I shoo her away. “Whatever you want, Luke, you can say it from there.”
Luke waves at the lumber and tools lying around. “Looks like you’re doing some improvements.”
“Um, yes.” I slip my hands into my back pockets. “We’ve got plans for the farm.”
“So I’ve heard. People in town can’t stop talking about what’s going on out here.” Luke cranes his neck to peek inside. Pane steps up and blocks his view. “Looks like it’s going to be nice.”
“Is this an official visit, Luke? Or are you here to grab more furniture?”
He snickers. “Just wanted to have a glance myself to see if Ron and everyone else is telling the truth. Had to make sure.”
“Make sure of what?”
The hand holding the papers snaps out. “That you’re in violation of the foreclosure proceedings.”
My mouth dries. “What?”
He nods toward the papers. “In accordance with the contractual terms of foreclosure, there cannot be any major changes to the property during the foreclosure time period. If major changes are witnessed by a bank official—who would be me—then the date wherein which the property returns to the bank is changed.”
“Changed?” Pane opens the door and snatches the papers from his hand. “How is it changed?”
Luke slips his hands in his pockets. “The time period just got cut short by two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” I blurt out. “Luke, you’ve been driving by. You’ve seen that we’ve been working. Why’d you wait—”
Until now to do this,I was going to say. But from the way Pane and Luke are glaring at each other, I know why Luke’s doing this now.
He hates Pane, and Pane hates him.
“As an officer of the bank, it’s my duty to do what’s right,” he tells me.
“Bullshit,” Cristina coughs into her hand.
Luke slowly backs away from the screen door. “Thirty-five days. That’s all you’ve got until the place goes to auction.” He glares at Pane, a victorious sneer slapped across his face. “Good luck.”
