Endless Love (Santa’s Secret Helpers #5) - Leeanna Morgan Page 0,29
sure it’s ready to go for Saturday.”
Daniella straightened the bow on one of the chairs. “I’ll be working in Sweet Treats until one o’clock but, if you need me for anything, just call. I’ll tell Pete to come and see you when he arrives.”
“Thank you. I don’t know how we would have managed yesterday without you.”
“That’s okay. I enjoyed working with you.” Daniella looked around the room. “I can’t wait to see what the wedding photos look like. You’ve really transformed The Fairy Forest into a beautiful wedding venue. Remember to call me if you need anything.”
After Daniella had left, Shelley picked up her clipboard and another box of balloons. If everything went according to plan, they should be able to leave by midday. Then they would have lunch with Sam and their mom at a local café and visit Blooming Lovely to collect the flower arrangements.
After that, they’d come back to The Fairy Forest to finish any last-minute decorating. As long as there were no disasters, they should be completely finished by three o’clock. That would give them two hours of free time before the wedding rehearsal.
The loud pop of a balloon pulled Shelley’s mind away from everything they still had to do. She looked at her sister and frowned. “Are you okay?”
“It depends on what you mean by okay. The compressor isn’t as easy to use as Steven showed me.”
When the next two balloons exploded into small pieces, Shelley took out her cell phone. With Steven and John both rushing to get through some last-minute jobs, it was time to call the next most experienced balloon blower-upper she knew.
Shelley’s dad answered the phone on the second ring. “Hi, Dad. Are you able to help Bailey and me blow up the balloons?” The chuckle on the end of the phone calmed some of her nerves.
“Of course, I can. I always knew your mother’s love of balloons would come in handy someday. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
When the fourth balloon shot off the end of the nozzle, Bailey sighed. “Is Dad able to help us?”
“He’ll be here soon. There are plenty of other things we can—”
“Excuse me. Are you Shelley Jones?”
Shelley turned and looked at a man wearing a sweatshirt with the name of a lighting contractor across the front. “You must be Pete. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. The fairy lights are in my truck. All I need to know is where you want them.”
Shelley pointed up at the ceiling. “Daniella said you’d be able to wrap the fairy lights around the wires that are suspended above us.”
Pete studied the wires, then scratched his head. “I’ll give it a go, but I can’t guarantee it will work. If it was only the lights, you’d be fine. But because the lights are part of a garland, they might be too heavy.”
Shelley’s heart sank. Even though the high ceilings already had fairy lights wrapped around the wooden beams, the space between the tables and the ceiling was enormous. She’d hoped that by adding a layer of lush green garlands sprinkled with more fairy lights, it would make the room feel more like an enchanted wedding and less like a barn.
Bailey stood beside them. “Could you try one strand to see if it works?”
Pete nodded. “We’ll do a few wires and see how we go. As soon as I get everything out of my truck, we can make a start.”
Shelley could have hugged him. If it didn’t work, they’d have to come up with another idea. But if it did, it would look amazing.
Later that night, John looked through his kitchen window into the inky black sky. Along with his own parents and Steven’s parents, Ted and Elena were in the living room, eating dinner and talking about the wedding rehearsal.
A friend who was a pastor in Great Falls had taken them through the service. As they’d practiced their wedding vows, Elena had burst into tears and Ted had done his best to comfort her.
Even though John had helped countless other couples before their weddings, it had never been so emotional, so overwhelming as preparing for one of the biggest days of his and Shelley’s lives.
He stacked some plates in the dishwasher and smiled as Bailey said something about Tiger and Sooty, the new kittens. The sound of the rest of the Jones family laughing helped lighten his mood.
He felt restless, unsettled, and so worried that he didn’t know if he’d sleep tonight. Since he’d asked Shelley to marry him,