Chapter 7 - Robert Had Warned About Developers
Robert Bennett had been dead six years.
Margaret still kept his farm notebooks.
That evening she opened one.
Most pages contained ordinary things.
Fence repairs.
Seed orders.
Equipment costs.
Then she found a note dated nine years earlier.
CHARLES W. ASKED AGAIN ABOUT EAST FIELD.
NO SALE.
WAITING ON ROAD PLAN?
Margaret froze.
Charles had wanted the land long before Tiffany met Daniel.
She called Helen.
The county’s highway discussions had existed quietly for years.
Nothing guaranteed rezoning.
Nothing guaranteed a road.
But developers who followed planning meetings would have understood the
possibility.
Robert had.
Charles had.
Margaret had not.
That did not make her foolish.
Robert handled land negotiations when he was alive.
After his death, Margaret focused on keeping the remaining property
functioning.
Then Helen found something else.
Stonebridge had approached Robert twice.
He refused both times.
Charles knew the Bennett family did not want to sell.
Years later, his daughter became engaged to Robert’s son.
Then Margaret’s wedding expenses expanded until selling the east parcel
seemed like the only easy solution.
May you like
Coincidence was still possible.
But it was becoming uncomfortable.
