He cleared his throat and met her inquiring gaze.
"I talked to Gerald. He wants to rent your house - he and a couple of other guys. I told him you were ready."
So that was it. He had booked some customers for her. This wouldn't be like their annual snowbirds who simply wanted to escape the cold winters up north, though. The Sanders had even helped her with the chores sometimes. It wouldn't be that way with his friends.
"But I'm not ready," she said.
His brows lifted and a faint smile touched the corners of his lips.
"Sure you are. All you need is a little confidence. You'll build that as you work. I'll take you up to the mountain to scout out a safe trail. You need to do a little target practice too. I'll help you with that.
He'd help her alright. He'd show her how he wanted it done. Would it ever actually be her business? How would he feel if she started organizing his clinic? But that wasn't fair. He was merely protecting his investment. If she had secured a loan to get her business started, they would have made their own stipulations. At least this way she had no loan payments - no set business income to meet every month. And yet, her childhood dream of a horse ranch had fizzled out. He would be disappointed in her if he knew. She still wanted horses, but how could she tell him that she had stolen his dream - that the safari was her greatest interest now? Maybe it was simply that she had achieved her dream of a horse ranch and was moving on to the next - taking over his dream. She forced her mind back to the current issue.
"When is he ... are they coming?
He shrugged. "That's up to the two of you. I gave him your cell phone number."
She sighed again and leaned back against the wall, gazing out the window at the old renovated house. The cream colored siding looked iridescent in the moonlight. The windows were blank. The Sanders had been gone almost two months now and she had made no attempt to rent the house. She should take more interest in it - if only for his sake. Then again, if she gained more confidence, maybe it would make both Alex and Katie feel that she wasn't a lost cause. It was her responsibility now and having a job would give her the opportunity for a more modern approach to being a wife and mother. It would be good for the children as well. It might prevent them from feeling as out of place as she did in her youth.