Chapter 49

Friday

THE GROUP ASSEMBLED around the table in the corner of the café,and Claire opened the meeting by saying,“I think that went well,didn’t it?”

“More than well,I should think,”Josh said,“and the watermelon harvest is a long way from being finished.”

“Not to mention peaches and apples,”Don said.

“Alright then,”Claire said,“let’s get down to business.”

“Yes,Ma’am,”Josh said.“What have you to report?”

“As most of you know,”she said,“we’ve successfully merged with the next valley over.What you might not know is that we’re also ready to formally merge with the group from Jasper,which is two valleys from here.”

“How did we manage that?”Josh said.“There’s a lot of uncharted territory betweenJasper and Apple Valley.”

“The road running through East Fork has been cleared and is now being patrolled,”she said.“That makes trading back and forth much easier.In fact,a small delegation from that area has suggested that we try to bring everyone in the county together underone leadership.”