“They only stayed one night. Someone from Four Corners took them.” Todd pointed to the far wall. “Before the last wedding, we installed a new generator. It’s in a shed through that door. The wiring and the roof have been replaced and I fixed some of the siding.”
Becky had to look closely to see the improvements Todd had made. The carefully concealed light fixtures looked as old as the barn. “When was it built?”
“About 1910. The Heritage Committee said it’s one of the oldest barns in Montana.”
Taking out her cell phone, Becky started taking photos. “And you’d be happy for Matthew and Ashley to celebrate their special day here?”
Todd sighed. “Sally wouldn’t talk to me if I said no, but why the rush? I thought Matthew wasn’t getting married until next year.”
Sean cleared his throat. “Try five weeks’ time.”
“Five weeks? That sounds like something Sally would do.”
Becky moved into the center of the barn and focused her phone on the loft. “It’s a surprise for Ashley.”
Todd’s eyebrows rose. “I hope she likes what you’re doing.”
“So do we,” Becky said with a frown. “I have some ideas that will make the barn extra special. Would you like to hear them?”
Sean took a pen and paper out of his pocket. “Go for it. I’ll add the details to our spreadsheet.” He was glad he was a fast writer. As her imagination filled one, then two, pages of his notebook, he began to realize just how creative Becky was. It was no wonder Happy Petals was so popular. If she brought the same amount of enthusiasm to her flower arrangements, no one would go anywhere else.
He glanced at Todd and grinned. Heaven help them both if Sally heard some of these ideas.
The barn wouldn’t continue to be a halfway house for rescue animals—they’d have a fully functioning wedding venue ready to roll as soon as Matthew and Ashley’s wedding was over.
Chapter5
Becky slid two more catalogs onto the kitchen counter before pouring herself a cup of hot chocolate. Mary was in the living room doing her homework and Sean had arrived to book more things for the wedding. Judging by the amount of page-turning, he wasn’t finding it as easy as he’d thought.
“I didn’t know there are so many lanterns people can rent.”
“They have different options depending on the theme and the color palette a bride and groom want.” Sitting beside him, Becky pointed to a picture. “I’ve used those ones before, but they’re too big for the tables at Matthew and Ashley’s wedding.”
Sean pointed at a small white lantern. “What about this one? It looks similar to the pictures in Ashley’s scrapbook.”
The delicate scrollwork around the top, combined with an LED tealight in the center, made it a great choice. “It’s perfect. Let’s order fourteen.” Becky opened another book. “I spoke to Jake and Doris Stanley from the hardware store. They have a huge amount of fairy lights they decorate their house with each Christmas. They’re happy for us to borrow them. I didn’t tell them they were for Matthew and Ashley’s wedding.”
“It’s just as well. Doris is usually at the center of any gossip going around town. What did you say they were for?”
“A wedding venue I’m helping to decorate in Red Deer. The wedding is happening, but it’s still three months away. What about these tablecloths?” She showed Sean the picture in the catalog.
“They look good. How many do we need?”
“We’d better make it twenty. That will give us a few spares.”
Sean wrote down the number, then picked up his cup of coffee. “Matthew and I are emailing everyone their invitations to the ‘engagement’ party tomorrow night. Thanks for making sure there were no spelling mistakes in the text.”
“I didn’t mind. It was good to tick another thing off our list. How is Matthew?”
“Nervous, but he’ll be okay.” Sean looked at the pictures of the flowers Becky was using for the wedding. “Why did you decide to be a florist?”
“My gran raised Molly and me in her flower shop. A single day didn’t go by when we weren’t making a little bouquet or a flower arrangement. I have such happy memories of those times that it made sense to keep going.”
“Molly said you went to college and did a business studies degree?”
Becky’s eyes widened. She hoped that’s all her sister had told him. “Gran’s flower shop barely made enough money to pay her rent and put food on our table. I wanted more, so I needed to know the ins and outs of business.”
“Has what you learned helped?”
