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He raised his head and gave her a sexy smile before grabbing the biggest box filled with centerpieces. He carried it over the rise to where the tables would soon be set up.
Lips tingling and a smile on her face, Haylee picked up a medium-sized box of small gifts that would be given to each guest.
The party rental truck pulled into the lot, and she waited for it to come to a stop. She shifted the box and propped it on her hip while waiting for John Burnham, the owner of KC Rentals, to climb out.
He carried a clipboard and smiled as he strolled to her. “Heya, Haylee.”
“Hope your day’s going well, John.” She handed the box to Tyson as he returned. He nodded and greeted John before carrying the box away.
She took the clipboard and scanned the list of items. “Five rounds, two oblongs, forty chairs, and an arbor.” She signed it and handed the clipboard back to John. “By the pond.”
For a moment, Haylee watched John and his son start to convey the items to the vast, flat area near the duck pond.
The grass was still green in this part of Arizona in late October, and the sun shone from a cloudless sky, the temperature hovering just under ninety degrees. The fall-winter rains wouldn’t start until late November. Haylee tipped her head back, relieved but not surprised to see not a wisp of white marring the cerulean blue.
When all the boxes were next to the gazebo, Tyson came to Haylee. “What next?”
She pushed hair behind her ears. “I need you to pick up the swans from Jerry Mack’s farm.”
Tyson raised an eyebrow. “Swans?”
“Helen insisted on them for her daughter’s bridal shower.” Haylee shrugged. “Thinks they’re romantic.”
His lips twitched. “You don’t?”
She smiled at his obvious amusement. “Just go get them.”
He saluted. “You’ve got it.” A quick kiss and he was on his way.
Haylee spent the next half hour adorning the arbor with roses, lace, and tulle, along with her creations, then putting tablecloths and centerpieces on all the rounds. She enjoyed creating and was known for the exceptional decorations she designed.
When Tyson returned, he carried a big plastic dog kennel over the rise, his brow furrowed. He set it down. “Jerry Mack’s 4-H kid had the kennel ready when I got there, and I loaded it up. But now I’m not so sure what we have here are swans.”
A round of loud honking emanated from the crate, and Haylee stared at it. “That doesn’t sound like a swan’s honk. Did he give me geese?”
She crouched in front of the gate and peered in. “Holy crap, they are geese.” She stood, braced her hands on her hips, and looked at Tyson. “I confirmed with him this morning, and he said he’d send over the swans. Damn.”
He pushed his fingers through his hair. “The boys told me he had to run to Phoenix about an hour ago.”
Haylee bit her lower lip and looked around her. Everything had been going smoothly until now. If Jerry was already an hour out, there would be no time for him to turn around and get the swans here on time.
She rolled her shoulders. “There’s nothing we can do about it now and the guests will be arriving soon. We’ll have to put the geese aside until Jerry Mack can have someone pick them up.”
“I’ll give him a call.” Tyson drew his phone out of his pocket. “In the meantime, I’ll put the kennel on the other side of the gazebo for now.”
“Thank you.” She saw Helen walking along the path over the rise.
She strode up to Helen, a slender sixtyish woman with silver hair and an elegant bearing. Haylee smiled at her. “Everything is almost ready.”
“It looks lovely.” Helen swept her gaze around the area and came to rest on the pond. She turned to Haylee. “Where are the swans?”
Haylee winced internally. “There was a mistake, and Mack’s sent geese instead of swans.”
Helen’s eyebrows shot up. “I promised Paige swans.”
“I’m so sorry, Helen.” Haylee tried her best to use a soothing tone that she often had to use with the woman. “Somehow, there was a mix-up, and all we have are geese.”
Helen’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “Then put them in the pond. They’ll have to do.”
