At the bottom of the page, in bold black numbers, was a pending charge of four thousand eight hundred dollars, marked with a bright red system warning saying payment authorization had been declined by the cardholder.

Grace leaned closer, her eyes running over the itemized numbers on the lit screen.

“Four thousand eight hundred dollars for three days,” Grace said softly, pressing her hand flat against her apron.

“That’s more than your father spends on diesel for the whole harvest season.”

“He told Ruth he was paying every penny of it out of his own pocket,” I said.

“Does Ruth have any idea where that money was coming from?” Grace asked.