Ned's Big Payday Pt. 06

Two reporters from local stations attended to interview dignitaries and, following the ceremony, the bride and groom. The late-night news showed footage of the event and how shocked everyone was with Billy Joel's appearance and performance. The big news focus was on the gown. Both reporters praised it and read a description written by the young designer. (Several wedding publications showed many photos of it later that summer and fall.) It was, indeed, a fashion statement when worn by a gorgeous woman.

Following the ceremony, Angie and Ned left for two weeks in Hawaii, Tahiti and New Caledonia. They focused totally on each other, and no stress was allowed.

***

Returning to the office mid-July was a mild shock to Angie. Kate had the office hopping. There was a ton of video work underway to introduce new artists to YouTube, TV commercials for the coming holiday season, and the fall campaign for dealers to sell new cars.

When Angie fully understood the demand, she and her mom agreed to hire more staff and create three new video teams. In just the last eight months, the company grew from ninety-eight employees and twenty-eight part-timers to one hundred and sixty-six employees and forty-two part-timers. It was no longer such a small business.

The Boston consultants sent a new pair of specialists who would focus Angie on people evaluation, performance counseling, benefits management, workman's comp benefits and pitfalls, and incentive pay options.

Every evening, she returned home to Ned in search of stress relief. With his advice and encouragement, she began every day more convinced than ever that she could do the job as her mom phased out.

Kate and Tom set their wedding date for the following April 5th. It would be in Nashville where hundreds of Tom's associates and artists would likely attend. Kate and Angie agreed that any employee in Denver who wanted to attend would be given time off with pay and have their flights reimbursed. Hotels and other expenses would not be re-imbursed, however. Kate's friend, the wedding planner, was hired once again for the massive task expected.

***

After classes ended, Janet and Rob left for the ranch. Once again, Janet headed directly to Ruby's side. She was in the pasture grazing with the other horses. When Ruby saw Janet walking across the pasture, she trotted to her and playfully nuzzled Janet's chest and shoulder. An apple rewarded the warm welcome. Other horses came over and were rewarded with carrots and a scratch on the neck.

It was like home when Janet walked into the kitchen and greeted Jamie. She learned from Rebecca that the dark bay stallion had been named Ranger. Except that he was no longer a stallion. He'd been castrated and would spend the rest of his life as a gelding. Sahara was in foal, so Ranger had done his last big job. He was now in training to be a cutting horse. They are used when separating cattle for one purpose or another, usually to brand and install microchips in the youngsters. Cutting horses must be fast and react instantly to their rider's commands.

Clayton and the cowboys spent most days checking fences and watering stations, putting up hay and maintaining the irrigation system. Work is constant and never ending on a cattle ranch.

As evening came, the cow hands were fed in the bunkhouse by the local widow. Since only three were living there during the summer, the daughter's services weren't needed. The men would have to get their evening entertainment another way. There was a rec room with a pool table and an eighty-inch TV screen. Sports were on most every night.

Clayton and the family had dinner each evening in the dining room. The first night Rob and Janet arrived, Janet asked at the dinner table about the bunkhouse. She said, "Rob and I've been thinking about something and want to get your opinion.

"During the summer months, you have nine of the twelve bedrooms in the bunkhouse vacant. I think you have an opportunity to make some money by having a summer camp here for home-schooling parents and their children to come for a week at a time.

"During the mornings, I would teach lessons and train parents on home schooling their children. The children would be in the classroom and parents would be observers of my teaching methods. In the afternoons, we could offer horseback riding, swimming and boating on the lake and some may want to fish. Rob and I could take them out to see the cattle and wildlife living here, maybe even the wild horses and those pesty coyotes. We could also do hayrides.

"The bunkhouse dining room would be perfect, and the kitchen is already fully functional for a large group. We could also have cookouts and sit around a real campfire with Rob leading the singing and playing his guitar. And, the best of all, we could have real, honest to goodness cowboys there, not dude ranch fakes."

Rebecca watched Clayton's expressions as Janet make her case. To her surprise, he seemed interested and was listening carefully. When Janet paused for reaction, Clayton asked, "Do you think we could get insurance for that?"

Rob replied, "Yes, I've already inquired, and State Farm would cover us. They would want us to be trained in first aid and emergency resuscitation and an agent would visit to help make sure we have no likely danger points. They would also want us to have a lifeguard for the swimming area. Jamie, I know you were on the swim team in high school. Would you consider taking on the life guarding job, for extra pay of course?"

She replied, "Sure. I was a trained lifeguard and worked summers at the public pool in town."

Rebecca asked, "With all the extra guests, we'll need to add house-keeping services and a kitchen assistant. I don't think we want our normal woman. She's more into entertaining the men than she would the children and moms."

Rob and Janet smiled as they glanced at each other. Rob's parents knew what went on after hours in the bunkhouse after all. Interesting.

Janet continued, "We would be charging $2000 per week for a child and a parent to attend. I think we could fill up the facility every week from the first of May until Labor Day. That's eighteen weeks. Nine times $2000 times eighteen weeks is $324,000 per summer.

Clayton asked, "Would we need to build a classroom with all the computers and technology teachers use these days?

Rob responded, "Yes, I have a $100,000 that Mr. Goddard gave me after the oil settlement. I think that would go a long way to build it."

Clayton said, "I didn't know that Sterling gave you that. My goodness, he's not going to upstage me. I'll match it, so you'll have $200,000 to work with."

Janet added, "I have money in a trust fund from the insurance settlement following my parents' accident. With that, we will have way more than enough to build the most amazing classroom ever."

Rebecca had a strange look on her face. She asked, "Rob, is there something you need to tell us about you and Janet?"

Rob and Janet smiled. He said, "Mom and Dad, I've asked Janet to marry me."

Janet said, "And I've accepted."

"Oh, my goodness," Rebecca shouted. "This is wonderful." She jumped up to hug Janet and Rob.

Clayton added, "It's about time." All laughed. The master of understatement struck again.

Clayton looked at Rebecca and said, "I like this idea. It would also help keep the guys busy at night, so they don't spend so much time watching sports. We already have a nice area for grilling, we have the beef to grill and the air-conditioned rooms for sleeping. Maybe we could install televisions in each of the rooms and expand the bathrooms and showers when we build the classroom. What do you think, Rebecca?"

"I like it. We'll need to create a campfire site with log benches in a circle. We'll need to run power for lighting around the facility, but we'll need to do that anyway for the classroom. Janet, to start up something like this, we'll need to spend a lot on advertising. How would you go about that?"

"I know a guy in Denver who is married to a woman who owns a video production company. They do work for music studios, TV advertising and event promotions. I could talk to him about helping us. I believe he would. I'll call him tomorrow. "

As it turned out, Ned's biggest payday was never about money. His real pay was the satisfaction that came from helping many women find themselves, find loving relationships and find what really mattered in their lives. After Janet's call the next day, Ned smiled and thanked God for his mercy and blessings on so many lives he'd touched.

The End of Chapter 20 and My Little Story