"Then we'll discuss whether it's financeable."
For a moment, Claire could not speak.
It was not an approval.
Not a promise.
But it was more than dismissal.
She nodded.
"Thank you."
Elaine looked at her.
"And Claire?"
"Yes?"
"Don't pledge your farm to a new business just because you're angry at the old one."
Claire stopped.
The banker held her gaze.
"Anger can get you started. It can't manage debt."
Claire considered the words.
Then nodded slowly.
"Understood."
She left the bank carrying a difficult truth.
If the cooperative was going to survive, it needed to be more than revenge.
It had to make business sense.
That evening, Claire returned home to find twelve pickup trucks parked near her father's machinery shed.
She stopped at the gate.
For a moment, she thought there had been an accident.
Then she saw Wes Halden standing beside the door.
He waved.
Claire climbed from her truck.
"What's happening?"
Wes smiled.
"Meeting."
She stared.
"We didn't schedule one."
"I know."
He looked toward the shed.
"Some people wanted to talk."
Claire followed him inside.
The room was crowded.
Farmers stood around the old workbench.
Maya had spread several diagrams across a folding table.
Eli was examining a list of tools.
A woman from the neighboring county sat beside a laptop.
Her name was Sarah Dunn, and she operated a family farm with her husband while working part-time as an accountant.
She looked toward Claire.
"Hope you don't mind."
Claire stared.
"Mind what?"
Sarah smiled.
"We've been going through your proposal."
Claire looked around.
Several farmers she had contacted during the week were present.
Others were new.
One operated almost eight thousand acres.
Another managed a fleet of harvesting equipment across three counties.
Two had experienced expensive breakdowns during the previous season.
A third had recently lost an independent mechanic after AgriTech acquired the local shop where he worked.
Claire felt suddenly self-conscious.
Her father's shed was old.
The roof rattled in strong wind.
Tools hung from wooden pegs.
There were oil stains on the concrete.
But the people inside were discussing her idea as though it deserved serious consideration.
Wes pointed toward the table.
"Sarah has been running numbers."
Claire approached.
Sarah turned the laptop.
"I started with a small operation. Two service trucks, one shared diagnostic equipment pool, a subscription budget, insurance, parts inventory, and administrative costs."
Claire studied the spreadsheet.
The numbers were larger than she had hoped.