Half an hour later everyone was on the same page with me on what needed to change.
“I think we can handle the initial cameras, and maybe invest in those fancier ones if there’s need later down the line,” Jenn said with the gravitas of She Who Made Decisions.
“That’s reasonable,” I agreed, then pointed at the end of my map where, eventually, the ranch property changed into Bodhi’s. “What you might want to consider down the line as well is building a security fence here. Just to separate Yellow Ribbon from the ranch proper. Put in a gate there as well for the odd time when people and animals need to move through.”
Bodhi nodded solemnly and didn’t object. He cleared his throat. “I’ve assessed the prime spots for cameras on Yellow Ribbon’s side. I assume we can bulk order mine with the ranch’s?”
“Absolutely. I have a guy I use, and I know you’ll get really good stuff and at a discount to boot.”
“What about the gates for the driveway and the event barn?” Fern asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Hawk said, scratching his jaw. He reached for a muffin before saying, “We have too many people to give them clickers for their vehicles. We have so damn many ranch vehicles and people use their own. How many staff do you think we have total?” He looked around the table.
“I have two to five, depending on the event,” Fern replied.
Crew squinted in thought. “About ten people on top of that on a regular basis for the rest of the place, right?”
“Ten to fifteen, depending on the season.” Mike got up to grab the coffee to top us off. “You’re right, Hawk. Keeping track of the clickers and their batteries and whatnot wouldn’t work.”
“Then we’ll go with a code box. Give everyone their individual code or group people in certain ways, whichever works,” I said easily. “If Jenn is here most of the time, then we put in a system that allows people with no code to ring the house directly.”
Fern grinned. “Like a fancy house with a buzzer box.”
Bodhi cleared his throat. “Doesn’t need to be Mom’s responsibility. We can just have a number to call, and we each take turns with that phone.”
“To be fair, Iamhere most of the time.” Jenn smiled. “And Dad is too.”
Mike nodded. “It can be our thing. There aren’t that many people who wouldn’t have a code, after all.”
“Hell, even people who do regular deliveries, like Trip, can have his own code. Not that he’s here often, but he just dropped by to bring Jaina the extra Banamine just in case.” Crew poured some creamer into his second mug of coffee.
“Matigan should have one, too. It would speed things up in an emergency,” Hawk mused.
I smiled. “See, this is all the stuff I wouldn’t think of. Maybe I should have a meeting with everyone’s employees, too?”
Crew hummed. “That sounds reasonable. Early one morning this week?”
“That works.” I wrote it down in my notepad. “All right, here’s the figures I have now for everything. I know it seems like a lot with the installation costs added in, but I’ve made sure it’s all things you don’t need to keep replacing. You pay more now—”
“To pay less running costs,” Mike concluded approvingly.
They all looked at the sheet of my calculations for various aspects of the whole job.
“You haven’t put in any payment for your services.” Jenn frowned.
“No, I haven’t.” I grinned in what I hoped was a rakish way. “I’m on loan from a man who pays me very well, and who wants his family safe. So you can take it up to Wren if you want.”
There were chuckles around the table, and I knew at least Mike and Jenn would try to offer Wren money for my workload in this. He’d never accept anything, but at least it wasn’t my problem. Besides, I would’ve done all this for free anyway. It was as if I was on a vacation, doing something completely different that barely felt like working, while also having my favorite doctor to play with on my free time.
Crew shrugged. “I think everything looks reasonable and we can trust that it’s quality without anything extra. You know, hidden costs some vendors might try to sneak in without Ville’s expertise.”
I nodded. “That’s a big part of why I wanted to do this. I have all the right connections.” I flipped onto another page in my notebook. “Now, your son’s idea is also coming into fruition,” I told him.
For a second, Crew looked confused, then incredibly pleased. Everyone else smiled at him.
“The dogs?” Hawk asked, after glancing at his brother fondly.
“Yes. So here’s the deal.” I explained the situation with Nessa’s suggestion, and everyone was on board with it in no time. “They obviously won’t make it here before the wedding, but they’ll be a great addition to the ranch. I just wonder why you don’t already have dogs?” I had to ask.
