He got out of the driver’s seat, shutting the door with a loud, metallic slam.

His face was pale in the glare of the dashboard lights as he walked toward my front door.

I met him on the porch before he could knock, stepping out into the cold night air and pulling the door shut behind me.

“Trevor,” I said.

He stopped at the top of the wooden steps, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his dark coat.

“Meredith,” he said, his voice flat and controlled.

“We need to settle this tonight.”

“There is nothing to settle,” I said.

“I saw the filing.”

“That motion is just legal procedure,” he said, taking a step closer.

“It doesn’t have to go to court on Monday if we make a deal right now.”

He pulled his right hand out of his pocket, holding a folded piece of paper.

“I’m prepared to buy the access road from you directly,” he said.

“I have a cashier’s check right here for forty thousand dollars.”

“That’s more than that strip of dirt is worth, and we both know it.”