She said the court would not allow an outsider to threaten an established community.
Then she reportedly added something that made Carl call me immediately.
“She said you’re going to regret refusing to cooperate.”
I was at the barn when he called.
“Did she explain what cooperation means?”
“Signing the easement acknowledgment she demanded.”
“Without negotiating?”
“Exactly.”
“And if I don’t?”
“She says the judge will give her what she wants anyway.”
I looked down at my boots.
“Carl, did she show the residents the plat?”
“No.”
“The 1994 letter?”
“No.”
“The county records?”
“No.”
“What did she show them?”
“Maintenance invoices. Photographs of the road. Copies of the complaint.”
“Anything proving an existing easement?”
“Nothing I saw.”
I sighed.
“How many people were there?”
“Maybe sixty.”
“Did anybody challenge her?”
“A few. She cut them off.”
“What did she say?”
“That public disagreement was helping the enemy.”
I closed my eyes.
“The enemy.”
“That’s what she called you.”
I was silent.
Carl continued.
“I think she’s scared.”
That surprised me.
“Margaret?”
“Yes.”
“She doesn’t sound scared.”
“She’s getting louder. That’s usually how I know.”
I thought about that.
Then I asked, “How are the Hendersons?”
“Worried about the special assessment rumors.”
“What special assessment?”
“Margaret says the lawsuit may require additional funding.”
I gripped the phone.
“She hasn’t even lost yet.”
“No. But the legal bills are adding up.”
I looked across my fields.
This was exactly what I had feared.
The HOA president was turning her personal battle into a financial burden on the residents she claimed to protect.
“Carl, will you do me a favor?”
“Name it.”
“Tell people the truth about one thing. I haven’t closed the road. I haven’t threatened to close it. And I don’t want to punish anyone who lives there.”
“I’ve been telling them.”
“Keep telling them.”
“I will.”
“And tell Dorothy and Gerald I’ll come by before the hearing.”
Carl hesitated.
“Are you nervous?”
I looked at the distant road.
“Yes.”
It was the first time I’d admitted it aloud.
Not because I thought Margaret was right.
But because court proceedings were unpredictable, legal expenses were real, and the stakes had grown far beyond a piece of pavement.
