"Roland didn't advertise every decent thing he did."
Ellis called them from the barn. The tractor was ready for a controlled start. Hollis climbed into the worn seat, rested both hands on the wheel, and felt the strange sensation of entering a place that still held her father's shape. The pedals were large. The cab was noisy even when quiet. His old thermos sat behind the seat, washed and empty. There was a faint smell of grease, dust, and the peppermint candies he kept in his coat.
Ellis stood near the door and pointed toward the instruments. He made her recite the shutdown procedure before turning the key. Then he stepped clear. Hollis took one slow breath and turned it. The engine cranked, hesitated, and caught. A deep diesel rumble filled the barn, so familiar that she almost expected Roland to lean over her shoulder and tell her not to overrev it.
She stared at the gauges. Oil pressure rose. The alternator indicator settled. There was no smoke beyond a brief ordinary puff from the exhaust. Ellis raised one hand, signaling patience. Hollis kept the engine steady while he listened from a safe position, then shut it off as instructed. The first test had passed. The tractor could run.
She climbed down with tears in her eyes. Wes stood by the door with the weather report folded in his fist. "Well," he said gently, "your dad left you a starting point."
"A starting point," she repeated.
There were still four hundred eighty acres in the field. The corn would not pick itself. The storm might arrive before help did. But the sound of the old engine had broken something more stubborn than rust: the conviction that she had to face the entire problem alone. For the first time that day, Hollis allowed herself to believe that the harvest might yet have a chance.
Then her phone rang. The caller identified himself as the operations manager at Schaefer Implement. He did not ask about the storm or whether her equipment was safe. He told her the dealer had made its decision, and payment would be required before the machine was released. Hollis explained that the charge was disputed and requested the contractual basis for disabling a machine financed through a separate lender. The manager replied that compliance questions could be handled during normal business hours on Monday.