And how hard it must be for a young woman to manage a farm alone.
She thanked him for the food.
Then he asked whether they could discuss the future of the property.
She hesitated.
The funeral had been only four days earlier.
But he smiled reassuringly.
"No pressure. Just neighborly advice."
They sat at the kitchen table.
He opened a folder.
Inside was a proposed purchase agreement.
The amount was seventy-five thousand dollars.
The young woman stared.
At first, she thought she'd misread it.
The farm contained ninety-seven acres, a farmhouse, irrigation infrastructure, and valuable water-access rights.
It also had debts.
But the offer was far below what she believed the property could be worth.
She looked toward him.
"Seventy-five thousand?"
He nodded.
"Cash. No waiting."
She studied the paper.
Then asked what happened to the existing agricultural loan.
He explained that the payment would be applied toward her obligations.
She calculated quickly.
After settling the debt, she would have almost nothing left.
She looked up.
"That's not a purchase offer. That's asking me to surrender the farm."
The older man smiled.
"Sweetheart, I'm offering you a way out."
She closed the folder.
"I don't want out."
For a moment, his expression changed.
Then he leaned backward.
"Your father was stubborn too."
The young woman's jaw tightened.
He continued.
"Stubbornness doesn't pay the bank."
She stood.
The meeting was over.
The older farmer looked toward her.
For several seconds, he seemed irritated that she hadn't thanked him more enthusiastically.
Then he rose.
He collected his folder.
And before leaving, he said something she would remember.
"You'll come around when the water turns against you."
She watched him walk down the porch steps.
At the time, she believed it was an ordinary threat from an arrogant neighbor.
Only later would she wonder whether he'd meant something more specific.
The first serious water problem appeared that spring.
The northern reservoir had always supplied part of the valley's irrigation system through a network of channels and controlled releases.
The young woman's farm depended on one of those connections.
Her father had maintained records showing how water levels should respond to seasonal rainfall and upstream releases.
But the spring readings didn't match.