June's mother came by the following Monday after her overnight shift, still wearing her nursing-home jacket. She stood beside the John Deere and listened while June explained the work she had completed. When June reached the suction-line repair, her mother asked whether that was the piece everyone was talking about. June blushed, then nodded. Her mother studied her grease-stained hands with an expression Martha recognized: pride sharpened by surprise. "She came home that day smiling like she'd won the lottery," she told Martha.
"She helped win something we have to work very hard to keep," Martha replied.
June's mother reached over and squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "Then keep working hard. But don't let anybody tell you the work isn't yours."
They brought the combine out of the yard for a low-speed functional check on a clear day near the end of August. It was the first time Martha had moved it under its own power since the auction, and she did so only after completing the necessary inspections and checking the area. June walked the designated observation path well clear of the machine, recording what she could safely see. The engine idled steadily. Steering responded as expected. No fresh leaks appeared beneath the repaired systems. The result was encouraging, but when they returned to the shop, Martha found a temperature reading she did not like. The cooling system had held during idle tests, not yet under meaningful load.
"Another problem?" June asked.
"Another question," Martha answered.
They tested the cooling system properly, discovered an obstruction that could impair circulation, and repaired it before considering field work. The clock of autumn was moving now. The days grew shorter. Farmers called asking about dates. Henry reported that his corn was drying sooner than expected, while a forecast of unsettled weather appeared in the second half of September. Martha felt the pressure of every new message. She also knew that nothing would be gained by sending an unreliable machine into Henry's field and making the man pay for her urgency.
September arrived with a cool morning and a fresh expense: the corn head. The John Deere had won its owner without a header, and an engine could not harvest standing corn by itself. Martha had planned for that, but finding the right used head proved more complicated than the listings suggested. One unit had structural damage that the photographs concealed. Another cost almost as much as a second small truck. A third was serviceable but required repairs to guards and gathering chains. They chose the third after inspecting it in person and calculating the full cost of transport and refurbishment.
At the parts yard, a salesman looked past Martha toward June and asked whether the girls wanted someone to explain how the head attached. Martha smiled politely. "We'd like you to explain the warranty on the used drive components," she said. The salesman blinked, checked his paperwork, and gave a useful answer. June laughed about it for ten miles on the return drive. Martha did not laugh until June admitted she had nearly told him which end of a wrench to hold. Some days refusing to be underestimated required patience. Other days it required asking a better question.