Page 20 of The Wedding Ranch
“I’ve been to the state fair once. I was in fourth grade, I think.”
“Well, the county fair isn’t as big or fancy as the state fair, but we have a really good one. I’ll be working the aquaculture booth. You should come. It spans five days. Different things each day. The schedule is online.”
“That sounds like fun,” Lorri said. “I’ll check it out.”
“Fair food. Crafts. Local artists. The 4-H livestock shows, if you like that kind of stuff. Businesses from the county have booths too. Might be a good way to meet some of the tradespeople. I mean, you never know when you’re going to need a plumber or HVAC guy.”
“Hopefully not anytime soon on a new house, but you’re right.” Wouldn’t hurt to put her name out in the marketplace for potential clients too. “I’ll look for you there.”
Tinsley headed for the door. “Might not be too late to enter Mister in the dog show.”
“I don’t think he’s the show type.”
Mister sprawled out on the floor and dropped his head to the ground.
“It’s not a breed show. There are fun categories like ‘snoring’ and ‘couch potato.’ He’s Olympic-level at both of those.”
Lorri gave him a soft pat. “We’ll practice for next year.”
“Hope to see you at the fair. Everything gets started this Tuesday night.” Tinsley stepped outside.
Lorri followed her out onto the porch. “Hey, I meant to ask you about The Wedding Ranch. Do you know anything about it?”
“Yeah. I know the people who own it. It’s the coolest wedding venue on the whole East Coast. Every event is unique. They transform the old tobacco barns into the most magical settings with lights and flowing fabric in different colors. Honestly, I don’t know how they do it. You should look at the pictures online. They’re booked three years out already. You better hurry if you want to secure a date.”
“No. Not me. I just heard… well, it sounds very exclusive.”
“Very expensive, too,” Tinsley added. “Thank goodness they give a significant locals’ discount. I’m not sure even with the discount if I could ever afford to have my wedding there.”
“Country venue weddings are very in right now.” Lorri pictured the glossy wooden signs with shiny gold lettering that read THEWEDDINGRANCHin script with arrows to the venue, but she’d never driven down that way. “Aren’t we lucky to be out here so close to it,” Lorri said. “We live in the best location in town.”
“I wouldn’t say that so loud,” Tinsley half whispered. “That’s kind of a sore subject around here. Well, not right here in the neighborhood, but in town.”
“Really? The Wedding Ranch? Why would that be a sore subject?”
“Not The Wedding Ranch. The location of this neighborhood.”
“I’d heard it was an old cattle farm. The corporate farms are making it so hard for small farmers to thrive these days. I’ve seen that on television before. It’s really sad.”
“No, it wasn’t like that. Part of the family who owned the land sold off their acreage without letting the others know until it was a done deal. When the rest of the family found out it had been sold to a developer, there was a lot of drama. I heard they put the stipulation of lot size in the deed at the last minute to ease the tension.”
“I wonder what the developer’s original plans looked like.” She thought about how the spaciousness was such an important factor in her own decision to move into this neighborhood. “It wouldn’t be the same with even twice as many houses, but they could have really packed them in.”
“They could have.”
“It’s a gorgeous place to live,” Lorri said. “I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the pamphlet, and I love all of the green features. I’d think they would’ve been pleased.”
“Well, who ever said family fights made sense?”
Lorri thought of the long-running conflict within her own family. After Jeff’s death so many things spun out of control. “They can live on way longer than the original issue.”
Even now, years after his death, it was hard to talk about Jeff without someone getting bent out of shape.
“Yep,” Tinsley agreed. “Best to just stay out of those. Good night.”
“Thanks again for watching Mister today.” Lorri went back inside and sprawled out on the couch.
Mister followed along.
