fun of you for having come from Colorado-"
"Not at all. Any number of the girls wanted to
know what it was like to live in the `Wild West.'
They were very excited about it." A slow, enigmatic
smile curved Jenny's lips as an idea took shape in her
mind.
"What are you thinking, Jenny? I know that look
of yours, and it usually means trouble."
"Not this time. I think you're brilliant, Aunt Evelyn!" Jenny jumped up and ran around the desk to
hug her aunt and plant a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks!"
"For what? What did I do?"
"It's not what you did, It's what you said! You
gave me an idea!"
"I did?"
"Yes. About boarders."
"What about boarders?" Evelyn was totally confused.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to
start taking in boarders-or maybe I should call them
`guests.' I'll charge them a considerable sum to stay
here on a `real ranch' and experience what it's like
to live in the honest-to-gosh Wild West!"
Evelyn stared at her niece as if she had lost her
mind. "Who would you take in? Who would want to
come here?"
"Easterners!" Jenny was growing more excited
with each passing minute as she considered the number of people who'd be interested. "It will work out perfectly. Of course, I'll have to come up with a plan
on how to get the word out."
"But where will you put the boarders once they
arrive?" Evelyn was confused. There were only three
bedrooms in the main ranch house, and she and Jenny
were using two of them.
"I can fix up that old bunkhouse that nobody's using right now. I can convert it into a cabin for our
paying guests."
"Even if you did get someone to come, how long
would they want to stay, and what would they do
while they were here?"
"They could stay for as long as they wanted to. If
they have the money, we've got room for them. We
could take them out riding, and they could go on
roundups. There might even be some who'd want to
go hunting or fishing."
"Do you really think anyone would come?" Evelyn
was still doubtful.
"I'm positive. I'm going to write to my friend Rose
right away. I know she would want to come for a
visit, and probably her cousin Melanie, too. Rose always talked about how much she wanted to see the
West. If I could get enough money together, I could
run ads in the newspapers back East. I'm sure that
would get people excited about coming." Jenny's
mind was racing as she considered all the possibilities.
"How long will it take to get things ready?"
"I don't know. I'd better talk to Frances and Louie first and enlist their help. I'll need Frances to take
care of all the extra cooking and cleaning, and Louie
will have to be in charge of arranging the hunting and
fishing trips."
"You know, it just might work."
"I know!" Jenny was truly excited. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll take a closer look around that
bunkhouse and see how much work needs to be done.
I would think if everything goes all right, I could have
the place ready for paying guests in less than a
month."
"But it's going to take a lot of money to fix everything up the way you want it. Have you got enough
set aside in the bank?"
"Yes, but I don't think the repairs will be that expensive, especially if I do them myself."
"You know how to do that kind of work? Why,
that's manual labor!" Evelyn was amazed.
"Papa insisted I learn everything about running a
ranch, and that included mending fences and fixing
anything that was broken."
"Well, I'm not too old to learn how to use a hammer. I'll help you with whatever you want me to do,"
she volunteered.
"Thanks, Aunt Evelyn." She lifted her gaze to her
aunt's. "I don't know what I would have done without
you."
Evelyn hugged her. "You're a smart young woman,
Jenny. If anybody can make this work, you will.
Should you notify Cole of your plans?"
The thought of having to go to Cole to ask him for
anything irked her, especially after the way they'd
parted earlier that day. She had a feeling that he
would probably
"Not at all. Any number of the girls wanted to
know what it was like to live in the `Wild West.'
They were very excited about it." A slow, enigmatic
smile curved Jenny's lips as an idea took shape in her
mind.
"What are you thinking, Jenny? I know that look
of yours, and it usually means trouble."
"Not this time. I think you're brilliant, Aunt Evelyn!" Jenny jumped up and ran around the desk to
hug her aunt and plant a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks!"
"For what? What did I do?"
"It's not what you did, It's what you said! You
gave me an idea!"
"I did?"
"Yes. About boarders."
"What about boarders?" Evelyn was totally confused.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to
start taking in boarders-or maybe I should call them
`guests.' I'll charge them a considerable sum to stay
here on a `real ranch' and experience what it's like
to live in the honest-to-gosh Wild West!"
Evelyn stared at her niece as if she had lost her
mind. "Who would you take in? Who would want to
come here?"
"Easterners!" Jenny was growing more excited
with each passing minute as she considered the number of people who'd be interested. "It will work out perfectly. Of course, I'll have to come up with a plan
on how to get the word out."
"But where will you put the boarders once they
arrive?" Evelyn was confused. There were only three
bedrooms in the main ranch house, and she and Jenny
were using two of them.
"I can fix up that old bunkhouse that nobody's using right now. I can convert it into a cabin for our
paying guests."
"Even if you did get someone to come, how long
would they want to stay, and what would they do
while they were here?"
"They could stay for as long as they wanted to. If
they have the money, we've got room for them. We
could take them out riding, and they could go on
roundups. There might even be some who'd want to
go hunting or fishing."
"Do you really think anyone would come?" Evelyn
was still doubtful.
"I'm positive. I'm going to write to my friend Rose
right away. I know she would want to come for a
visit, and probably her cousin Melanie, too. Rose always talked about how much she wanted to see the
West. If I could get enough money together, I could
run ads in the newspapers back East. I'm sure that
would get people excited about coming." Jenny's
mind was racing as she considered all the possibilities.
"How long will it take to get things ready?"
"I don't know. I'd better talk to Frances and Louie first and enlist their help. I'll need Frances to take
care of all the extra cooking and cleaning, and Louie
will have to be in charge of arranging the hunting and
fishing trips."
"You know, it just might work."
"I know!" Jenny was truly excited. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll take a closer look around that
bunkhouse and see how much work needs to be done.
I would think if everything goes all right, I could have
the place ready for paying guests in less than a
month."
"But it's going to take a lot of money to fix everything up the way you want it. Have you got enough
set aside in the bank?"
"Yes, but I don't think the repairs will be that expensive, especially if I do them myself."
"You know how to do that kind of work? Why,
that's manual labor!" Evelyn was amazed.
"Papa insisted I learn everything about running a
ranch, and that included mending fences and fixing
anything that was broken."
"Well, I'm not too old to learn how to use a hammer. I'll help you with whatever you want me to do,"
she volunteered.
"Thanks, Aunt Evelyn." She lifted her gaze to her
aunt's. "I don't know what I would have done without
you."
Evelyn hugged her. "You're a smart young woman,
Jenny. If anybody can make this work, you will.
Should you notify Cole of your plans?"
The thought of having to go to Cole to ask him for
anything irked her, especially after the way they'd
parted earlier that day. She had a feeling that he
would probably
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