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“Rip, that’s a great idea! And the cabin is not that far away from this spot. We might even be able to even put a few other cabins on the property. A bridal suite, somewhere the bridal party could get ready.”
“That old barn around the bend could easily be restored as a reception hall. Hell, even the spring fling could be held there.”
“Yes!” Chloe cried.
I could see her mind swirling with ideas.
“May I see the inside of the chapel?” she asked.
“Yes! It’s not finished yet, but come on, I’ll show you.”
With her hand in mine, we walked over to the chapel.
“It’s an open-air chapel. The sides will all have a heavy-duty vinyl that can be either lifted to let the breeze blow through, or drawn down to keep heat or air in. I wasn’t sure what time of year you wanted to get married.”
“Rip! Those are the same doors we saw in Waco!”
“They are indeed. The same ones that sparked this idea.”
Chloe squealed next to me. “I told you they would look beautiful against white!”
I chuckled. “You were right.”
Opening the doors, we walked into the large room. At the very end was a high rock wall with three cathedral windows. A small raised altar area sat under the windows. That would be where Chloe and I exchanged our vows.
“Those windows. They are beautiful.”
“They are stunning. The vaulted, open ceiling adds to the large room and we will have ceiling fans as well as chandeliers.”
Chloe looked up. Then around the room. “How many pews will fit in here?”
“Hopefully enough for the whole Parker clan.”
She scoffed and hit me lightly on the stomach. “Fifteen long pews on each side. It will fit about three hundred people in here. The bell tower, will it hold a real bell?”
I smiled. “Do you want it to?”
“Yes!” she replied, excited. “As the married couples leave, they can ring the bell.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“Rip, I know the perfect antique table that could fit under those windows. It could serve as an altar. It’s long enough that it would fit under all three windows.”
I nodded. “Chloe, do you want to dig into this project when we have the farmhouse remodel going on as well?”
She faced me. “Do I want to? I have to! This is where we’re getting married! This is going to be the most beautiful place within a hundred miles for many couples after us to get married!”
Smiling, I asked, “So I take it you like it?”
“Like it? Rip Myers, I love it! Our baby, whenever we have one, we can have him or her baptized in here as well.”
My arms wrapped around her. “I love that idea, Chloe.”
Her head dropped to my chest. “Rip, this is the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Chloe. Anything.”
Rip
AFTER LOOKING THE chapel over from top to bottom, Chloe pulled out her phone and started making notes.
“Jonathon isn’t going to be upset, is he?” she asked as I poured water into a plastic cup. We were sitting under our tree with the chapel to our left, and the view of the river farther down the pasture directly in front of us.
“Why would he be upset?”
She shrugged. “Well, I’m coming in and starting to toss around ideas.”
“It’s my project…our project. John and I hired Jonathon as the contractor.”
“Granddaddy? Is he financing it all?”
I nodded. “When I told him my idea, he was the first to jump on board. Of course, I think the idea of his first grandchild getting married on the family ranch was good motivation.”
“I imagine. Trevor was on board with it? I thought they were letting more cattle on this side of the ranch.”
Rip pulled his brows in tight then he laughed. “Oh, the whole ‘building a new barn’ thing.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “That was a fib to throw me off!”
“Yes, ma’am, it was.”
I took a bite of the egg salad sandwich Alyssa had made for us. Chloe followed my lead and then stared at the chapel.
“The old barn, how many square feet would you say it was?”
“Don’t know. Maybe six thousand. It was one of the original barns on the ranch, Trevor said. It’s pretty big on the inside. It would really make a great reception hall.”
Chloe was deep in thought before she spoke. “I don’t think we could have that done in time for our reception.”
“When did you want to get married? You know there is no rush.”
“I’ve waited nearly my entire life for you to ask me to marry you, and you want me to wait? You have heard about us Parker women, right?”
“Darlin’, I’d marry you right now if you wanted to.”
She tilted her head. “What about your chapel?”
I shrugged. “We can have two weddings.”
Chloe’s eyes seemed to light up. “If I said I wanted to run to the justice of the peace right now and get married, you’d do it?”
