His next attempt was a link to the city council’s page. Max walked in just as he finished reading that they had a meeting that very night.
“Mornin’,” he said, sliding carefully into the chair across from the desk.
“Hey,” Logan said, noticing his discomfort. “You okay?”
“Little sore,” Max said. “Aren’t you?”
“Oh, yeah,” Logan admitted. “I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning. Between the softball, the basketball, and all the manual labor, I’m working muscles I forgot existed.”
“Alex’s wedding was a fun break, huh?” His smile suggested he was referring to the Tess situation.
“You mean Tess and me?”
Max nodded. “Better be good to her. Half the town will be after you if not.”
“I would expect nothing less. Hey, speaking of the wedding…Do you guys have an event center or reception hall? Or a similar space to have large gatherings?”
“Not since Faith burned the old place down.”
“What?” Logan’s eyes widened.
“Well, she didn’t light the match or anything, but it went up in flames at her wedding. It was a hundred-year-old barn, remodeled for big events.” He paused before continuing. “You might think I’m crazy, but before…you know? Jenny…I actually thought of building one here. Just north of the inn. We own all that acreage.”
“That’s a fantastic idea,” Logan said. “A real money-maker too.”
“Yeah, and even when the barn was up and running, you had to drive home afterward. Everyone always complained about that.”
“We’ll talk to Lyle about a timeline ASAP.”
“So, you takin’ Tess to the Sun’s Out, Fun’s Out Festival?”
“The what now?” Logan pushed his ear toward Max.
“It’s a community event thing.” Max chuckled. “Like what you Texans might call a hoedown.” He laid on an exaggerated, thick southern accent, causing Logan to laugh.
“Are you makin’ fun of the way I talk?”
“No, sir.”
It was good to see Max smile. Even if it was at Logan’s expense.
“Town’s got somethin’ goin’ just about every month,” he said. “So if you miss this one, there’ll be another soon enough. The Fall Festival or the Holly Jolly Jamboree.”
“Right,” Logan said. “Besides that, any ideas on things to do around town?”
“Dating in Green Valley Falls is tough. Unless you’re into cow tipping or snipe hunting, there isn’t much to do.”
“I’ll work on it.” Logan tapped his pen on his hand. “Hey, do we need to run the idea of building an event venue by anyone? I noticed there’s a city council meeting tonight.”
Max thought for a second. “That’s actually a great idea. We’ll need official permits, of course, but getting the people’s sign-off is almost more important. We could bring it up under ‘new business’ tonight just to get it on everyone’s radar and promise more details later.”
“Sounds good. So, can you come? Do you have someone to watch Lilly?”
“I’ll just bring her,” Max said. “And the beer too. Meetings aren’t as formal as you might think.”
“Okay, well, I’ll prepare a statement.”
“Don’t put too much into it.” Max stood. “Like I said, it’s a pretty casual affair.” He waved on his way out.
