"Marlene, I don't want you spending your last savings chasing a fantasy."
She looked toward the old windmill.
Then answered quietly.
"Neither do I."
That stopped him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Marlene continued.
"That's why I'm starting with twenty acres, testing the soil, and keeping records."
Daryl sounded surprised.
"You're actually making a budget?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Believe it or not, I know how."
He sighed.
Then said, "Send it to me."
Marlene hesitated.
"Why?"
"Because somebody needs to make sure your numbers add up."
She nearly refused.
But then she thought about the bank.
The debt.
And the fact that her brother did understand financial records better than she did.
Finally, she said, "Fine."
Daryl nodded.
"Good."
Then he added, "But I'm still telling you to sell the land."
Marlene looked toward the hills.
"I know."
After the call, she sat on the porch for a long time.
She loved her brother.
But she was beginning to understand that she would have to build her future without waiting for him to believe in it.
The bank manager wasn't impressed by cactus either.
Her name was Cecilia Grant, a practical woman in her early fifties who had spent more than twenty years working with agricultural loans. She knew the Caldwell family and remembered how many times Curtis had visited the bank hoping the next season would be better. When Marlene arrived with the notebook, a revised budget, and records of the cattle sales, Cecilia listened without interrupting.
Then she folded her hands.
"You're proposing to change the ranch's entire business model."
Marlene nodded.
"Over several years."
Cecilia looked toward the figures.
"And you expect revenue from cactus?"
"Eventually."
"Not immediately?"
"No."
The manager studied her.
"That's a more realistic answer than I expected."
Marlene smiled faintly.
"I've been warned against making promises the land can't keep."
Cecilia looked through the budget again.
Marlene had calculated the minimum loan payments, the cost of maintaining essential equipment, the likely expense of establishing the test plot, and the amount of outside work she could perform to cover household expenses. She had also included a reserve for unexpected repairs.
The plan was tight.
Uncomfortably tight.
But it wasn't a fantasy written on the back of an envelope.
Cecilia turned another page.
"What will you do if the first planting fails?"
Marlene swallowed.
Then she answered.
"Find out why before I plant another acre."
Cecilia studied her.
After several seconds, she nodded.
"That, at least, is sensible."
The bank couldn't simply erase the debt.
But Cecilia agreed to review the revised business plan, the collateral, and the proceeds from the livestock sales to determine whether a restructuring was possible.