I stood on the bottom step of the porch with my coat open.

“Ms.

Halvorsen,” Vance said, clearing his throat loudly before reaching into his briefcase.

“We’re serving you with an emergency motion for a civil injunction filed in Dunn County Circuit Court.”

He passed a thick stapled stack of blue-bordered pages to the deputy, who stepped up and handed it to me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“My client, Brad Kessler, is asserting a claim of prescriptive access and a maintenance easement over the eighty acres,” Vance said, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“For years he has kept up structural improvements on the ridge, and he has contributed directly to the property taxes.”