Spud trotted up from the other side and sat at Dan’s feet.

“Just got caught under the frame as it moved.” He tried to clench his hand and winced as the pain spread through his fingers like an electric shock.

Tom peered at Dan’s hand. “I reckon you’d better get Miss Woodcroft to look at that.”

“I’ll be fine.” Dan didn’t want to stop. They’d put in a good morning’s work around Rowena’s place. The house was gleaming on the outside and the yard was neat and tidy. He’d mowed the outer yard as well. Rowena still had a few little jobs on her list but Dan was trying to avoid her. He knew she’d want to talk about the will and he still hadn’t come up with any new ideas.

He pulled a clean hanky out of his pocket and wrapped it around his fingers. “Just tie that up for me, will you?”

Tom pulled the corners tight and Dan winced again. His fingers were throbbing.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Tom went back to the posts he was stacking against the shed and Spud followed him, obviously keen to get back to his job of chasing anything that moved in the junk pile as Tom worked.

Dan’s mobile vibrated in his shirt pocket. He pulled it out with his left hand and held it to his ear. The voice at the other end belonged to the bloke he’d rung about seed.

“Hang on, mate.” Dan lowered the phone and tried to tug his notebook out of his pocket but his fingers didn’t want to work and the pain was intense. “Tom, can you jot some things down for me?” he barked. “This hand is useless.”

Tom came back to stand beside him. “I don’t have any paper or pen.”

The look of alarm on Tom’s face sent a pang of remorse through Dan. He’d been on edge for so long, he knew he hadn’t been treating Tom reasonably. He did some stupid things at times but the poor bloke probably never knew if Dan was going to thank him or blast him.

“I have.” Dan indicated his shirt pocket and Tom slowly dragged out his notebook.

“Right, we’re ready to go,” he said into the phone.

“Have you got trouble, mate?” the bloke on the other end asked.

“No, just buggered up my fingers. Tom will jot everything down for me as I dictate. Go ahead.”

It was slow going. By the time they’d finished Dan was wishing he’d thought to put the call on speaker. He could have scribbled with his left hand faster than Tom had done it.

Tom closed the notebook and slid it back into Dan’s pocket.

“Thanks,” Dan said.