Maggie's Mountain

Maggie--Margaret Elizabeth Mitchel--grew up in a wonderful loving home where she divided her time between home, Daddy's Hardware Store, and Grandpa's Livery. She started her own business of washing horses at the livery when she was ten. Crusty old cowboys gave her two bits to wash and brush their horse before giving them a clean stall and fresh food for the night. She was so cute they couldn't resist. That's where she grew her love for horses and riding through the hills outside of town. Unlike other girls her age, she didn't outgrow her love of the mountain. Instead, she became so familiar with it that she began to guide hunting parties of wealthy easterners. Daddy insisted that if she was going to ride in the wilderness that she learn how to handle firearms.
Being an accomplished naturalist didn't impress her mother who began to put pressure on her to find a husband, settle down, and raise a family instead of galivanting all over kingdom come. As different young eligible young men came to town, Mom was right there to show off her lovely daughter. The trouble was that they weren't from Clovis, Wyoming and probably wouldn't want to live there.
With her earnings starting from the age of ten and on through her teens, Maggie, with Grandpa's help, started buying acreage on the mountain to preserve it for the wildlife. The land wasn't worth much and no one wanted it except Maggie. Things began to change when Maggie didn't fall madly in love with Mom's offerings. It was a frustration for both of them. Things came to a head when Mom confronted her at a dinner party provided by Grandma and Grandpa. Embarassment was a part of her life but humiliation for no reason was more than she could take.