She also noticed the strain. One pasture carried too few animals for its size. The eastern barn needed a new roof. A length of irrigation ditch was clogged with silt, and several hired hands spoke in low voices about feed bills. She had managed a business long enough to recognize the look of people counting expenses before they had enough money to pay them.
The rancher led the visitors into the house and apologized for the state of the sitting room. Its furnishings were clean but worn. A sturdy chair near the window looked comfortable but narrow, and he saw her hesitate before sitting. Without drawing attention, he moved a broad bench closer to the hearth and placed two cushions on it.
"This might suit better," he said.
"It will. Thank you."
"A room ought to be useful to the people in it."
Her mother might have said those words. She sat down, surprised by how much they pleased her. When the others went outside to examine the orchard, she remained in the sitting room with a cup of tea, studying a rough sketch of the ranch pinned above the mantel.
The rancher returned carrying an extra log for the fire. "You don't need to wait here. The path is easy enough if you'd like to see the garden."
"I will in a moment. I was looking at your map."
He glanced up. "Needs updating."
"Your western ditch crosses the upper pasture twice. Is that intended?"
He looked at her with genuine surprise. She pointed toward two pencil lines. "If both carry water from the same headgate, you're maintaining more channel than you need."
"They were built at different times. One runs only after the snowmelt."
She nodded. "Then perhaps the map should distinguish them. Your supplies depend on it."
He approached the mantel and considered the drawing. No one had asked her opinion about his ranch. She had not offered advice in order to impress him; she simply disliked poorly labeled diagrams. But she saw that he listened, and it changed the conversation between them. They began discussing water, work crews, and the difficulties of buying materials at a distance from town.
He admitted the ranch had been through two bad years. A late frost had damaged the hay, then a summer drought had forced him to purchase feed at ruinous prices. During the spring flood, he had borrowed money to rebuild a bridge used not only by his ranch but by several neighboring families. The lender promised favorable terms until the work was complete, then demanded additional security when repayment became difficult.