“Oh wow! That sounds serious. Who was it who fell?”

“Her name is Cathy Terry. She’s new to Blessings.”

There was a long moment of silence—enough that Duke thought they’d been disconnected.

“Jack? Are you still there?”

“Uh, yeah…I was just…I was just surprised you went to all that trouble for a woman you didn’t know.”

Duke was floored. He didn’t even know how to respond.

Jack waited. “Duke?”

“I’m here.”

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.

Duke sighed. “Is that what you guys really think about me? That I’m too self-absorbed to help a woman in need? Any woman? Even a stranger?”

“No, brother, no…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound that way. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Duke was still in shock, but laughed it off.

“You didn’t hurt my feelings. So did you get the cattle fed this morning?”

“Yes, but there was fence down in the back pasture. I came home to get wire stretchers and some stuff to go fix it, but the wire looked cut, not broken.”

Duke frowned. “Do we have any cattle missing?”

“Well damn, I didn’t think to check,” Jack said. “I’ll go—”

“Just wait for me to get home and change, and I’ll go with you,” Duke said.

The brothers disconnected, and by the time Duke got home, the topic of conversation had become the fence. Duke changed into work clothes, put on his old denim jacket, and started out the door, then stopped and went back inside. When he came out carrying a rifle, Jack was shocked.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“If the fence was cut, someone was up to no good. If we’re missing cattle, then we’re dealing with thieves. I’m just being cautious.”

Jack eyed his older brother with renewed respect.

“That’s something I should have thought of, too. It’s a good thing we’re in this together. I don’t know how Mom and Dad did this on their own when we were kids. It takes the both of us—two grown men—to keep this place running.”

“You forget that five years ago we added two hundred acres and thirty more head of cattle to go with the fifty-three we already had,” Duke said. “Get in. I’m driving.”

Jack laughed as they both got in the old farm truck. He’d already loaded up the wire cutters, fence stretchers and a roll of wire to repair the break.

“You always do this so I have to get out to open gates.”

“There has to be some kind of perk for being the oldest,” Duke said.

He started up the truck and drove down to the barn to load up a few sacks of cattle cubes, then drove across a cattle guard, heading toward the fenced off pastures beyond.

“Where to first?” Jack asked.

“I think the West field where the big herd is, just to make sure we don’t have any other fence down there. We can get a head count there before we go to the North side,” Duke said.