She looked at him directly. "I know your calendar's tight. It doesn't change what the soil will carry."
Tom nodded, thinking about the machine sitting damaged at the dealership and the planter waiting at the shed. He wanted a number, a date, and a declaration that everything would be normal by the weekend. Dana offered him measurements, photographs, and a realistic sequence instead. It was less comforting and much more valuable. For the first time since the first axle cracked, he felt the difference between being helpless and being responsible.
The quote arrived that evening after Dana returned to her office. Fourteen thousand dollars would cover the damaged tile replacement, outlet work, excavation, suitable backfill and compaction, labor, and documentation under the conditions she had inspected. There could be adjustments if unexpected damage appeared, but the scope was clear enough that Jenny could put it beside their other obligations. Two days of fieldwork were expected if the weather cooperated. The area would remain restricted until the contractor confirmed it was safe.
Tom read the amount aloud at the kitchen table. Jenny did not flinch, which told him she had already prepared for something unpleasant. The new expense brought the total strain from the three accidents and the drainage repair far beyond anything they had set aside for spring repairs. Add lost planting time, and the situation was no longer a nuisance. It threatened the operating margin that made next year possible.
The old map lay flat beside the quote. Jenny had scanned it and printed a fresh copy with the warning enlarged in the corner. She placed the latest budget near Tom's elbow and waited. He could see the path the money took: seed purchased, repairs committed, fuel on credit, fertilizer due, insurance deductible uncertain, and the remaining operating line narrowing. Every figure was legitimate. The total felt impossible.
"I could try planting around it," Tom said. "Leave the strip alone and run the rest of the field. Forty acres isn't much compared with the other three hundred sixty. We can work around a piece."
Jenny turned the map toward him. "You don't know how far the weakness extends beyond the hole they've opened. We need Dana to define the safe area first."
"We can flag it wider."
"And if more of the pipe is failing?" She let the question sit. "You already know what happens when the ground looks fine and isn't."
Tom leaned back, exhausted. "If I wait too long, the yield will suffer. If I hire everybody I need to work around it, I'm spending more money we don't have. If I stop the whole farm, the bank will take one look at the calendar and ask whether I have any plan at all." He rubbed his forehead. "I keep thinking there must be one choice that doesn't hurt."
"Maybe the right one hurts less," Jenny said.