Looking For You All My Life Part 154

"So, how's our Leah doing?" asked Audrey with raised

brows as she rinsed a mixing bowl in the sink.

"Just fine, thank you very much!" retorted Maggie. Then

she turned to her mother. "Leah, it seems, has become some

sort of survivalist mountain woman. Believe me, that girl can

take care of herself." Then Maggie pulled out a piece of

paper and started making a list of supplies.

"What's that for?" asked Audrey, looking curiously over

Maggie's shoulder as she furiously wrote down things like

batteries, candles, kerosene lamps...

"Leah's not the only one who can be a mountain woman."

Audrey laughed. "Better put a manual can opener on that

list too, just in case you should ever lose your electricity. I

haven't seen one around anywhere."

The next morning, Maggie received a surprise visit from

Kate and Buckie at work. "What brings you two in here?"

she asked cheerfully after getting them both a cup of coffee

and settling them into her office.

Looking for YouAllMy Life241

"Actually, we've come to represent some of the businesses

in town that are a little concerned over all the controversy

surrounding the Pine Mountain Estates development," said

Buckie, suddenly sounding very businesslike.

Maggie sighed with dismay. "I see. What exactly do you

want?"

"We want you to lighten up, Maggie," said Kate. "I

mean, we all know how you and Greg have never really seen

eye to eye on-"

"Wait a minute, until recently none of the business people

saw eye to eye with Greg Snider. I mean, only last summer

he was Mr. Antidevelopment-"

"Oh, you know that was only a cover-up until he could

get this whole thing off the ground," said Buckie quickly.

"It's a tactic lots of businessmen use to hide their intentions

until the timing's right to let the news out."

"Pretty extreme tactics, if you ask me," muttered Maggie.

"Anyway," continued Kate with a pretty smile. "We

believe you want to see our town grow just as much as we

do. All we're asking is that you simply back down a little on

this attack-"

"Attack? All I'm doing is reporting the facts-"

"The facts as you perceive them," said Buckie, then he

pulled out a sheet of paper and laid it on her desk. "This is

a pet.i.tion, Maggie. It's signed by a number of local busi-

nesspeople-people who regularly purchase ad s.p.a.ce in the

Pine Cone, if you get my drift. Everyone on this list is ready

to boycott your paper if you continue this negative, anti-

development press coverage. Can't you see that you 're

hurting the whole town with all this one-sided pessimism?"

Maggie pressed her lips together and closed her eyes for

a moment, mentally counting to ten before she responded