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“Everyone seems to be having a good time.”
Knox had set up a small maze with hay bales for the little ones who might get bored to run around. A few older kids were throwing a football around in a nearby field.
“What do you think? Is it worth doing again?” I asked Heath, nervous about his answer. I’d never helped a business like this, where I had my hand in everything.
Heath drew me to his side, and I rested a hand on his chest. “I think so. Just don’t ask Emmett.”
I chuckled into his chest, enjoying the moment of being here with him and his family and putting on an amazing event for a community I never quite felt part of. Maybe being here with the Monroes legitimized me, or maybe it was that people had grown up and forgotten what they said about me and my family.
Eighteen
Heath
The first movie night was a success. It seemed like people had fun, and it got them talking about our farm. Hopefully, they’d go home to tell their friends, and we’d have even more people next time. At least that’s what Marley said when we stayed up that night, high on adrenaline, talking about the future.
Today, we were holding a family meeting to discuss the opening of the farm for the season and presumably the success of our first movie night.
When I entered the craft room in the barn, all my brothers were present, including Talon, my mom, Ireland, and Cole. He’d helped in the past, and since he was working with me, it was assumed he’d be involved in the planning, too.
“Where’s Marley?” Ireland asked as soon as she lifted her gaze to me.
“She’s working. I think she said something about creating a few videos for social media.” I knew in general what she did. It seemed to consist of strategizing about marketing and creating video content.
“I think she should be here,” Ireland said, her gaze traveling around the room.
“Why? She’s not a member of the family,” Emmett said.
I sucked in a breath. “I get that she’s not an official member of the family, but she helped out with movie night.”
Ireland leaned closer to Emmett. “She’s the reason why it was a success.”
“I have to agree. I don’t think we would have had the same number of people present without Marley’s help. She even got her marketing person involved,” Mom said.
Emmett’s jaw clenched. “We don’t need her.”
Ireland rested her hand on Emmett’s, which was curled into a fist. “I think you forget I have another job. I’m still planning weddings, including the ones we’re hosting here on the farm. I can’t do everything that needs to be done to get the place open.”
Emmett shook his head. “We didn’t do that much before, and we were fine.”
Ireland drew in a breath, and I knew she was doing it to calm herself. “Here’s the thing. You’ve built something good based on word of mouth. But with the movie night, you’ve created momentum. You’re moving to the next level, and if you want to keep going in that direction, there are things we need to do.”
“In the past, we posted once on social media to start the season, called the papers, hoping they’d run a story, and that was about it,” Mom said.
“That’s not going to cut it this year. If you want to increase sales, we need to do more,” Ireland insisted.
“Who said that we need or want to move to the next level?” Emmett asked.
Talon sat back in his chair, content to stay out of the fray. He only wanted to create and help on the farm when it was absolutely necessary. He let the rest of us handle the day-to-day.
Sebastian stood with a stack of papers in his hands. “I printed out our cash-flow projections for the next six months. If we don’t do something, we won’t be able to pay our bills.” Sebastian moved around the room, handing each of us the papers he’d prepared.
I quickly scanned over the spreadsheet, my gaze resting on the number on the bottom, the one that indicated profit and expenses. We were projected to be short based on last year’s numbers and the increased costs this year. “What do you suggest we do?”
Sebastian sat in his seat. “We need to listen to what Ireland, or what anyone with marketing experience, has to say. We’re lucky that we have Marley to offer her suggestions for free. I saw what she charges online, and she’s not cheap.”
I hadn’t paid much attention to her prices, but it didn’t surprise me. When it came to business, she knew her worth.
Emmett grunted. “Just because she’s expensive doesn’t mean she’s right about this.”
