“You couldn’t afford it.” She could banter with the best of cowboys, especially after nearly chugging two beers on an empty stomach. She couldn’t help herself, “Did you just call me a whore?”
He put up his hands. “I surrender.”
She let him off the hook, “So, Kitty got the paint and you got Bear.”
“I still don’t think it was a fair trade. But I bought the paint intending to give it to her, and I know she wanted me to have one of those pups. That’s just how business gets done in my family.”
“Lot of bartering?”
“You have no idea. Dinner is like attending an auction.”
“I might get that. My father was a professional auctioneer.”
Molly pulled the plate, cheese, and salami out of the ice chest and fashioned a platter to go with the third beer.
“Nice set up you have here. Is the cabin yours?”
“Yeah, long story, built by my grandfather.”
“I’m interested in the history.”
The sun was headed for the western horizon. It was a warm spring evening, the light on Summer Lake beautiful, the Pasayten Wilderness and Canadian Rockies beckoning in the distance. Bear and Shadow were walking closely together around the cabin. Bart and Molly, deeply settled in the Adirondacks with beers in hand, watched them walk to the lake and lie down together. Shadow was grooming Bear. Both looked happy.
“The property is fourth generation in the family. My great grandfather homesteaded here a hundred years ago. It started as a simple fishing resort and grew over time.”
“So you own it now?”
“Pretty much. My brother got an interest and I’m buying him out.”
“So how many businesses are there?”
“Depends on how you count them. I say six: the restaurant, the general store, the stables, the cabins, the RV Park, and the Forest Service lease. But really, they all merge together.”
“Impressive. Where’s the money?”
“The restaurant is steady, busiest in the summer, of course, but as the winter business has picked up, it’s doing better in the off season.”
Molly took a drink of beer.
“The store manages the boat rental and fishing businesses. It used to just be fishing tackle but has evolved into a general store that serves the greater neighborhood. We have a dozen boats that rent by the half day. Spring, summer, and fall, that’s a pretty steady business. The state stocks the lake four times a year, so that keeps the fishermen coming.”
She put a piece of cheese on a cracker.
“We have twelve lakefront cabins now that we rent by the day or week. That’s very steady year round now, a good business. I’m trying to add a cabin every year as the demand is going up. We board horses and mules in the stables and corrals. We run a pretty steady horseback riding business and lease horses and mules to local back country outfitters. We could get into that, but the people who run those businesses are our friends and customers, so I don’t want to compete with them. We make our money boarding, grooming, and caring for the animals, and leasing them to the outfitters. It works for everyone.”
“How about the campsites?”
“We lease that land to the Forest Service. Believe it or not, that’s one of our best performing businesses, the rent on that land, especially the parking lot. The Forest Service does all the development and maintenance and pays us rent. We have no expenses so that goes right to the bottom line. And, of course, all those campers are spending money at the restaurant and store. And, they like to go fishing and ride horses. It all works together.”
“And the RVs?”
“We own that land and run that. We have forty sites, and they’re busy all the time. Honestly, we could fill up twice thatmany, and we keep adding sites. It’s my least favorite business. I don’t like the aesthetics of the RVs in the rustic setting, so that’s why they’re tucked back in the woods, and the cabins get the lakefront. The RVs actually like it back there, so it works for everyone.”
“And in the winter?”
“That’s our biggest growth focus right now. We used to close in the winter, but not now. Cross country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding, and winter camping is growing every year. We’re now grooming cross country trails in cooperation with the Forest Service. I’m thinking about putting in an outdoor skating rink with a big fire pit.” She took a drink. “And one of my dreams is to sponsor the state’s first dogsled race. That would put us on the map, and I’d love it.”
“You’re quite the business lady. Did you grow up here?”
