On February 14, 1998, Therese Reeves entered into an agreement with Daniel F. Benson and Georgia A. Benson to sell them her property at 7800 N.W. 70th Street, Malcolm, Nebraska. The Bensons were given a right of first refusal in the property next to the purchased property when and if Mrs. Reeves received an offer for that adjoining land. Mrs. Reeves's real estate broker sent a letter to the Bensons telling them that once an offer came in, they would be given 24 hours to match or exceed the purchase price.

On June 27, 2005, Wesley J. Jones submitted an offer to Reeves to purchase the property. Jones offered Reeves $550,000 for the property, and his offer was conditioned upon his ability to obtain a $400,000 loan. On June 28, Reeves accepted Jones's offer. The next day, the Bensons' agent delivered a purchase agreement to Reeves stating that they wished to purchase the property for the same price. The Bensons offered to pay the purchase price entirely in cash, and inserted the following language in an addendum to their purchase agreement: "Buyer [the Bensons] reserves the right to assign this contract to a third party prior to closing."

Reeves's attorney informed the Bensons that their offer was not acceptable, given that the offer provided for the Bensons to be able to assign the con- tract to a third party prior to closing. The Bensons then notified Reeves that they would stand on the exercise of their right of first refusal made in response to Jones's initial offer and that they were ready, willing, and able to close on the purchase of the property. Reeves did not sell the property to Jones or the Bensons. The Bensons filed suit seeking to have the property conveyed to them. Reeves says the Bensons made a counteroffer. Who is correct and why?