zodiac new ranking producer (EN)-20261005-09:05
PART2
She smiled more tightly.
“I only mean there may be opportunities for modernization.”
“Modernization.”
“The barn, for instance.”
“What about it?”
“It’s very rustic.”
“That’s because it’s a barn.”
She laughed as though I had made a joke.
“We have architectural guidelines that could help you improve the aesthetic.”
“I’m not in your HOA.”
Her smile weakened.
“You could join.”
“No.”
“We’d be happy to discuss a reduced initial assessment.”
“No.”
“Shared landscaping services.”
“No.”
“Community security.”
“No.”
She finally removed her hands from the fence.
“You don’t have to be hostile.”
“I’m repairing my gate.”
“I’m trying to be welcoming.”
“And I’m trying to save you paperwork.”
She frowned.
“How?”
“By telling you no before you print anything.”
That was our relationship from then on.
Karen pushed.
I ignored.
She complained about my barn lights during calving season.
I ignored it.
She complained that my tractor started too early during hay season.
I ignored that too.
She left a letter asking me to park my old Ford farther from the road because its visible rust “conflicted with Willowbrook’s premium residential character.”
I taped the letter inside the barn above my workbench.
Miguel, who helped me manage the livestock on weekends, laughed every time he saw it.
“What premium character?” he asked once.
“They all have the same garage door.”
“Exactly.”
Most of Karen’s behavior was irritating rather than dangerous.
Until the nature walk.
She decided Willowbrook children needed a “rural education experience.”
Nobody asked me.
One Saturday I saw a group of children and parents walking near the south pasture.
Karen led them.
Of course.
I drove over.
“Where are you going?”
She waved brightly.
“Nature walk.”
“On my property?”
