“Uh-oh,” Ross said and dropped his arm. “The town dentist looks less than friendly right now. I didn’t know he was the jealous type.”

“He isn’t. Not usually.”

“Maybe I’d better take my lunch and go, before he decides to botch up my leading man’s caps.”

Hannah shot him a sharp look. “Norman would never do that! He’s a professional.”

“Just kidding,” Ross said, but he didn’t give her another hug before he walked away to take a chair at Dean’s table.

Next in the door was Connor. Hannah knew it was Connor without being introduced because he wore a black chauffeur’s uniform. The handsome silver-haired man stepped up to the counter and flashed Hannah a friendly smile.

“Hi, Connor,” Hannah said, before he could introduce himself. “I’m Hannah and here’s your lunch.”

“Nice to meet you, Hannah. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Connor seemed like a nice man, Hannah thought, as he took the box containing his lunch. He was just turning to leave the counter when Dean rushed up to intercept him.

“Connor!” the director stood directly in front of him, blocking his way. “Did you get a signed release from that Henderson woman so we can use the park?”

“No, Mr. Lawrence. I did my best to convince her, but she refused to sign.”

Dean’s eyes hardened into slits and Hannah could tell he didn’t like being denied. “Even after you offered her my incentive?”

“Yes, Mr. Lawrence.”

“Cranky old biddy!” Dean muttered. “All right then, I’ll just have to raise the stakes. Do it in increments of a hundred until she signs on the dotted line.”

Connor nodded and Hannah suspected he’d done this sort of work before. “Yes, Mr. Lawrence. I’ll need to know the ceiling.”

“Five grand. Six is a deal breaker. If we have to, we can always move to another location. Remind her that we don’t really need her cooperation. The mayor’s already given us the go ahead.”

“Is that true, sir?” Connor looked uncertain. “I was under the impression that she controlled the land and its use until her death.”

“She does, but I wouldn’t expect a woman who’s lived on a farm all her life to know the fine points of law. And if it comes down to the wire, who knows? Some of these local yokels who’ve got a part in that scene might just take things into their own hands. All we have to do is tell them they can’t be in the movie because the Henderson woman won’t give us permission to use the park.”

Hannah did all she could do not to gasp as Dean’s words sank in and she realized what he meant. She didn’t think he was seriously considering doing away with Winnie Henderson, but he was a callous person to even joke about it!