Timecachers by Glenn R. Petrucci

ponytail stretching midway down his back.
    “Did Daisy-Lynn get you taken care of?” he asked Adam.
    “If you’re James Adair she did,” Adam replied.
    “That’s me. You must be Adam Hill. I recognize your voice from our phone conversations. I was hoping you’d stop in and say hello while you were visiting our part of the country.” More quietly he said, “Don’t let Daisy-Lynn put you off. She’s not much for socializing, but she’s dependable. Most folks down this way will talk your ear off. Were you able to get all the information you needed for your project?”
    Adam usually did not share any information about his projects outside of the testing team, as he was typically under a non-disclosure agreement. Since this project was to be conducted entirely in the field, it was impossible not to give a few folks a general idea of what they were doing. If he were too closed-mouthed, people tended to be suspicious and assumed you were up to no good. In this case, Adam just said that they were doing consumer product testing of a new type of GPS receiver. It was pretty close to the truth, and people could accept that he couldn’t tell them too much about a new product that the company wasn’t ready to announce yet.
    “Yes, between you and the ranger in Blue Ridge I was able to plan out our trip very well. You were most helpful, which is one of the reasons I wanted to drop in and say thanks,” Adam answered. “We’ll be stopping by the ranger station in the morning to pick up the backpacking permits.”
    “Glad ya’ll came in; we’re happy to help,” James said with a huge grin through his bushy beard. “I know you said you would be testing some new GPS receiver, but are you folks carrying a radio or anything along in case of an emergency? There’s not much cell phone coverage where you are going, but that’s the type of location you were looking for, you said.”
    “The device we are testing has some communication abilities, but I don’t like to depend on a prototype device in a critical situation. In addition to our cell phones, Tom, one of my engineers, has a Personal Locator Device that can send out an emergency beacon if we need to.”
    “That’s about the best way to go, since those things work just about anywhere. You just don’t want to push that button unless you really need to, though, with the cost of sending out a rescue helicopter these days.”
    “You’re right about that. Hopefully it’s something we’ll never use. It does give us some peace of mind in case of a life-threatening situation,” Adam replied.
    “Yep, best way to handle emergencies is to avoid ‘em in the first place!” laughed James.
    “You folks have a pretty good gig going,” James continued, “getting to test out new toys before they’re available to anyone else. Sounds like a really fun job!”
    “The job can be fun, but it’s not always so exciting,” said Adam, “I was just thinking how nice it would be to have a little place like this. Has to be better than working for someone else, and you get to check out some fun new sporting stuff too. Have you owned the store long?”
    “I’ve only owned this place for about five years, but I’ve been in the retail business all my life. I worked for my father in his store since I was a kid. He had a general store just outside town. When he passed, I sold the place and bought this one. I guess it’s in my blood. We Adairs’ have run businesses around here for generations. Apparently I had a great-grandfather that ran a trading post down near Calhoun back in the Indian days. A bit of a notorious character from what I’ve heard.”
    “I guess most of us have a few of those in our lineage. This seems like a fantastic location for an outfitter shop. I’d guess that the rural location is a lot less hectic than it is in Atlanta.”
    “We have a good business, but it’s not always so peaceful. The outfitter part of the business can be a lot of fun. I enjoy taking