I arrived at the Spandler farm about 9:30. Dad was already there with the fuel truck. The 9870s were beasts of a machine, and they had the appetite of a beast, burning around 120 gallons of diesel every six-hour day, each. We had about one more day of harvesting, then we’d be off to our next contract. I stepped out of my truck with a sigh. Time to face the music.

“Levi,” Dad said. It was decidedly chilly this morning, and I wasn’t talking about the weather.

“Dad.”

“Get a good night’s sleep last night?”

“Not bad.”

“Your mother cried most of the night.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

“Because I decided to take a room in town before I said something I’d regret?”

“That, the fight in Dolly’s, and you leaving with Ella.”

“What does Ella have to do with anything?” I asked, making sure my tone communicated what I thought about that.

“She’s worried about you. We both are. You haven’t been yourself since you talked to Ella.”

“And you don’t approve?”

“We don’t want to see you hurt again. Why can’t you see that?”

“What makes you think I’m going to get hurt?”

He took a deep breath and huffed it out, clearly annoyed. “I know you’re young, and Ella is beautiful, and I know you two had something a long time ago, but look at what she did to you. You weren’t gone a week before she was out on the prowl.”

I sucked on my teeth, reeling in my annoyance. “I see. So having a couple of beers with friends is being on the prowl? Or are you talking about her being raped? Passing out after being drugged is being on the prowl?”

“That’s her story.”

“One that I believe.”

“I see that. You believe it without one shred of proof. Don’t you think if there had been any evidence of it, someone would have been arrested? I don’t know why you’re being so bull-headed about this.”

“And I don’t know why you’re being so bull-headed about believing her. You used to adore her. What changed?”

“What changed is she slept with another man while my son was away serving his country. If it had happened three or four years after you deployed, and she hadn’t seen you, maybe I could understand it. Not condone it, but at least I could understand it, but you’d been gone a week, Levi… a week.”

“And you don’t think that makes her story just a little more believable? Less than a week after I’m gone, she suddenly decides she’s not in love with me anymore and starts looking for the first guy she can find. Does that actually make sense to you?”

He shook his head. “No. It makes me wonder if she ever loved you.”

I threw up my hands and growled in frustration. “And you wonder why I felt like I needed to get some space?”

“I think you’re blinded by the feelings you had for her.”

“Have for her,” I corrected.

“And that, I think, is at the crux of your problem. You still love her, and you don’t see that she’s using you.”

“Using me? How?”

“How? What do you think happened in Dolly’s yesterday?”

“That asshole Steve Calhoun groping the woman he’d raped.”

“That woman is the mother of his child.”

“And that makes it okay?”

“I damn sure wouldn’t want you sticking your nose into my business if I was playing grab-ass with your mother.”

“There’s a big damn difference there, Dad. You and Mom are married.”

“Yes, that’s a difference, but she still slept with him and she’s still the mother of his child. Just because she wants to deny that now doesn’t change the facts.”

“You didn’t hear what he said to her.”

“What?”

“He asked for dessert, and when she asked him what he wanted, he said he wanted a hair pie with a big sausage in it. That’s when he grabbed her.”

Dad paused for a long moment. “Okay, that was uncalled for on his part. Steve may be an asshole… no, Steve is an asshole, but it’s none of your business.”

“It is if Ella and I are going to have a relationship.”

“Then you need to make it clear she’s your woman.”

“I did. Yesterday in Dolly’s.”

“I can’t say I approve of your way of doing that.”

“What would you have me do? She clearly didn’t want him touching her. I made a point of picking her up at Dolly’s to take her on a date. Clearly my not-so-subtle way of announcing she and I were getting back together carried no weight with Steve at all.”

Dad screwed the fuel cap back on the combine and dragged the hose to the other one and, after opening the lid, began filling it.

“Steve shouldn’t have done what he did. I agree with that. What I’m saying is, you can’t go around trying to kick the shit out of everyone who looks at Ella cross-eyed.”

“And if that had been Mom, Rebecca, or Kamron?” When he looked down and didn’t say anything, I knew I’d made my point. “What have you got against Ella?”

“I told you.”

“That’s it?”

“Isn’t it enough?”

“What would you say if you found out she’d been telling the truth all along, about the being drugged, raped, all of it? Would you still think all this is her fault?”

“No, of course not.”

“Would you still blame her for hurting me?”

“If she was telling the truth she should have come to San Antonio with us. But she didn’t. That, more than anything else, convinced me she’d made a mistake and was trying to cover it up.”

I nodded. “I’ll give you that. But I could have called her, too. We both made mistakes, but answer my question. Would you still blame her for hurting me?”

He paused for a long time. “Yes…”

“I hear a but,” I prompted when he didn’t continue.

“But, I could forgive that a lot easier than what she did.”

I nodded again. We were actually getting somewhere now. “So you think you could forgive her? Like I did?”

After a moment he nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I can’t imagine what it must be liked to be raped. Maybe no man can.”

“And Mom?”

He shrugged. “She’s a reasonable woman. She could probably understand it better than I can. We just want you to be happy, Levi. That’s all we’ve ever wanted. We’re just afraid she’s going to hurt you again.”

“Let me worry about that.” I watched his eyes a moment. I could tell by how he was looking at me he wanted to believe I was right and wasn’t being blinded by what we once had. “So, here’s the big question. What would it take to convince you she’s telling the truth?”

He snorted. “That’s easy. How about one shred of proof?”

“So if I can prove she’s telling the truth about the rape, any part of it, you’d be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt?”

“And how are you going to do that?”

My lips quirked into a sideways grin. “I have no idea.” He waved his hand in my direction as if I were proving his point for him. “But if I can, will you get off my ass about her?” He looked at me in disapproval. “I’m serious, Dad. Ella and I are going to start, have started, dating again. I want her to be welcomed, or at the very least treated with polite respect, at home.”

“Are you suggesting we’re not?”

“Last night, after Ella got me out of jail, I had to practically drag her into the house. Once I did, Mom damn near gave us frostbite. So, yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

“I’m sorry about that, then. Judy was upset by what happened. We both were.”

“Did you know Steve was going to file assault and battery charges against me? They would have stuck too. Ella cut a deal with Steve to prevent him from doing that. But instead of thanking her, she got the cold shoulder.”

“What kind of deal?” he asked as he tapped the fuel nozzle against the machine and put the lid on the tank.

“She agreed not to press battery charges against Steve in exchange for not pressing them against me.”

“Could she do that?” he asked as he began retracting the hose back into the fuel truck.

“Her case wasn’t as strong as his, but yeah, he was technically guilty of battery.”

He looked at me. “I guess I owe her one then. I didn’t know.”

“And nobody bothered to ask how I managed to get home in less than an hour when I was told it was going to be at least three or four hours before they would release me. The reason was because she went to Chief Wilkoski, told him what happened, and used what leverage she had on Steve to get us both cut loose.”

Dad nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’ll thank her for that the next time I see her.”

“Thank you. And if I find evidence to support her claim she was drugged and raped…?”

“Levi, I don’t know. You said yourself you don’t know how you’re going to do that. You find something, and we’ll talk about it, okay?”

“Deal.”

“Will you be home tonight? It will make your mom feel a lot better.”

“I don’t know, probably not.” I sighed. “Tomorrow. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

He nodded. “If I tell her that, you’d better be there.”

I nodded. “You can tell her.”

“Good enough. We just want what’s best for you. If that’s Ella, then we’ll accept it. We just want you to be careful.”

I smiled at his concession. “I know, Dad. This feels so right.”

“I’m glad, son. I just hope your past together isn’t clouding your thinking.”

“If it is, it’s on me. You can’t say you haven’t warned me.” I smiled at him. “Over, and over, and over again.”

The rift between us was beginning to close. “That’s what it takes, sometimes, to get through your thick skull. A Missouri mule has got nothing on you. Now, are we going to do some work or are we going to stand around and jaw all day?”

I snickered. “What are we waiting on?”

He looked around. “Old man Spandler to arrive with his grain truck. Doesn’t he know he’s got sorghum to cut?”

I grinned as I turned for my machine. Might as well have a load ready when he arrived.

The day was bright and clear, and though the ground was soft, we were able to make good progress. Normally Dad would be done contracting by now, but the rain had delayed everyone, and farmers still needed help getting their crops in. It was putting the pinch on a lot of people, but Dad was cleaning up.

I was getting close to full. Spandler had no grain cart, so I had no choice but to drive the machine back to his truck. It was frustrating to have to stop harvesting, but they weren’t my fields. I completed the row and shut down the header, then the threshing system as I made my way across the field to unload.

As the machine loped along, I reflected on my conversation with Dad. I hoped I had, in some small way, reached him. If I could get him, or Mom, on my side, then I was pretty sure the other would follow. What I should do is find that fucking Steve Calhoun and beat the shit out of him until he admitted what he’d done. My lips quirked up at the thought. Big talk. As satisfying as that would be, I knew I wouldn’t do it. Ella had saved my ass the last time, but if I were to jump him for no reason, no amount of bargaining would keep me out of jail.

There had to be another way. I didn’t know what it might be, but there had to be. Maybe I could make the rounds of all the people at the barn that night. I snorted. A lot of good that would do. Most of the people there were there for the same reason Ella had been, to have a few beers with friends and have a good time. They probably didn’t know anything, and even if they’d seen something, it would have long since been forgotten.

I wheeled the combine around and cozied up next to the truck before I swung the grain shoot over the vehicle and engaged the auger to unload. I watched as the grain flowed into the truck in a bronze-colored stream, gently nudging the combine forward so I didn’t overflow the truck and spill the grain on the ground. As much hassle as it was to collect this year, I didn’t want to waste a single grain.

As the torrent of grain became a dribble I shut down the auger and retracted the shoot, pulling away from the truck as the shoot tucked into the side of the machine as I made my way back to my starting point.

My mind returned to the problem. The keys were Steve and Cat. They would remember because they were the guilty parties. Steve would never talk, and he clearly had no guilt over what he’d done. Cat, however, might be a different matter. I had to find her, then I had to convince her to tell me the truth. I could probably find her, maybe even convince her to talk to me, but getting her to admit to what she’d done would be a problem. She’d lied to the cops about it. Why would she tell me the truth?

I engaged the header and thresher and set to work, allowing my mind to work on the problem as I slowly crept across the field.

The sun was dipping below the horizon and sorghum was starting to get too wet to harvest, but it had been a good day. The sun had been bright, and with the cold dry air pouring in, it had pulled a lot of water out of the ground. The dew was later arriving today than it had been in weeks. Dad and I were pushing, trying to get finished, but it wasn’t going to happen. We’d need another couple of hours to tomorrow. I wasn’t fully loaded, but it was time to quit.

Lights burning, I rolled up to the truck and began to unload. Dad arrived before I’d finished, waiting for me so he could take his turn at the truck. Empty, I pulled away to make room for him and shut down my machine. It was comfortably warm in the cab, but I shivered as I stepped out into the cold.

I was waiting as he pulled his combine to a stop next to mine, killed the engine, and climbed down. “Lot colder,” he said. “That’ll help dry things out.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t suppose I can change your mind about not coming home tonight?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. Tomorrow.”

He looked disappointed. “Okay. I’ve been thinking.” He paused a moment. “Despite everything, you are our son, and we love you. I don’t want Ella to come between us, and I know Judy doesn’t either. If she makes you happy, that’s good enough for me.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I didn’t tell you, but last night, when Judy told your sisters what you did, they were firmly on your side.”

“They were?” I asked, surprised by their support. They’d been scathing in their criticism of Ella after the rape.

“Yeah, they were. Like your mom and me, they worry you’re making a mistake, but they want you to be happy. That doesn’t change the fact that they thought, and I’m quoting Kamron here, ‘Steve is a disgusting pig who should have his hands cut off and shoved up his ass.’”

I snickered. Kamron had never been shy with her opinion. “Well, okay then.”

“Come by for supper at least?”

“Thanks, but the Johnsons are expecting me for dinner.” I could tell by the way he looked down he was disappointed and maybe a little hurt that I was choosing the Johnsons over my own family.

“Okay. Judy was worried about where you’d eat. I didn’t think you’d want to go back to Dolly’s so soon.”

“Yeah. I’m persona non grata there for a while.”

“I’ll let you go then. Ken and Helen are probably waiting on you.”

“Yeah, probably. Tell Mom I’ll see her tomorrow evening, okay?”

“I will. Love you, son.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

I sat in my truck. Dad and I had said love you to each other and talked about how much we cared for each other more in the last couple of days than we had in the previous five years. It was a guy thing, but it showed how deep the rift had become and how hard we were working to pull ourselves back together as a family. During the day I’d worked out a plan, and if I could pull it off, maybe it would go a long way to easing the tensions between us. He’d made the first step by admitting they’d accept Ella, whether they liked it or not, rather than lose me. That was a step in the right direction, and if that was the best they could do, I’d take it, but I wanted more. I wanted her to be part of my family again, like she had been, not an outsider tolerated to keep the peace.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’d see what I could do to make that happen.