now. Spencer had eagerly filled the floor-to-ceiling book-
shelves he'd so beautifully refinished with her many boxes of
books that had been stored out in the barn. Probably just in
the nick of time too as Jed had warned her that mice would
27.
28Melody Carlson
come in from the cold to nibble and nest in there. Naturally,
Spencer hadn't bothered to organize her books, but just
seeing them on the shelves brought comfort, and she could
rearrange them more carefully later-perhaps on some cold,
snowy day. She glanced over to the desk Jed had made for
her. It was so perfect for this room with its dark, gleaming
wood and clean Craftsman lines. And then Audrey had
donated the old mahogany office chair; it had once belonged
to Maggie's grandfather, a newspaper man himself. He had
used it at his own desk while working for the San Francisco
Herald. Maggie had added some rich earth-toned pillows
and other decorative touches, along with numerous candles,
which she now took time to light. The cozy room glowed
with warmth and personality. Before closing the wooden
shutters, she peered out the window to the darkness outside.
She wondered if and when this predicted dusting of snow
might actually occur. Like a young child looking forward to
Christmas, she anticipated this first snow with an almost
juvenile eagerness. She wondered if this was simply part of
being the newcomer, or did others feel this way too?
She opened her briefcase and set her notes and tape
recorder on her desk. Tempted to begin her work on Arnold
Westerly's story, she reminded herself that all the facts were
not yet in, and to begin the story too soon would definitely
slant her coverage-as if it weren't slanted already! But she
could go over her notes and prepare some appropriate ques-
tions for Rick, her next interviewee. Rick had sounded reluc-
tant to talk with her on the phone today, but when she
reminded him that the Pine Cone was online now, and an
article about their development would help get the word out
to prospective buyers across the state and country, he'd
instantly grown quite chatty. Now she wondered if that
wasn't just a bit deceptive on her part, though it was true
enough. Only yesterday Scott had reported that their Pine
Cone website was getting an inordinate amount of hits per
week-and from all over the country! Some people were
even phoning Abigail to get more information on tourist Looking for You Alt My Life29
attractions to be found in Pine Mountain. Perhaps it was
time for the business association to consider some alterna-
tive ways to deal with outside inquiries. Certainly the little
Pine Cone wouldn't be able to handle all these calls indefi-
nitely.
"Hello," said a deep voice, scattering Maggie's thoughts.
She looked up to see Jed standing in the doorway watching