Claire considered the question carefully.
“Not merely because a private company wants the land. Any claimed legal authority would have to be established under applicable law and the specific project circumstances.”
Sarah felt some relief.
“But?”
Claire looked toward her.
“But you should not ignore notices, easement claims, or official proceedings. We'll need to distinguish genuine legal filings from private pressure.”
Sarah nodded.
Then she handed over Grandpa's notebook.
Claire examined the drawings.
For several minutes, she read silently.
Then she turned a page.
A small pencil sketch showed the old seep, the collection channel, and a narrow strip along the northern boundary.
Beside it, Daniel had written:
Hank knows where the line turns. Ask him why.
Claire looked up.
“Who's Hank?”
Sarah sighed.
“Our neighbor.”
“The one trying to get you to sell?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, the attorney studied the note.
Then she asked, “Would he know anything about an old drainage easement or buried water system?”
Sarah hesitated.
“I think he helped Daniel work on it years ago.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“Then we should find out what he knows.”
Eli looked toward the notebook.
For a moment, his chest tightened.
He'd spent weeks listening to Hank laugh at the stones.
Now Grandpa's own handwriting seemed to point toward the man as someone who held an important piece of the story.
And for the first time, Eli wondered whether his grandfather had left the note because he expected trouble.
Hank refused to discuss the seep when Sarah first approached him.
He stood on his porch wearing dirty overalls and holding a cup of coffee.
His fields stretched behind the house, brown and brittle beneath the late-summer sky.
Sarah explained that the family was reviewing old drainage records.
Hank's expression hardened.
“Daniel liked digging holes.”
Eli stood beside her.
He looked toward the old farmer.
“Grandpa said you helped him.”
Hank stared.
For a moment, he seemed surprised.
Then he looked away.
“That was a long time ago.”
Eli opened the notebook.
He showed him the drawing.
Hank glanced at it.