She smiles.

Blonde – I’ve heard this before.

Jim – Let me open the gate and you can drive right in!

Blonde – Thank you … Mr.?

Man – Jim! Jim Doyle.

She extends her hand.

Blonde – Nice to meet you! I’m Tina Kennard!

They shake hands.

Jim – A pleasure, ma’am!

He walks up to the iron gate.

Jim – The main house is a mile away. I’ll be ahead of you on Charlie.  Why don’t you back up a little for the horse to come in? I’ll open the gate for you.

Tina – OK … thanks!

The blonde returns to her Jeep and backs it up, allowing Charlie to pass through. Jim opens the massive gate. She drives through the gate and stops. He closes it and mounts the horse, galloping ahead. She follows the horse on the winding road that snakes through a forest of aspens and pine trees, the magnificent specimen breezing through the narrow road with the beauty and elegance of its long strides.

Chapter 3

Western Skies Ranch, mid morning: Tina is driving to the ranch house following Charlie while taking in the beauty of the place. The road is lined up with pine and aspen trees on both sides giving her an exquisite feeling of being in a magical place in the forest.  The narrow road finally opens up to a large clearing with a majestic house surrounded by a garden where colorful wild flowers bloom. The house is situated on a plateau and faces Southeast. In the background, a hundred yards away to the Northeast of the house, a stable and a barn are seen. To the West, the plateau is carved down across a slope, leading to a valley in the distance, with white peaks of snow-covered mountains surrounding it.

Jim gallops to the house and dismounts. The blonde stops the car next to the house and appreciates the surroundings. The house has the look and feel of a log cabin and seems to belong in the region, but the sheer size of it shows that it is not just a mere log cabin – it is a mansion! Jim walks up to the porch and knocks on the brass door knockers of the massive front door. While waiting, Tina takes a few more pictures of the house and surroundings. A Hispanic woman opens the door and talks to him briefly. He turns to Tina.