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at his wife and winked.
    “Oh, you,” she said, smiling. Then she looked at Krista.
“See what I have to put up with around here? Nothing but a bunch of cavemen.
It’ll be nice to add some estrogen in the atmosphere.”
    “ Lumberjacks , kitten.
No cavemen around here.”
    Their banter seemed to calm the charged atmosphere, and
Krista took a deep, settling breath.
    The main door to the dining room suddenly opened and an
older gentleman walked in. “I am terribly sorry I’m late.” He walked right up
to the head of the table and started to sit but caught Krista’s eye and stood
back up. “Sorry indeed. Where are my manners?” He walked over to her with his
hand extended. “I’m Thomas Woods. You must be the lovely Krista Owens. Welcome
to our home.”
    She stood, taking his hand. “Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.”
    “Likewise.” He withdrew his hand and headed back to his
seat at the head of the table, but he seemed agitated.
    “How’d it go, Dad?” Josh asked as Jeffery walked in
pushing a cart of food and started serving dinner.
    “Not as well as I’d hoped. That damn”—he glanced over at
Krista, looking contrite—“forgive me.” He then looked back at Josh. “That Pete
Caldwell is a piece of work.”
    “Thomas, you weren’t over there trying to negotiate the
purchase, were you?” Mikaela asked.
    “Sorry, dear, but Mr. Caldwell called me over under the
pretense of showing boundary lines on the southern side of his property.” Then
he looked at each of his sons, saving Josh for last, and Krista figured he
relied on that son more than the others when it came to business. “But
actually, he told me his daughter is contesting the sale, so he’s talking to
his attorney about backing out of the deal.”
    “What?” Mikaela screeched. “Oh, hell no! You tell Mr.
Caldwell that you two have already entered into a contract, and that—never
mind.” She waved her hand dismissively. “ I’ll talk to his attorney. Don’t you worry one bit, Thomas. I’ll get this cleared
up.”
    Thomas looked at Mikaela, and Krista could see that when
he exhaled, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Thank you, dear. I
wasn’t sure what to tell him when he blindsided me with that.”
    Without even thinking about it, Krista opened her mouth.
“If
Caldwell
’s
daughter contests the sale and she has a legitimate claim to the property, it
will prolong the closing.” If the Woods
are even successful with the purchase now , but she didn’t say that.
    Mikaela looked at her, and she could feel her cheeks
heating. Maybe she should’ve just kept her mouth closed. She was here to help
Mikaela with her other workload. Not this land purchase.
    “I know. But she’d have to prove she has a stake in the
property for her claim to be valid.”
    “There could be any number of valid claims she could
make. If he’s incorporated and she’s a major stockholder or board member, if
his holdings are in a trust and she’s the beneficiary, heck, even if she stands
up and says her father is not in his right mind and can produce a power of
attorney, anything can prolong or invalidate the sale.”
    “His holdings are not in a trust. He is incorporated, but
she wasn’t on the board of directors, but surely she’s one of his heirs.”
    “Not that I don’t like watching two gorgeous women flex
their brainpower, but what does it all boil down to?” Rob asked, then reached over
and caressed Krista’s knee. She tried not to jerk away at the sudden contact.
Again.
    “It means,” Mikaela started, “this purchase could take
much longer than I was planning on.”
    Krista could read the real answer in Mikaela’s eyes. She
was going to be here longer than a month. Stuck. With one man who couldn’t keep
his hands off her, another who looked ready to pummel said touchy-feely
brother, and another who acted like her very existence here was a major
hindrance.
    Great.
    So, why did Mikaela look almost relieved?

Chapter