Page 67 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
Karen had grabbed his wet clothes and popped them in the washer, so he puttered around the kitchen for a bit, getting things ready for the evening. By the time he made it over to the house to catch up with Zach, it was nearly four o’clock.
His friend was looking over lists of something with an atypical frown creasing his brows.
“What’s up?” Finn asked as he made his way across the floor, crutches solid on the new wood sheeting being used as a base for the future hardwood floors.
Zach blinked before focusing, answering with a wave of the papers in his hand. “I was checking to see what was on our recent order list, because we’re missing a hell of a lot of things. Cody informed me they had to stop the plumbing installations on the cabins because they’re short nearly all the elbows they need.”
That didn’t make any sense. “The contractors wrote up quotes for everything we required. Did a box get stored somewhere it shouldn’t?”
“That was my first thought as well. Got some of the guys out looking,” Zach told him. “In the meantime, I was double-checking I hadn’t screwed up.”
“Or me, considering I’ve been the one doing the paperwork,” Finn said bluntly. “Don’t spare my feelings. Who knows what I did while higher than a kite?”
“I don’t think it’s either of us. That’s the problem.” Zach glared at the paperwork again as if his disgust would scare the truth out.
Finn eased back on the tall stool waiting for him. “Put that down for now. Catch me up on how things are really going. I’ve been easing off the painkillers. I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything important the past couple weeks.”
It didn’t take long. Partly because Zach knew how to get to the point, and partly because they had a pretty straightforward way of working together. If it was good, that’s all Zach said.
If there was a problem—like the missing parts—the issue got put into priority according to the effect it would have on their deadline. Which so far didn’t seem to be a problem.
“I think we should narrow down our focus a little, though,” Zach admitted. “Alan already told us he’s bringing his extended family. That means we need six cabins completed to beat the challenge. Karen said she’ll have enough animals and staff to deal with the trail rides. At least the exterior of the row housing will be done—that’s more for looks and the fun of it than anything. Once we have everything we need to install, at least.”
Finn considered. “Are you suggesting we don’t finish this main house?”
Zach shrugged. “We need a place for a cook and to serve up meals. Karen and I were talking about that. As sweet as it sounds to have that in the house, it involves a whole lot more changes than I think we can do in our timeframe. All things considered.”
“Probably should’ve figured that out sooner,” Finn said with a grumble.
“Probably would’ve, but life happened,” Zach said brightly. His face lit up as he smiled toward the doorway. “Karen. Awesome. Come tell Finn about your cookhouse idea.”
She slipped across the floor, completely professional. It was his own damn fault that he kept picturing that silky red fabric moving under her flannel shirt.
“You want to talk about that?” Karen asked. “It was just an idea.”
“It was a good idea,” Zach insisted. “Spill.”
She shrugged as if not wanting the attention. “Just got to thinking about some of the comments we had at Willmore Wilderness Park. We had a mess hall set up. Nice big building at the opposite end of the parking lot from the horses—cuts down on the scent of the country.”
Finn’s lips twitched. “Always a good thing at a dude ranch.”
She nodded slowly. “What ended up happening was people started asking to hire out the hall for weddings and anniversary parties. And while the Willmore setup is a little different because we run full weeklong camps which don’t leave a lot of downtime, if you made a cookhouse with two rooms for dining, you could rent out one for private parties and still provide for your guests.”
“You don’t think it would be a problem catering to two groups?”
“Depends on how you set it up, but the people who come out here for a wedding or an anniversary will be horse people, or love the country, or have some reason to pick Red Boot ranch. Heck, they might be interested in a one or two-hour trail ride without staying the night. With how close we are to Calgary, it’s a definite possibility. And I hear the rental price on wedding venues has gone through the roof.”
Zach pulled out the map of the ranch and pointed to a level spot to the west of the space currently earmarked for the parking lot. “Wouldn’t ruin any of the sight lines for the cottages. If we build a nice size deck off a basic building, that would only enhance the experience. I think it would be great.”
He was catching the vision of it. Finn considered it from another couple of angles, including how much money it would take to get it done PDQ.
He nodded at Karen. “Great idea. We’ll double-check a couple things, but I think you’re right. New sources of revenue are always good to include. Zach, see what we have to line up to get it started. Permits, design stamps, etc. We’ve got that architect who owes us a favour if we need blueprints stat.”
Karen hadn’t moved. “Really?”
He wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Really…what?”
“You’re just taking my idea and running with it?” Karen shook her head. “I hope I didn’t give you a shitty idea. Don’t go wasting money—”
