“That should be nice.” Wyatt secretly wondered what would be fun about doing a bunch of yardwork to prepare for another party. “What do you need me to do?”

“Well, Vickie thinks the first meet might go better for Ginger if it doesn’t occur on the ranch. I didn’t stop to think how frightening it might be for a young bear to arrive here and see horses and cows everywhere when she isn’t accustomed to them. But Vickie did, and she feels that a woodland setting will be better. A place where we can leave the cows at home and highline the horses at a distance where Ginger won’t feel intimidated.”

“That makes sense,” Wyatt told him. “Is she being exposed to any of her natural habitat at the shelter?”

“Yes. They have large enclosures in wooded areas, so Ginger should feel more at home in a forest. I’m considering Huckleberry Lake. It’s beautiful up there, and as you already know, I’ve often considered that location as a base camp for guided hunts. I even have a permit for that area already. Last year, I got arrested when we were camped on Strawberry Hill, and people from town never got a chance to go up for the usual campout, so that’s a selling point for me as well. If we set up camp at Huckleberry Lake, the guests from town will be invited to stay a couple of nights.”

“So you want me to ride up and have a whole camp set up by the lake before the little bear comes?” Wyatt’s mind raced. “I’d love to do that, boss. I enjoy setting up camps. Being out in the wilderness is one of my favorite things. But I’m swamped right now. I can’t just walk away from all this work.”

Slade held up a hand. “Oh, but you can, because I’m going to take over your job for the next week and a half.” At Wyatt’s surprised look, Slade smiled. “Believe it or not, I do know how to run a ranch. At my age, I prefer not to, but it’ll be good for me to get my nose back into the operation for a few days. Since marrying Vickie, I’ve been a slacker. But I still hold to the idea that a boss should work alongside his crew. I think it keeps him tuned in. It’ll be good for me, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Wyatt couldn’t argue that point. Since Vickie’s reappearance in Slade’s life, he had backed off on spending time with his hired hands. He relaxed on the chair, feeling as if Slade had just offered him a paid vacation. He could almost smell the campfire smoke and taste the boiled coffee.

“So who’ll go along to help me?” Wyatt had to resist rubbing his hands together. “Kennedy?”

“Erin,” Slade replied.

“What?” Wyatt wanted to say he couldn’t believe his ears, but since he didn’t have a pair that worked, he bit back the words. “She’s probably never set up a tent in her life.”