Love in Tangled Branches

Chapter 35

            The next morning Mac went for a walk, while Adele and Emily spent sometime together, going over ideas for the wedding. As he was passing the barn, Dakota walked out. Mac grinned and said "Just the man I was looking for! How's Brie? Did she have the baby?" Dakota started laughing and said "Babies." Mac said "Babies?" Dakota nodded, before saying "Twin Girls, Julia and Emma. Brie is tired but they all should be home tomorrow or the next day." Mac smiled, saying, "That's great news. I do have a question though." Dakota nodded and waited for Mac to continue, Mac said "Do you think the ranch can accommodate a small wedding and the guests in two weeks?"

           Dakota smiled, before asking "You and Adele?" Mac nodded, grinning, he said "She said yes. The thing is we want to do it quickly so her mom will still have energy to celebrate with us. I fear she doesn't have as long as the doctors estimated, and Emily has mentioned the same. Adele and I would like to have it here, it wouldn't be many people." Dakota grinned, nodded and replied "I'm sure we can handle it. Let's go up to the house and look at the computer. Brie usually does most of the scheduling, but Dixie knows what is going on."

             The men made their way up to the house and into the office. Dakota booted up the computer, sent a message to Dixie to come down, and they sat there chatting while they waited. Dixie came through the door, saying, "You sent for me Daddy?" Dakota smiled, waved her over, saying, "Do you know if we have any events planned 2 weeks from now?" Dixie started typing into the computer, to verify what they had on the books, then shook her head and said "No Daddy, no events planned. That is actually a slow weekend here at the ranch. We only have one reservation, for a couple using one of the cabins on the east road. Let me check one more place though."

             She started typing again, then turned and said "We've received two more reservations for that weekend. They both are for 3 days, starting on Friday and leaving on Monday. Looks like they are both making the trip from the same area too. Their arrival estimate is the same too." Dakota shook his head.saying "I have no idea what you mean." Dixie looked up guiltily, quietly saying "Nothing Daddy. I was just looking at the IP address to see if it was the same. They each booked a single room. Still leaves us with plenty of open rooms and cabins."

           Mac laughed at the look of interest on the young girl's face, and had a feeling this girl would end up being an investigator of sort. She seemed to have a real interest in puzzles, even ones no one else would notice. Mac spoke up and said "Let me guess, one is named Linda and the other is Richard." Dixie looked up at him in awe, then nodded her agreement. He laughed, shook his head, then said "Linda is Adele's best friend, Richard is my best friend and Adele's brother. I figured they would go ahead and make the reservations, even though we told them to wait until I checked if we could have it here."

          Dakota's cell rang and he said "Sorry, it's Brie. I'll be right back, but Dixie will get you scheduled." As Dakota stepped out of the office, Dixie said "So what am I scheduling?" Mac smiled, saying, "Adele and I want to get married here on the ranch in two weeks." Dixie stood up from the desk, walked to the bookcase, and grabbed a binder off the shelf. She made her way back to the desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a packet. She opened the binder to a page, the turned it to where it was facing Mac. She said "We have two locations on the ranch where we hold weddings. The first is the party barn, it has white icicle lights strung throughout the structure, and it can comfortably accommodate 150 guests. On the next few pages, we have several examples of how we've decorated it in the past."

        She turned the next few pages, stopping on another picture, before continuing, "Our second location is a gazebo overlooking the stock pond and cattle fields. This location is wonderful, especially if you decide to get married at sunset. The one advantage to this location is we can accommodate up to 200 guests, but it also is lovely in a smaller, more intimate ceremony. Do you know how many guests you are expecting?" Mac was impressed with the professional attitude the young girl had, she handled herself like an adult would. He smiled at her and guessed "Maybe 15 to 20, I'm not sure, as we are far from home. I would like to talk to Adele though before we decide on which location."

         Dixie nodded her understanding, she smiled, before saying, " With a party that small we may also be able to have it in the garden. There is a beautiful gazebo in the rose garden, it has a hand built rustic waterfall set behind the gazebo. I would say with no more than 30 guests we could have it there. If you like I can set up a time to show you all three locations." Mac agreed this was the best option and set a time for him and Adele to meet Dixie, later that afternoon. She wrote a few things in the packet and shook his hand before saying she would see him that afternoon. Mac walked out, seeing Dakota walking down the hall towards him.

          Dakota said "Did Dixie get you taken care of?" Mac grinned, then laughed, before saying "You have one hell of a girl on your hands there. She was very professional, showing me the locations you usually use, but also offering another because of the size of the party. We're supposed to meet with her this afternoon, to go see the locations and go over details. Does she usually plan events?" Dakota grinned like the proud papa he was, and replied "She usually helps Brie with planning, but has never planned one herself. If you are comfortable with her doing it, I will sit back and watch. Brie will be back to help, or take over if needed tomorrow." Mac grinned and replied "I think we will stick with Dixie. I fully believe in giving kids a chance to shine and she seems more than capable."