Looking For You All My Life Part 67

be complaining that they can't even get a table at the Pine

Mountain Hotel."

"Wouldn't that be something!"

After Maggie hung up, she called Leah and told her all

about Barbara Harris' upcoming visit as well as the dinner

reservations. "I thought Jed might like to see her again too,

and as Michael doesn't drive...

"Great," said Leah. "I'll tell them both this afternoon.

But you said the reservation is for four. Who is the fourth?"

Maggie felt her face grow warm. Actually, she'd wanted

to join them herself. After all, she was the one who'd con-

nected with Barbara in the first place, and she'd sort of

a.s.sumed that Barbara's message about dinner reservations

was meant to include her as well. But somehow she just

couldn't say this to Leah. "Well, maybe you'd like to join

them too, Leah?"

"Yeah. It sounds like it would be interesting, Maggie.

Thanks for letting me know. I better go since there's a real,

live customer coming in here right now-that is, unless she's

just lost and looking for directions. That happened yes-

terday. Needless to say, it's been pretty slow..."

Maggie hung up the phone and swiveled her chair around

to look out the window. She tried to ignore the disappoint-

ment growing inside of her. She told herself she would not

stoop so low as to be jealous of Leah. "Just grow up, Mar-

garet LeAnn," she whispered sharply to herself. Just then a

big black pickup pulled up and parked right in front of the

newspaper office. A shiny magnetic sign proclaimed "TS

Development" in bold white letters. As if anyone in town

could mistake those two imposing four-wheel-drive vehicles.

She mentally braced herself as she watched Greg Snider walk

briskly up the walk and into their building; then, just as she

expected to hear Abigail's voice announcing his presence on Looking for You All My Life107

the intercom, her door burst wide open and Greg stormed

into her office waving this week's newspaper right in her

face.

"What the heck do you think you're trying to do here?"

he demanded hotly.

She leaned back in her chair and studied him before

answering. "Basically, I'm trying to run a newspaper, Mr.

Snider. And in the future I'd prefer that you check at the

front desk before blasting into my office like this." She spied

Abigail's st.u.r.dy brown shoes from behind the still partially

open door. "It's okay, Abigail," she called out with rea.s.sur-

ance. "I'll let you know whether I need you to call security

or not." Then she forced a laugh at her own joke and looked

directly at Greg.

His eyes narrowed, but he glanced over his shoulder as if

to see whether or not she was serious.

"Would you care to sit down, Mr. Snider? Or have you