poor girl might actually be feeling the exact same way toward
her much of the time. And although it made little sense,
Maggie suspected this little threesome wasn"t going to be an
easy dance to do. At least Spencer seemed to be happily
adjusted to sharing his mother with Jed. Then again, boys
were different about these things, plus he had a grandmother
as well. Perhaps it was an unfair comparison altogether.
Maggie told her family about Scott and Chloe"s good
news as they sat together at the dinner table. "And I even
offered your help, Mom. Ihopeyou don"t mind. But I"m sure
they"ll need all the help they can get trying to do something
like this at such short notice.
Audrey beamed. "I don"t mind at all. You know how I
love weddings. But New Year"s Eve, that"s awfully soon."
Maggie explained the couple"s reasoning and Chloe"s desire
for a small, simple wedding. "Actually, the more I consider the
whole thing, I think it sounds rather sweet and romantic."
Audrey gave Maggie a long, slightly suspicious look, and
then changed the subject from weddings. "I have a few leads
for a building that might house the town"s library," she said
as she ladled out the turkey noodles that were, thankfully,
the final remnant of their Thanksgiving dinner.
"Great, Mom." Maggie pa.s.sed the rolls to Spencer.
"What are they?"
"Well, I wrote down the addresses of all the vacant build-
ings in town that seemed like they might work for a library,
then I went and looked them up at County Records in Byron.
I thought if I could get someone to donate a building, it 84Melody Carlson
would give us more funding td use to stock the shelves-not
to mention it"s a tax write-off for the donor."
"Good thinking, Grandma," said Spencer between bites.
"So, did you find anyone willing to give you a building yet?"
I"Not yet. But I thought it was interesting that one
building belongs to a Steven Harris, Sr. That must be
Michael"s friend"s father, don"t you think?"
"I doubt there was more than one Steven Harris family
in this tiny town, said Spencer as he b.u.t.tered another roll.
"But I thought Clyde said the family left town over ten
years ago," said Maggie.
"That"s probably right." Audrey poured some salad
dressing. "There are a number of properties that have sat
vacant for years because the real estate value around here
has been so deflated."
"But isn"t that changing now?" asked Spencer.
Maggie nodded. "Without a doubt. And it should con-
tinue to go up."
"Especially now that we"re getting snow!" said Spencer
with enthusiasm.
"It certainly won"t hurt anything," agreed Maggie. "We
must"ve gotten six inches in town already. I wonder how