covered with loose hay that had fallen out of the small bales that had been stored in there. Alana couldn’t remember when she hadn’t helped her dad take care of the annual fall sale in that very place. On sale days, the bleachers and balconies always looked like a sea of cowboy hats. The cattle were brought in from the back door and the bidding wars began. Even the culls from the Bar C stock were coveted by ranchers—local, national, and some even international.
She took a deep breath, sucking in the smell of the hay and imagining the fast-talking auctioneer standing with his gavel up behind the old wooden lectern on the stage.
“Oh. My. Goodness.” Crystal, the wedding planner, came out from the shadows and clapped her hands. “Man, this is one big space. It’s going to be gorgeous.” She gushed. “We can have the guests sit in the bleachers and the balconies, reserving the best seats for the family of course. We can put filmy curtains of tulle up around the tables to set them off from the actual ceremony staging. I can’t wait to see how it’s all going to look.”
“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight,” Alana said, “but welcome to the sale barn. I’m glad you see possibilities.”
“Oh, honey.” Crystal almost swooned. “I’ll gladly take twenty percent off the total tab if you’ll let me use the pictures on my website, and if you’ll grant me exclusive rights to have other weddings here.”
“Yes, we will do both.” Matt walked up beside her. “I wanted to introduce you around, Crystal. This is Iris, Pax’s grandmother. And this is his brother, Maverick; his wife, Bridget; and their daughter, Laela.”
“Pleased to meet all of you.” Crystal’s eyes were darting from one place to the other like a little kid in a candy store who had no limits on what she could spend. “So this lovely baby will be your new niece, Alana?”
“That’s right.” Alana hadn’t thought of what all marrying Pax would bring into her life. A brother-in-law, a niece, a sister-in-law, and a grandmother. She loved Laela, but the idea of having Iris as her grandmother? Well, that might be the very thing that prevented her from divorcing Pax.
“We have to remember to tell the photographer we want a picture of the bride and groom with the baby. That’s always such a sweet shot,” Crystal said. “What do you think of putting white stadium chairs on the bleachers for the guests?”
“Might keep them from getting splinters in their butts,” Iris said. “Got any that are engraved with a C on the back? That would be really nice.”
Crystal made a note. “I’ll check and see about that. If not, maybe wedding bells—better yet, a lucky horseshoe.”
Pax pulled at Alana’s hand. “Let’s go move a tractor.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Where are y’all goin’?” Iris asked.
“Thought maybe we’d drive a tractor out of the barn so Crystal could see how big this place is, and the guys could get busy cleaning the stalls out,” Alana answered.
“The hired hands will do all that.” Matt pointed toward a table with a few chairs scattered around it. “Y’all sit down with Crystal and go over what she’s planned. She and I’ve been talkin’ every day, but this is your wedding, Alana Joy, and I want it to be perfect.”
“Well, dammit!” Alana sighed. “I haven’t seen Pax all week. We were going to make out a little bit.”
“You can do that after we get done here tonight,” Matt chuckled. “I’m not playing poker until the wedding is over, so you can even have the tack room for some privacy.” He winked at her.
“And no curfew?” she teased.
“How about daylight?” Matt answered. “Now go on over there and sit down. Time is getting short, and there’s lots to do. Me and Iris here have some things that we need to discuss, and y’all need to hear Crystal’s plans.”
Alana would far rather have heard what her father and Iris were talking about, but she and Pax followed Crystal over to the table. The woman quickly opened her case and began to show them pictures.
“This is going to be the most unusual wedding I’ve done yet. Let’s start with the corsages and boutonnières that the florist has made as samples.” She laid out three separate eight-by-ten color photographs.
Alana studied the first one and handed it to Pax. “What do you think?”
“Honey, I’m the groom. My job is to say my vows without stuttering and make you happy,” he answered. “All