Son of a Preacher Man - By Arianna Hart Page 0,58
on the offer.”
“Where do you stand, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I wish I knew. I’ve avoided thinking about it.”
“I guess if anyone could make me not think about seven-hundred and fifty thousand dollars, J.T. McBride could.”
“You better not let Bill hear you say that.”
“Say what?” Bill asked as they walked into the kitchen. He nodded to the open windows.
“That I lust after J.T.’s body,” Mary Ellen said.
“You and every other woman in this town. I thought it was something serious.”
“I’m going to wrestle this guy into some clothes. I’ll try to keep the boys out of your hair for a while. Where’s Billy?”
“Looking for his Wiffle ball and bat. I told him we could play after I talked with Nadya.”
“Try not to break anything this time.”
Bill rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything as Mary Ellen left the room. He had three piles of papers in front of him on the table. One pile had colorful pictures in a glossy collage and the other two looked like reports in plastic covers.
“This,” he said, handing her the colorful pamphlet, “is the material Nokas is giving to the town council and the environmental groups and anyone who will listen. It shows models of the homes they are going to build if they get permission.”
Nadya flipped through the brochure and saw high-end appliances, granite countertops, hardwood floors, all in beautifully decorated rooms with lushly appointed furnishings. The specs called for four- and five-bedroom homes with three full bathrooms, including an optional Jacuzzi tub. On the last page was a drawing of the prospective neighborhood and lots.
In the picture, Deer Creek Road was wider, leading to a two-lane road that went straight through her—or rather J.T.’s—cabin. The creek wasn’t even shown in the drawing, but it looked like one of the lots had a potential house either on it or close by.
She forced back her emotions and focused on it objectively. What were the implications of such huge homes on the area? And did she even care?
“What would that many houses do for Dale?”
“How so? Ecologically or economically?”
“Personally. How does it affect you and Mary Ellen?”
He sat back and sipped at his coffee. “In the short term, it would be great for the store. All those workers need to get something to eat every day. The developer said they’d hire local labor, so some of the guys around here who’ve been out of work since the mill closed will have jobs again. More money coming into the town means more money spent at her store.”
“And in the long term?”
“Nadya, you live in New York City. You know the type of people who can afford those homes. Do you think they’ll be satisfied with what Dale has to offer? There are no restaurants, entertainment or shopping unless you drive into Canton.”
“But there’s plenty of real estate. If there was a demand for those shops, someone could fill the need.”
“Maybe. But for how long? How long do you think it’ll be before those folks in their big fancy houses stop enjoying being an hour away from all the conveniences they’re used to? A year? Three? Then what?”
“I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I think they’ll either wipe the town center off the map and build a shopping mall or knock it down and build a four-lane highway. Either way, Mary Ellen’s store is gone.”
“What are those?” she asked, pointing to the other two piles of paper.
“This is a report by the environmental firm Nokas hired to evaluate the impact development would have on the ecosystem of the state forest.” He handed her a folder. “This is an independent evaluation the forestry service requested.”
“You don’t expect me to read these, do you? Can you give it to me in a nutshell?”
“It’s about what you would expect. Nokas’s report says the impact will be minimal. That there is enough viable forest for this area to be developed without eliminating any natural species. It mentions nothing about the impact of hundreds of people using a dwindling water table or creating that many septic tanks. Never mind the pollution from that many cars, and that’s after the diesel engines get through spouting their filth into the air.”
“And the independent report?”
“Basically says the water table can’t supply the minimum requirements for that many wells and the destruction of that many acres of forest will have a detrimental impact on both the wildlife and air quality.”
“How can they be so opposite?”
“Because it all depends on what factors you use to calculate