“Dad...” I closed my eyes for a long beat, trying to battle away the tension in my jaw at the mention of my brother. I wished I had it in me to come clean, but it would make things so much worse. It was easier to let them believe what they wanted to.
“Whatever happened between the two of you, you’re family.” Dad squinted. “You can’t avoid him forever.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“I’m going to have to talk to your mama about this.” Dad adjusted his hat and squared his shoulders.
“I understand.” The phone in my back pocket vibrated. I reached for it and saw Mayor Cherish’s number light up my screen. “Hey, it’s the mayor. I ought to take this.”
My dad didn’t respond, so I took several long strides toward the shade of one of the oldest pecan trees we had on the property and answered the call. “Hello?”
“Jasper, it’s Lacey Cherish. Something’s come up. Are you still interested in trying to make a go of it with your idea on using your barn for weddings?”
“I’m not quite sure yet.” My chest tightened. “I mentioned it to Dad, and he needs some time to get used to the idea.”
“Well, I’m in a bind. I just got word that the state tourism board gave us a spot to compete for the most romantic small town in Texas.”
“That’s great. But what does that have to do with turning the barn into a wedding venue?”
“I need someone to represent Ido as our hospitality host... be the point of contact for the judge while she’s here in town. Is that something you’d be able to do?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to do around here. We still haven’t cleaned everything up from the storm, and?—”
“I’m in a real jam. We weren’t supposed to be competing in this contest, but Swynton got disqualified and we got their spot. I don’t have time to come up with another plan. If we can claim the title of the most romantic small town in Texas, we could increase the wedding business we’ve already got. It would give you a chance to really make a go of it with the barn idea.”
I sensed a golden opportunity within my grasp. Mayor Cherish was right. If Ido claimed the title, there would be a huge influx of tourists. Not only weddings, but we could do anniversary parties, maybe even corporate outings with trail rides. If I could turn things around and save our land, how could I refuse?
“What would you need me to do?”
“They’re sending Miss Lovin’ Texas over to judge. From what I understand, she’ll live here in town for a month, and then they’ll hold a big shindig in Houston in November where they’ll announce the winner. We’re the last stop. She’s already been to Hartwood and East. What do you say? Will you be Ido’s hospitality host?”
“You want me to entertain a beauty queen for a month?” My gut rolled. “There’s got to be someone else better qualified for the job.”
“I wish,” Lacey muttered.
“What’s that?”
“I wish we had time to find someone, but there’s no one else. Believe me, I’ve tried to come up with ideas on who might be best to fill this role. You’ve got incentive. If Ido wins, you win. Plus, you can’t argue that right now you’ve got the time.”
No, I couldn’t argue with that. Harvesttime was coming up and with 75 percent fewer trees to pick, not even the busiest time of year would keep me all that occupied.
“What would I have to do?”
“Easy peasy. Just shuttle her around and introduce her to the folks in town. Make sure she sees the best of Ido and gets to all the events on time. Should be a piece of cake.”
A piece of cake. In my experience, most things folks thought would be a piece of cake ended up being more like a cake fight. I clenched my jaw, trying to think of another solution. But I’d spent the past month running through every scenario I could come up with to save the orchard. Turning the barn into some sort of event venue and taking advantage of the town’s strategy to become the most romantic small town in Texas might be the best option. Maybe even the only option. But what did I know about romance?
“I’d be happy to pitch in, but I don’t think I’m the right man for the job.”
Lacey sighed. “Some help is better than none. Can you swing by my office this afternoon? We need to get started right away.”
“Sure thing. I thought you said you were pretty busy this week with that big wedding coming up. Maybe we should wait until next week?” That would give my dad a chance to further warm up to the idea.
“We don’t have time to spare. She’ll be here Friday.”
“Friday? As in the day after tomorrow?” My stomach flipped.
“Yes, Friday. We’ve got to put together some sort of kickoff event in less than forty-eight hours.”
