“Congratulations, bug.”
“Thanks, Daddy! Will you be home in time for dinner?”
“I hope so. I’m meeting with someone who wants to have their wedding in our barn. Gotta go,” I told them, kissing Addie one more time. “If I’m late for dinner, start without me.”
“Okay. Bye, Daddy!”
As she took my dad’s hand and the two of them headed toward the house, I jogged to the main barn. It was old, big as hell, and majestic, with red paint we’d updated two years ago and a stone foundation that had weathered decades.
When I came around to the front, there were two vehicles parked there, one I recognized as West’s. I’d left the barn door open and figured West and Presley must be inside checking it out.
I went in and found West just inside the door, leaning against the wall.
“Hey, West,” I said.
“Luke. What’s up?”
We bumped fists in greeting.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said. “Crazy day around here.” That was true, but every day was chaotic.
“No worries.”
“Hi, Luke.” Presley appeared from behind one of the piles of junk I hadn’t yet cleared out.
“Hey, Presley. How’s it going?”
“Good.” She half turned as someone else stepped closer. “I brought my wedding planner with me. I hope that’s okay.”
I switched my glance, and there stood the woman who’d hurt my family irrevocably all those years ago.
Chapter Three
Luke
What a nightmare.
I should’ve expected this.
When West called this morning to discuss a Christmas Eve wedding in my barn, I should’ve guessed Presley would hire Magnolia fucking James as her planner.
Back in the spring when I’d first had the idea of renovating our barn for event space, Magnolia hadn’t opened her event-planning business. Now here we were. I was opening a venue I had every hope would become one of the hottest wedding spots in town just as she was starting a planning business.
This likely would be the first of many times I had to work with this woman I detested if I wanted the barn to be profitable.
I not only wanted it; I needed the barn to be profitable. My doubting Thomas of a father was only one reason.
Our farm wasn’t in trouble, but revenue each year varied widely. The weather could screw us. Pests could screw us. Economics could screw us.
We were lucky in that we had three different crops that could balance each other out, but the event space would be a new revenue stream that wouldn’t depend on Mother Nature. I wasn’t sure where I’d get the time to manage it, but I damn well would. Apparently I’d have to figure out how to work with Magnolia as part of that.
“Magnolia,” I finally said, hoping my opinion of her didn’t show on my face.
“Hello, Luke.” She didn’t smile.
I looked past her and pulled my thoughts to the purpose of this meeting—showing West and Presley what I planned for this admittedly dirty, in-need-of-work space.
“Thanks for coming out to see the place,” I said. “I hope you can squint a bit and see the vision I have for it instead of the state it’s in now.”
