"Good. Your father teach you that?"
"He taught me to make maps other people could understand."
Ruth nodded. "That sounds like Roland."
The conversation could have ended there, but Ruth lingered. She looked toward the dead S780 sitting motionless farther down the field. "I heard what happened."
Hollis felt herself tighten. "News travels fast."
"Faster than corn trucks. The dealership says it's an account issue."
"It is an invoice I'm disputing. I asked them to explain the hold."
Ruth looked at the machine for a long moment. "I don't like a world where a farmer can own the iron and still have to ask a distant office whether she's allowed to use it. But I'm not a lawyer. Keep your records."
"I intend to."
"And for tonight, keep your eyes on the weather, not the dealer. We have enough trouble we can see."
Around three, wind picked up. Loose corn leaves skated across the yard like frightened animals. The western lightning became more frequent, though most strikes remained beyond the horizon. Hollis checked the weather radar with Wes. The main front had slowed slightly, giving them a few more hours than the earliest forecast suggested. There was no guarantee that local cells would not arrive ahead of it. Wes told the drivers to finish their current loads and park in designated safe places if the conditions deteriorated.
At three forty-eight, the grain elevator called with a receiving problem. Its drying capacity was becoming congested, and a truck had arrived with wetter corn than expected from another farm. The manager could take some of Hollis's grain but not an unlimited number of loads. She called a second buyer farther south and arranged temporary storage for additional deliveries, paying attention to moisture and storage requirements rather than treating every empty bin as an acceptable destination. The changes consumed time. They also saved her from a more expensive mistake later.
Near dawn, her phone buzzed with a message from Garnet. He had sent the dealer hold reference, the timestamp of the original request, and a copy of the only invoice available through his service portal. His message read: I have not been given the authorizing contract clause. I have asked in writing. I am sorry I did not do that before applying the hold. Hollis read it three times. She had expected excuses. Instead, for the first time, he was acknowledging a specific error.