Page 86 of Trapped with the Covert Ops Soldier

The guys in suits had also cleared out, all except for one. That one had not only stuck around, he’d brought in a crew to survey the mountain, lake, and surrounding area. He wasn’t getting much cooperation from the town or private landowners.

Bringing in outsiders hadn’t made him popular with anyone.

The sheriff told her that he’d scared the teenage idiots who’d trespassed on her property by threatening to hire her soldier boyfriend to set up a life-skills bootcamp and enrol them in it. He also warned her that the suit would probably try and convince her to sell her property to him.

She’d already figured that out. She pulled the deed to the property out of the box it was stored in in her closet and read it over. The land and mineral rights had been purchased under the homesteader’s Act in the late 1800s, so she did, in fact, own any gold that might be sitting underneath her property. However, that man-made tunnel hadn’t stayed under her property, it had gone into the mountain. Who owned the mountain?

She put the deed in her purse and drove to the bank.

Several people waved or called out a hello, but no one followed her.

She put the deed into her safe-deposit box, then left the bank and headed to the grocery store for some fresh produce and eggs. For some reason, she was craving homemade apple cobbler.

She’d put the cobbler in the oven and had cleaned up the kitchen, when someone knocked on her door.

It was the suit.

She opened her door a crack. “Hello, what do you want?”

“Good afternoon, Ms. Westward. Can I have a word?”

“Dr.Westward,” she corrected as she studied his calm expression. Either he didn’t really care if she let him in or not or he was very good at hiding his intentions.

The sound of a car door closing had her leaning around Jones to see that a man had left the jeep across the street and was walking toward her house. Not Carter, someone else. Another of Smitty’s military buddies.

“For a few minutes,” she said with a cool edge to her voice. She stepped aside and let the man in, then waved at Smitty’s friend and closed the door.

The suit waited for her to lead the way and she brought him into the kitchen. “Have a seat.”

He glanced at the stove. “What are you making?”

“Apple cobbler. I have several apple trees out back.” She smiled and lowered her voice as if she were sharing a secret. “I make a lot of cobbler.”See, my property has other things of value than just a possible entrance to the mine.

“I see.” He stared at her, his expression blank for a moment, then said, “My name is Rafferty Ludlow and I represent one of the largest mining companies in the country. We would like to make you an offer for your property.”

“No thank you,” she said pleasantly. “Was there anything else you wished to discuss?”

He pasted a smile on his face. “I don’t think you understand. We’re offering over one million dollars for your five-acre plot.” He opened his briefcase and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Here’s a summary.” He held it out.

She just looked at it, then at him. “I’m not interested, Mr. Ludlow.”

The smile died on his face. “Have you already accepted another offer?”

“No.”

He waited, probably for her to add details or some other negotiating tactic.

She met the lawyer’s gaze. “You are aware of what happened?”

“Yes.”

“And your company still wants to buy my rights?”

“Yes.” He tried smiling again. It didn’t really work for him.

“Just how many lives is your company willing to waste trying to get into the mine?”

Something sly slid into his eyes. “Mining techniques have come a long way since the original mine collapsed. We plan to go slowly and carefully.”

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