"Barley's nearly finished," he nods, replacing his hat atop his head as he leads the two of them back out into the hot July sun. "Just got the work of shucking the grain, and gettin' the hay tied off."

He gestures out ahead, to where a dirt lane winds off past the corn fields.

"Raise some wheat, too, but I mostly breed. You'll see our neighbors got most of the richer crops, down the way. Cotton and the like."

There's an aggravated nicker, and the sound of hooves, and that's the only warning the men get before they have to pull up short, a horse and rider blocking their path and, momentarily, the sun overhead.

"Who's this?"

The voice is, unmistakeably, female.