“How much?”
Eli looked at his grandfather.
Ellis was testing him now.
Calvin named a number large enough to cover the tractor repair, buy the hydraulic pump, and leave money for winter.
Eli's stomach tightened.
It was more than forty dollars.
More than anything he had imagined the safe might produce.
Ellis did not react.
Calvin said, “You hand me the papers. I pay you today.”
“What happens to them?”
“My attorney reviews them.”
“And after?”
“Depends what they are.”
“You destroy them?”
Calvin's eyes narrowed.
“I didn't say that.”
“You didn't say you wouldn't.”
Silence.
Calvin stepped off the porch.
“Farming is changing, Ellis.”
“It always has.”
“Small operations like yours are disappearing.”
“Maybe.”
“You can fight every change until there's nothing left, or you can make smart decisions while you still have choices.”
Ellis looked across his fields.
Then at Calvin.
“My father worked that water channel.”
“That doesn't make it yours.”
“No.”
Ellis nodded toward the documents inside.
“Maybe that's exactly the point.”
Calvin's expression cooled.
He walked toward his truck.
Before getting in, he looked at Eli.