CHAPTER ONE
MRS. FORBES, longtime receptionist at the Rawhide, Colorado, Review, looked up from her word processor with a smile. âWhy Jessica Reynolds!â she exclaimed. âHow are you, honey? I havenât seen you since your ninth birthday party and that was at least three months ago!â
Jessica shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, thrusting her hands behind her back so Mrs. Forbes wouldnât see the plastic shopping bag, or be curious about its contents. âMy birthday is April sixteenth,â she said. âThank you for the soccer ball.â
âMy pleasure.â The nice lady beamed. âWould you like a jellybean?â
âYes, thank you.â Mrs. Forbes always had a bowl of jellybeans on her desk; you could tell she was a grandma. Jessica scooped out a handful and popped several into her mouth.
Mrs. Forbes nodded approvingly. âSo what brings you here to a boring old newspaper office on this fine July day?â
Jessica spoke around a mouthful of candy. âI came to see my grandpa. Is he here?â
âHe sure is.â
âCan I talk to him?â
âYou sure can.â Mrs. Forbes pointed to the closed door with the sign that said Editor, Publisher, Owner and King. âGo right on in, honey. Heâs been working on that editorial for two hours already. If itâs not right now, it never will be. And you can tell him I said so!â With a final smile she returned to her typing.
Jessica popped the last of the jellybeans into her mouth and squared her shoulders. She had come to see her grandfather on a very important mission and she didnât want to make any mistakes. With purposeful steps she marched to his office and threw open the door.
John Reynolds looked up from behind his big desk with surprise on his jolly face. His thick white hair stuck out in all directions and Jessica thought in passing that he needed a haircut. But then, so did her daddy, most of the time. So did she, for that matter.
Grandpa grinned broadly and turned away from the word processor on the corner of his desk. âHi, there, Sugar. Come give your favorite great-grandpa a big kiss!â
âYouâre my only grandpa, and you are great,â Jessica said, because she knew he expected it. She only had one grandpa but this one would be her favorite even if she had ten grandpas. She trotted obediently around the desk and planted a big smack on his cheek, being careful to keep her shopping bag behind her.
He continued to beam at her. âSo what brings you to my neck of the woods when you should be out playing with your friends?â He waved her toward a chair beside the desk.
She slipped into it, dangling bare brown legs over the edge of the seat. Maybe she should have dressed up for this important job? Her grandfather seemed to like seeing her in dresses and here she was in old cut-off jeans and a faded red T-shirt. She frowned, suddenly realizing that her sneakers had identical holes over the little toes of both feet. She sighed. Too late to worry about that now.
He was waiting for an answer. She pursed her lips and tried to think how to begin. âWell, see...uh...â
He stopped smiling but he didnât look mean or anything. âHmm...â He cocked his head to one side. âLooks like you mean business this time, young lady.â
âI sure do!â Jessica popped to her feet, finally hauling the bag around in front of her. Placing it on the floor, she reached inside and pulled out her piggy bank, the white ceramic one with the red spots that Grandpa had given her Christmas before last She placed the bank on the desktop before him.
He leaned back in his chair, hooking his thumbs in his suspenders. âWhatâs this!â
âAll the money I have in the world,â she said fervently. âI hope itâs enough.â
âEnough for what?â
Turning, she rummaged around in her shopping bag again and pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper, her heart pounding. Holding her breath, she offered the paper to him.
He unfolded the page and spread it out on the desk with great care. Picking up his glasses, he perched them on his nose and began to read.
Jessica held her breath. Sheâd put a lot of thought into the advertisement she wanted to place in her grandfatherâs newspaper. Hadnât he always said you could find anything you wanted, or get rid of anything you didnât want, with an ad in the Review?