the plans that he and Paul had made to rebuild
the Lazy S's herd. He wasn't looking forward to the
next few years of being in charge there, but with any
luck at all, the time would pass quickly.

     

Jenny was deeply troubled as she made the trip back
home. The news from the banker had not been good.
She had to admit that even though she'd put on a
good show for them in the office, she was more than
a bit scared about what the future held for the Lazy
S.There was only one thing she was sure of-no
matter what path she chose to take, the next few years
were not going to be easy.
    The main buildings of the Lazy S came into view
in the distance then, and Jenny reined in. She sat there
quietly in the buckboard, surveying the scene below
with new eyes. The day before, she had seen only
what her heart had wanted her to see. She had not
taken the time to look at things critically, but had
pictured the love and warmth she'd known existed
there. Now, though, she was staring at the bunk houses, the stable, corrals, and the main house with a
critical eye, and to her dismay, she found them wanting.

    It was all too obvious that her father had not kept
up the property as he should have. Things were starting to look a bit run-down. The revelation was startling to her and reminded her that her father had kept
so much hidden from her about their financial troubles, even while he'd been sending money to her back
East to pay for her expenses. Guilt followed, knowing
the ranch had suffered for her way of life.
    "I'm going to pay you back, Papa," she vowed out
loud as she gazed down at the scene before her. "I
promise."
    Urging her team on again, Jenny drove the rest of
the way down to the stable. She left the buckboard
with the hands and went up to the house. She greeted
Evelyn and Frances, giving only vague answers to
their questions about what had happened at the meeting in town. She didn't want to worry them yet. Then
she secluded herself in the study, determined to make
a plan for the future.
    As the hours passed and Jenny didn't emerge from
the study, Evelyn began to worry. She sensed that
something was terribly wrong, yet she wasn't sure
how to approach Jenny and get her to talk about what
had happened. Using dinner as an excuse to seek her
out and engage her in conversation, Evelyn brought
a tray of food to the study. It took her a few minutes
to