The Only One for Me(26)

The ladies of the house were having an 8:00 a.m. meeting to discuss the upcoming nuptials between Tayler and Rollin, and new product lines for the B&B. When Corra arrived everyone was eating breakfast.

“Morning, ladies,” Corra greeted her family.

Tayler looked bright and cheerful in a simple yellow sundress and sandals. The color complemented her complexion, and her cute short hairstyle made her look youthful. “Good morning, Corra.”

“Hey, Corra.” Kyla had on her usual khaki pants and a beige polo shirt, which gave her thin frame an even longer look. For weeks Kyla had tried to talk Rollin into some resemblance of a uniform for the staff, but he hadn’t agreed on anything yet.

“What’s up? Girl, grab yourself a plate.” Tracee, Kyla’s older sister and one of Corra’s favorite cousins, still had on her apron that protected her white slacks and top from any spills. A hairnet covered her natural hair, which was styled big this morning.

Corra grabbed a plate and joined them at the kitchen table.

“How’d it go getting the kids off this morning?” Kyla asked.

Corra smiled. “Better, believe it or not. I tell you, we’re getting this thing down to a science.” Every morning Corra entertained with a new story detailing their attempts to meet the school bus.

“But isn’t school out in a couple of weeks?” Kyla asked.

“Yes, school’s almost out, but kids are a work in progress. You’ll understand someday.”

“Well, Corra, we’re glad you made it early.” Tayler interjected. “Ladies, can we talk while we eat?”

“Sure.” Everyone agreed.

Tayler kicked off the meeting going down her checklist. Kyla confirmed there would be a variety of flowers for the wedding. And Tracee confirmed she and Rita had the food and cake covered.

“Okay, I’ve capped the guest list at fifty. Reverend Daniels is scheduled to perform the ceremony, and Rollin’s booking the music.”

“Oh, no! Don’t tell me you’re leaving anything up to him?” Corra said, afraid of the outcome.

Tayler laughed. “He’s assured me he can handle that.”

“Girl, he can’t even settle on a best man,” Tracee added. “You know I love my cousin, but he takes too long to make up his mind. You’d better find a band yourself.”

Kyla spoke up. “I can help with that. There’s this really cool top-forty band at school that also does weddings. They perform around town all the time, so maybe we can get together and go see them.”

Corra shook her head from side to side, and Tracee snickered.

“What? Why are you laughing?” Kyla asked Tracee.

“Because she knew you were going to suggest a country band,” Corra said.

Kyla shrugged. “But, I’m telling you they’re good. The Jackson Brothers. They performed at the dean’s annual fund-raiser last year.”

“That’s the dean of agriculture, right?” Corra asked.

Kyla crossed her arms. “Okay, just forget about it. I guess you’d rather have some rap or old school band.”

“Nooo.” Everyone cried out in unison.

Tayler cleared her throat. “Kyla, thank you for the suggestion. It wouldn’t hurt to catch one of their shows before we count them out. Let me know when and where they’re playing, and I’ll get Rollin to attend with me.”

Kyla’s chin rose. “Thank you, Tayler. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

Corra and Tracee gave each other skeptical looks.

“Ladies, for the remainder of the meeting let’s discuss our outstanding projects. The other day Tracee mentioned expanding our food line with cakes and pies. I love that idea, and I know we can make that happen.”

“And don’t forget my educational program,” Kyla added. “Once my proposal is accepted, the Boyle County school system will become another customer for the farm.”

“Great, Kyla,” Tayler responded.

“And I’ve been keeping notes of all our wedding research. I think we have the beginnings of a bed-and-breakfast wedding package. Small, intimate weddings that book the whole house up. Other B&Bs in town offer wedding packages. But, they don’t have an on-site baker or caterer like we have. We can become a destination wedding venue, of sorts.”

Tayler laughed. “I love it. New products, new packages, I swear, we’re going to outgrow ourselves if we’re not careful.”

To Corra, all of these ideas sounded like things her mother would have loved to do herself. While everyone kept throwing out suggestions, she imagined her mother getting the house ready for a wedding. Dressing the house up for the occasion and having it displayed in the local paper.