"Well, Barry's coming. We'll see if we can get him headed
in that direction."
"And what about you?" asked Sierra pointing her finger
at Maggie. "I thought you'd hooked old Jed good and solid."
The kitchen grew quiet as Maggie tried to think of a witty
comeback to keep the conversation light, but instead she
drew an embarrassing blank. Thankfully, Rosa stepped in.
All in good tim~right, Maggie? One wedding just around
the corner is more than enough for everyone right now."
"That's for sure," agreed Audrey. "It'll be nothing short
of a miracle if we can get those two somewhat fashionably
hitched." She winked at Rosa. "But I think we can!"
n Sunday evening, Maggie called Leah to see how
J she was doing. But Leah sounded calm, confident,
and just slightly cool. She asked why Maggie was
even concerned in the first place.
"It's just that I wasn't sure how you felt about driving on
snow," said Maggie apologetically. "I didn't think you'd had
that much experience yet."
"Jed's truck has four-wheel-drive, and he showed me how
to use it. We only have a couple of inches up here right now.
I really don't think it should be any problem. And if it gets
really bad, we also have chains and Jed showed me how to
put them on if I should need them."
Maggie ~was impressed. "You know how to put on
chains?"
"Yes. Don't you?"
"No, not really. I guess I better learn."
"I would think so. Jed said that no one should attempt to
live up here in the mountains if they don't have proper
respect for how quickly the weather can change. And he also
said you should always be prepared for anything-like
power outages or the possibility of being snowed in for a few
239.
240Melody Carlson
days. Are you prepared for all those sorts of things,
Maggie?"
Maggie didn't want to answer that she wasn't. "Well,
thanks for all that information, Leah. You've certainly given
me a few things to think about."
Leah laughed. "Isn't it funny that you called me because
you were worried about my welfare. Looks like you better
get it together for your own family, Maggie."
It wasn't easy being chastised by someone half your age-
especially a girl you had only recently rescued from what, at
one time, seemed a somewhat desperate situation. But
Maggie kept these thoughts to herself. "Well, it sounds as if
you've got everything under control then...
"Yeah," said Leah with confidence. "But thanks for
checking anyway."
Maggie hung up and made an irritated growl.