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“Seriously, let’s think this through.”
She inhaled the sweet smell of horse. “I’m glad Remy and Mav have worked out. When the entire camp herd has to be liquidated because I failed, they’ll be more marketable.” She ducked under the hitching post and slumped against the barn.
“Come on, you’re the indomitable Bookworm Bethy. You always have the answer.”
“I really hated that nickname, until I decided to make it into a compliment.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “It was—you know, it was my silly little boy way of pressing your buttons and getting your attention. You were so smart and always had the answers to pretty much everything.” He set the saddle pad on Remington’s back. “And you were one of those annoying people who got straight A’s without trying.”
The name had flustered her as a kid, but now when he said it, it was with this gentle tease. It sounded far more endearing than she’d ever imagined.
“You’re distracting me.”
He hoisted the saddle onto Remy and settled it into place.
“How would the assistant camp director think?” Beth asked. She stood back up and paced the barnyard. “How do people raise money? Think… A theater show? But Vivien’s booked. Too much work and time involved.”
He drew the latigo through the cinch ring and looped it for the hitch knot, then snugged it up. “Bake sale?”
“That would be a lot of éclairs.” She swatted at a fly. “Auction? Concert?”
“Those both can require some setup and connections. Do you know any bands?”
“The Blue Monkeys. But they can be heard locally on a regular basis.”
“All the bands I know are in Oregon.”
“Is that a lot?”
He laughed. “Maybe more than average, but only because the ranch owner has some guest cabins he rents out to a few big-name musicians when they come through on tour. The rural stop is a nice break from their big-city tours.”
“Wow. Hoity-toity.”
“Actually—what about a wilderness trail ride? Take adult riders out on the trails surrounding Mink Lake. We wouldn’t even need to haul the horses anywhere.”
“Would that make enough money?”
“It could—commercial businesses charge fifteen-hundred dollars for those multi-day, overnight rides. We’ve done a few on the ranch for cattle drives.”
“There aren’t any cattle to drive.”
“No, but we could plan a scenic ride. Set up a campsite in advance. Riders arrive there after the first all-day ride, then we do two day-trip rides with the camp as our base. Didn’t you say you were trying to come up with additional family camp activities?”
“Family camp?”
“Yeah—we have them sign up and pay for the add-on.”
Oh, that was a good idea. In fact, it was a great idea. “That’s possibly brilliant. There’s an old primitive campground on the other side of the lake.” Beth turned the idea around in her mind. “So you’re thinking a four-day ride? What about food?”
“Three-day might be better. Two nights. I’ll bet I can get my grandparents—well, Robin—to donate some food. Ask a few other businesses too.”
“You really think people would pay fifteen-hundred dollars?”
“Not as a camp add-on, but I think four hundred per rider is fair.” Grayson adjusted the stirrups on his saddle. “We’ll have to look at the costs and crunch the numbers.”
“We could give them the option to donate more to the camp.” She started running calculations in her head.
“Yeah, that might work. It’s for an important cause, so a portion may be tax deductible for them—and they get to do something the camp has never done before.”
