A little space was exactly what she needed. “Yes. Thank you. I appreciate your understanding.”
He tossed her a crooked grin. “I’m a patient man, Charlotte.”
After Kyle left, she put in a call to the mayor’s office. The mayor had a busy schedule, but Meredith squeezed him in for an hour on the morning of the grand opening. And just like that it was done.
Charlotte pocketed her phone and headed toward the new stable. In the pen Gunner worked one of their boarders on the lunge line. He was so focused he didn’t even notice when she passed by.
As she walked up the grassy slope, she took in her new western barn, pride sweeping over her. Mom would’ve loved the post-and-beam construction made to look like barns of old. It had been quite the expense, but guests wanted the full experience when they came to ride in the mountains, and Charlotte was determined to give it to them.
In the past two weeks Gavin and Wes had made great progress. They finished the framing and sheeted the roof and exterior walls. The barn doors, already up on both ends, were open to allow a stream of fresh air.
The scent of raw wood teased her nose as she stepped into the coolness of the barn. She waited a moment to let her eyes adjust to the relative darkness. A moment later she spied Gavin and Wes installing windows on the north side of the stable.
“How’s it going in here?” she asked.
Gavin lowered his battery-operated screw gun and met her in the middle of the barn. “It’s going. We should have the windows installed by the end of the day.”
She exchanged greetings with Wes, who kept working.
“It’s awesome.” She took in the high ceilings and beams running across the open space. She was relieved to have relaxed a bit around Gavin now that they’d had a few conversations. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. “It’s so big. And so much cooler than the other barn.”
“There’s a nice breeze flowing through.” He pointed at the gables. “And we’re putting vents up there on both ends forairflow. All twelve windows have ventilation, too, and you can even remove the panes if you want.”
“Perfect. The breeze is great and it smells so good in here.”
He shot her a sidelong look. “I can’t guarantee that’ll last.”
She laughed. “It definitely won’t. It’s so beautiful we could use it for events if we wanted to—which we definitely don’t.”
Gavin gave a wry grin. “Not interested in hosting fancy wedding receptions?”
“Horses are much easier to manage than bridezillas.”
He chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it. I let my wife handle all the wedding stuff—for both weddings.” After their divorce, the child they’d adopted had brought them back together.
“How’s your little girl? Emma, right?”
“She’s great. She’s four now and starting preschool in the fall. I can hardly believe it.” His lips tilted in a secret smile. “Also, she’ll have a brother or sister by the end of the year.”
Charlotte sucked in a breath. Another niece or nephew! She tempered her reaction. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations. How’s your wife feeling?”
“Laurel’s doing great. She had a little morning sickness for a while, but she’s past that now.”
“I’m happy for you both.” He had no idea how happy.
“Thanks. We’re pretty excited.”
She wanted to ask more questions. Were they planning to find out the baby’s gender? Did he want a boy or a girl? Was it bittersweet having a baby on the way after losing their first child? Surely it must be. But these inquiries were too private. To him, she was just another customer.
The reason she’d come up here was to make sure the projectwas on schedule, because now that the mayor had committed to the grand opening, there was no moving it. She cleared her throat. “So I got some good news this morning. Mayor Hinkley will be doing a ribbon cutting at the grand opening.”
“Hey, that’s great. That should garner some attention for your business.”
“That’s the hope. I’ve been meaning to tell you, you’re welcome to put up a yard sign for Robinson Construction if you’d like. Down at the road and up here by the barn too. I don’t know how many people we’ll have coming through for our grand opening, but it couldn’t hurt.”
“Thanks. That’s a great idea. We finally had some signs made a few months ago. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure this place is ready to go by July first. We’re ahead of schedule. You should have your stalls up by the end of next week. But the painting crew is backed up. They haven’t given me an answer yet on when they can get out here. Have you picked out your colors?”
She laughed. “Months ago. I have the color swatches up at the house.”
