Jenny by Bobbi Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

wouldn't be easy, but he'd never
imagined that she would decide to stay on at the
ranch. He'd thought she would come home, take one
look around, and leave again just as fast as she could. Certainly, she'd shown no interest in being here before. But now, if she didn't sell out to him, he would
be forced to work with her until she married or turned
twenty-five, and that was years away. He wanted to
swear in frustration.

    "Let's meet with Mr. Marsden tomorrow afternoon.
The sooner I speak with him, the better," Jenny told
him. "And while I appreciate your offer for the Lazy
S, the ranch is not for sale. I'm back, and I intend to
take over and run things just like my father did."
    Cole was tempted to tell her about her dire financial
situation right then and there to discourage her, but
he held back. Tomorrow would be time enough for
her to find out what bad financial shape the ranch was
in. If she heard it from him tonight, she might think
he was lying or exaggerating just to anger her, but if
it came straight from Marsden, she would have to face
the truth. Then maybe she would change her mind
and sell out to him and leave.
    The last thing Cole wanted was to be forced to deal
with Jenny on a regular basis until she was twentyfive-and if she stayed and tried to take over the
everyday running of the ranch, that was exactly what
would happen. Even though she had been raised on
the ranch, she was a woman, and some of the ranch
hands might have a problem with working for a female.
    "I'll set things up with the lawyer for tomorrow
afternoon, and I'll meet you at his office." Cole stood
up, ready to leave, wanting to get away. He deliber ately did not offer to accompany her into town. He
was certain she could find her own way into Durango.

    "That will work out just fine," she agreed, rising,
too, to see him out. She could tell by his surly expression that he wasn't pleased with the way things
were going. "I am sorry that this has been forced upon
you."
    "Believe me, so am I, but it's what your father
wanted. I'm doing it for him," he said curtly as he
walked toward the door. "I'll see you in town."
    Jenny followed him from the study, but he strode
down the hall and out of the house without looking
back. She closed the front door and walked slowly
back into the study. She was standing just inside the
doorway when Evelyn found her.
    "Is everything all right, dear?" Evelyn asked.
    "I'm not sure-"
    "What's wrong? Cole didn't try to cause any trouble, did he?" She had been worried about Jenny running into Cole again; finding him here at the house
had been disturbing.
    "Papa made Cole the executor of the estate," she
explained.
    "He did? But why?"
    "I don't know. Whenever Papa came to visit, he
rarely mentioned Cole, and when he did, it was only
in passing. I know he always liked him, but I had no
idea that he would do something like this to me."
    "You're worried about dealing with him?"
    "According to what Cole told me, he's in charge of everything until I turn twenty-five, get married, or
sell out. I have no intention of selling out, and I certainly don't plan to get married any time soon," she
said with conviction.

    "But I thought we were planning to return home to
Philadelphia once you'd settled everything here."
Evelyn was taken aback by her declaration. Living on
the Lazy S was nice enough, she supposed, but she
was accustomed to life in a big city.
    Jenny turned to look at her aunt, her expression
serious. "Aunt Evelyn, I am home."
    "Oh, my." The older woman sank down on a chair,
her own plans in chaos. She knew how headstrong
her niece could be, and she could tell that Jenny had
made up her mind. Still, she had to ask, "But what
about Cole? Are you going to be able to work with
him? He didn't seem all that friendly today, and four
years is a long time to be forced to deal with one
another."
    "I can do anything when I set my mind to it," she
declared. "I'm going to make Papa