reluctance to speak of it was understandable. But surely she
hadn"t told her all this just to spite him. No, it had seemed
more of a confession of sorts, an attempt to clean the slate
before she moved on. Maggie prayed for June and Annie as
they traveled across the desert to a new life. She remembered
distinctly how that had felt-the excitement, the apprehen-
sion. Hopefully it would go as well for them as it had for her.
Cohn"s tour on Sunday held no surprises, beginning with
an elegant and leisurely breakfast served Out on a terrace
right next to the golf course. Then they played nine holes of
golf, and somehow Maggie managed not to embarra.s.s her-
self too badly. Phil had taught her how to play golf in their
early married days, but she had been young and impatient
with the slow-moving game back then, promising him that
one day, when they both grew older, she would play with
him on a regular basis. This thought made her incredibly sad
now.
Cohn was polite and considerate, showing off every
amenity of the clubhouse facility with an air of grace mm-
gled with pride. It was clear he thought Desert Winds to be
his best effort so far, although he made no apologies for any 162Melody Carison
of his other developments, implying that their standards
were always of the very highest. He took more time than
June had in showing her the beautiful model home, careful
to point out and demonstrate each and every luxurious
detail. When Maggie asked him how this house compared
with the others, he diplomatically answered that no two
homes were the same, and that this fact was what made his
developments so special. She had to look the other way to
hide her disgust as she remembered how there"d been only
three different sets of blueprints used in the houses in the
Phase Three section, each one only slightly different. She
questioned him about things such as water, electricity, and
waste disposal. But each of his flawless answers flowed
smoothly, implying that other than the occasional problem,
all went very well at Desert Winds. He even stopped to show
her his own home, which not surprisingly, was equal in every
way to the model home.
Shortly after lunch, Maggie began to feel unwell. She
wasn"t sure if it was a result of the stress from playing a
double agent or from the restaurant"s overly rich food, but
her head was throbbing and she honestly felt ill. She thanked
Cohn for everything and quickly excused herself to her
room, collapsing Onto the bed to rest. Mostly, she was
relieved to get away from him. His smooth charm had begun
to work on her again, and she had almost believed him when
he"d rambled on and on about his vision for his future devel-
opments. He promised her that Pine Mountain Estates
would be far superior to Desert Winds. He even invited her
to become involved on the ground floor, offering her a spe-