Page 70 of Fire in My Heart

“It looks like a barn with lights on the rafters,” Teddy said.

“You know we have overhead lights,” Wes added.

“What’s the fun in that?” I asked. “Besides, it’s so much better with these. You’ll see.”

While the guys set up the vendor tables and moved the snack counter inside the barn, I hung a few items I’d bought for decor, wreaths and signs, that would add to the rustic holiday feel.

There was a fireplace on one end with a stone facade. It looked like it hadn’t been used in ages, and I wasn’t even sure why a barn would have it.

Teddy appeared next to me.

“What are the odds that this thing works and it’s safe.”

“We have someone come out and inspect it every year along with the one inside the main house.”

“So it works?” I asked, getting more excited.

“We used it more when we were kids. We’d play in here on a rainy or snowy day. The fire would keep the place warm. It’s why we didn’t add heat when we ran electricity out here.

I clasped my hands together. “This is so exciting. Can we start a fire to test it now?”

Wes nodded. “Sure.”

Once the fire was crackling in the fireplace, we finished setting up the chairs, and items that we kept in the snack counter. The fire and the twinkling lights gave the space the ambiance I was looking for.

“This is going to be amazing,” I said as we took in the space. It needed a few more decor items, but we could use the vendors wares to advertise when customers milled about eating and drinking.

“We have speakers too, so you could play holiday music inside,” Jameson said.

“You’re speaking my language right now. Can we turn that on?” I asked him.

He nodded, then fiddled with something on his phone.

“I’m going to grab something from the main house. We should celebrate,” Wes said before disappearing through the sliding barn door with a gust of wind.

Jameson got the music playing on the speakers before Wes returned with a bottle of wine and glasses. “I couldn’t find champagne, so this will have to do.”

“What are we toasting to?” I asked as Wes poured wine into the glasses then handed them out.

Then he lifted his glass. “To the Calloway farm. May we continue to grow and expand.”

I lifted mine. “And spread holiday joy to everyone who visits.”

Teddy tipped his head to the side as if he didn’t like my addition, but a smile spread over Jameson’s face. “Yes.”

“To the Calloways,” Teddy said, clinking glasses.

We all murmured, “To the Calloways,” then drank.

Wes grimaced. “Sorry, this is obviously cheap stuff.”

“It’s so dry,” I said smacking my lips. “Now, I need some water.”

Teddy grabbed bottled waters from a minifridge we’d placed behind the snack counter. That was the advantage of moving inside; we could offer more products.

Jameson moved the vendor chairs in a circle around the stone hearth, and we all sat, cradling our glasses.

Wes sat on a chair; his legs spread wide. “I tried to have a nice moment.”

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