Instead of taking a portion of their sales, I went with either a two week or monthly rental fee. I wanted to give people as much of a chance at sales as I could and still make a profit. My pocketswere deep, but it was amazing how expensive everything could be.
I’d sunk a staggering amount into repurposing the farm, grading the land for the sheds, and making a path for foot traffic. In the far field, the lights were coming along. After we’d broken down the Halloween maze, we started on the Haven Wonderland of Lights that would debut on the weekend following Thanksgiving.
It was a few weeks away, but it felt right on top of me at the same time.
I ducked my head to get out of the shed and smiled back at Molly who was jumping up and down. I ran over to her and swung her around in my arms.
She laughed and hugged me back.
She’d been with me from the start and was a huge reason why this whole thing was working. I set her down. “You’re getting a raise.”
“What?” She laughed and shoved me back. “You’re ridiculous. You already pay me too much.”
“I do not. This has been a bear.” I hooked an arm around her neck as we looked out over the three new ones that had been installed. “Freaking finally.”
She grinned up at me. “It’s really coming to life. We might just do this.”
“No, wearedoing this.”
Her gaze flicked away from me and I followed her eyeline to where Valerie was standing with her arms folded tight to her chest. Her eyes were narrowed with anger. When she noticed me looking, her face smoothed out into a smile and she ran forward.
“Hell,” I muttered.
“She’s going to be trouble, Tate.”
“I know.” The volatile jealousy was barely hidden at this point, but I couldn’t fire her for an emotion. She was still oneof the best on my team. While not great at the more physical aspects of the job, she did come up with good ideas on efficiency.
“This looks amazing.” Valerie came to stand a little too close to me. “I didn’t think they’d ever get here.”
“Think we all had the same nightmares about it.”
“Don’t you think we should have more of these little things?” She wiggled her fingers. “You could make so much more money if you packed them in here.”
“It’s not about that. It’s about the experience.”
Valerie rolled her eyes. “Says the man who is definitely not a businessman.”
“Not everything is about money.”
“Says the guy who has it.”
“And I didn’t for a long time. That’s why I want this to be about building community. The more people that come in to shop might just go into town while they’re here. It’s a win-win.”
Valerie bumped up that sweet smile. “Of course. You’re right. I’m going to take some video and put it up on our social pages.”
“That would be a good idea.” Annoyed that she tweaked my own worries about making this a financial success, I shoved my hands into my pockets.
“Don’t let her get in your head. This is your vision, Tate. If we want to add more retail spaces next year then we can. You’re right to make it special first, then you can iterate.”
Remembering Rachel’s advice from the orchard, I nodded. “You’re right. I’ll supervise, why don’t you take a break.”
Molly sighed. “All right. I could use some food.”
Throwing myself into the hard labor of installing the sheds let me shut off my brain for a little while. It took most of the day to get them exactly where I wanted them. The original blueprints looked good on paper, but in the actuality of the landscape of the pasture, I needed to shuffle a few of the different sizes around to make sure we had a good flow for foot traffic.
In the end, I was a sweaty mess caked in mud and gravel grit, but they were done.
I thanked the guys from the shed company, promising a testimonial and swapping some social media posts. Another thing I was learning about this venture—the quid pro quo went a long way.
