Son of a Preacher Man - By Arianna Hart Page 0,37
driveway. I didn’t want to run into any of Mary Ellen’s friends when I was sweaty from work. I saw Nokas on the letterhead and it caught my attention.”
“Is Nokas the developer? I hadn’t noticed.” She’d only paid attention to the amount of money being offered.
“Yup. They want to build a bunch of houses on what’s left of the private land bordering the state forest. They’re talking about three-to-five-thousand-square-foot houses and four to six houses per acre.”
“How on earth would there be a market for that up here?”
“Northern transplants, people wanting to get out of the city, bored rich people, who knows?”
“Can you explain to me why they’re willing to pay so much? I haven’t read the whole offer, but it seems a little excessive when you consider how much they would have to spend to clear and develop the land.”
“Here, sit down. It’s easier to show you.” Bill took a pen out of his pocket and spread a napkin on the table. “If you look at the state forest as this half of the napkin, the area we’re talking about is here.” He drew a semi-circle. “Back in my granddaddy’s day all this was private hunting camps. I’m talking seventy or more years ago, back before the forest service had any teeth. This area was a playground for rich men. They’d take their business associates up for a weekend of hunting and getting back to nature. That’s how Dale became a town, really. They needed a place to buy supplies, get drunk, go out to dinner and whatnot.”
“And then what happened?”
“As time went on, the camps got passed down through the family. If the owner didn’t have anyone to leave it to or if the children didn’t want it, the camp got deeded to the state forest. Little by little, most of the private camps got absorbed into state land.”
He split the half circle up into wedges. “This middle slice, this is your piece. It’s the only one that has any street frontage—Deer Creek Road. The land on either side of you is state land. Without street frontage, the developer has to get an easement from the state, which they aren’t going to get no matter how many lawsuits they file.”
“Aren’t there other private lots still in existence? I remember having to be really careful not to go wandering during deer season.”
“There are still a handful, yes.”
“So how do those people get to their camps?”
“They can use the state forest access road for limited use.”
“And I have the only street access?”
“The only frontage for miles.”
“I see.” Her head spun. Three quarters of a million dollars would not only pay off all her debt, it would set her up quite nicely for a while. She’d still have to work for a living, but there’d be a cushion she’d never had.
“I don’t want to pressure you one way or another. But if you’re interested, I can give you the facts about what the development would do not only to the forest but Dale too. You should have all the information before you make any decisions.”
“Thanks. That would be helpful.” Or make this more confusing.
“Daddy! What are you doing home?” Billy ran up and hugged his father.
“A little bird told me there was a trip to the playground planned, and I wanted to crash the party. I heard there might even be ice cream.” He picked Billy up and put him on his lap.
“Miss Nadya is coming too. Mama said it’ll help having someone to chase after Hunter who isn’t carrying another baby.”
Mary Ellen came in with Hunter on her hip. “Looks like we’re going to have ourselves a regular party at the playground. Billy, you go potty before we leave. I’ll pack us some water and snacks.”
“Can I help with anything?” Nadya asked.
“You can keep an eye on this rascal and make sure he doesn’t strip down to his diaper before I can get a bag packed. I swear he’s going to be a Chippendale dancer when he grows up the way he hates to wear clothes.”
“But his tummy is so cute. No wonder he wants to show it off.” Hunter had his T-shirt pulled up to his armpits but stopped when Nadya crouched down near him. “Every time I see that little belly button, I just want to eat it up!” She scooped him up and blew noisy raspberries on his stomach.
Hunter laughed and ran out of the kitchen as soon as she put him down. His peals of laughter