Stephanie was in Texas for six days when Woody took her and Edna to the tractor pull. Toby Walker entered his modified 1890 steam engine tractor into the competition. It resembled a cannon on four wheels.

The rear wheels were six feet in diameter, with three-foot diameter wheels at the front. Toby had replaced the steam engine with a diesel engine, making the old 80-hp engine 180-hp. He painted the cannon body a deep green.

Woody explained it was Freddy's favourite colour. Freddy loved the tractor pull competitions.

Toby held his hand toward Stephanie. "Grab around my wrist," Toby ordered. Stephanie did as he requested. Toby pulled her onto the tractor.

"Where's the seat?" she asked, looking around the platform between the back wheels.

"Other than the engine, I wanted to maintain the authentic look of the tractor. I'm competing against other farmers with similar tractors in the same decade. With the old steam engines, the farmer had to feed the oven logs to create steam. There was no room for sitting," he explained.

"Did you convert the cannon body into the exhaust pipe?" she asked. "I noticed the other tractors have the exhaust going out the back. It seemed silly since the exhaust system was already in place."

Toby smiled at Stephanie. "A beauty with brains. Why, yes, ma'am. I used the exhaust system in place to expel the fumes. It was important for me to keep it as authentic as possible." He pointed to the side of the tractor. "Jump down to Woodrow and read the name."

Stephanie waited for Woody to open his arms before she jumped four feet off the back of the tractor. She walked around the side. In white letters was the name Frederick. Stephanie wiped a tear off her face. Woody set Stephanie on the ground. He held her hand as they walked to where Edna sat with Jean.

"Have you talked to your parents?" Stephanie asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Not yet," Woody confessed. "I can't live with them blaming me for Freddy's death."

"How do you know unless you talk to them?" She stopped walking and turned to face Woody. "I think you should listen to what they have to say. You might be surprised."

Woody raised an eyebrow, but Stephanie refused to say more. He asked Edna if she knew what his parents wanted to say, she replied, "Talk to them." How was he supposed to avoid his parents when they were insistent on talking?

He managed to get away from them by claiming to complete various chores. Stephanie waited until that night to ask her grandmother how to get them to talk. "Let me talk to Woody," Edna said. Stephanie wasn't sure what Edna could do that she couldn't. She should have known better than to underestimate her grandmother.

"Woodrow Curtis Walker, you sit your ass on that couch and listen to what your folks have to tell you!" Edna demanded. Woody defiantly shook his head. Edna stretched until she grabbed his ear. She tugged until Woody followed her. "Now sit there!" Edna released him.

"Yes, ma'am," Woody quietly replied as he rubbed his ear. Jean sat beside Woody while Toby sat on the coffee table. Edna waited long enough to be sure Woody would stay put.

"I'll be upstairs with Stephanie," Edna said before walking away. Her movements were getting slower as time progressed. She didn't want to resort to using a walker. Sitting in the wheelchair was marginally better. At least she had a handsome man pushing her around.

"You may as well get it over with," Woody said. It was time for Woody to pay for his sins.

"I believe you are mistaken, son," Toby replied. "Freddy often hot-wired the tractor, the riding lawnmower and ATVs whenever I was in the field or when you were playing football. I discouraged this behaviour many times, but he took it as a challenge. Your mother and I didn't want Freddy taking medication to inhibit his impulses, but that was our mistake. We should have accepted the prescription."

"Freddy refused to take a Tylenol for a fever. I doubt he would have accepted the medication," Woody said.

"True. We figured keeping Freddy busy on the farm would help him control his impulses, but nothing worked. He loved his carefree attitude. Freddy got hurt because the rabbit popping out of the hole distracted him." Woody didn't recall seeing a rabbit near the lawnmower. "It was under his body. Your mother and I believe that's why Freddy leaned to the side. He loved animals and was likely afraid he hurt them."

"You are not responsible for your brother's death. Freddy was responsible for what happened. Living with regret and guilt is no way to live. Freddy would want you to live your life to the fullest," Jean added. "How about we honour his life?"

"Sure. Pop, do you have a bull or bronco for me to ride?" Woody asked. Pop grinned and explained they were kept in the smaller barn away from the other animals. Woody planned to ride them after visiting the rodeo the following day. He didn't want to be in pain as he pushed Edna through the event in the wheelchair.

Woody, Edna and Stephanie watched the Mutton Busting. Stephanie laughed when Woody's six-year-old second cousin, Caleb, held onto the sheep as it tried to dislodge the boy from its back. Caleb managed to stay on the animal for seven seconds. He received one hundred dollars and a blue ribbon for first place. Caleb qualified for another competition the following month.

Caroline, Caleb's older sister, competed in the Barrel Racing later that afternoon. She didn't place, but Caroline qualified for the next race. Caroline ran toward Woody to hug him. "I'm sorry you didn't win," Woody said.

"No problem," she replied. "I placed in the top five so my season ain't over yet. It's only my first real competition." Woody introduced his cousin to Stephanie and Edna.

"First real competition?" Edna asked.

"I only started training six months ago. Barrel Racing ain't as easy as it looks. It takes a lot of skill and communication with the horse to get it right. I'm shocked I bumped Janet from the competition. She's been at it for years," Caroline explained.

"A natural. Sweet," Stephanie said. "I hope to see you compete again."

"I'm sure Woody would like you around. Are ya dating him?"

"No. We're only friends," Stephanie replied. Caroline told Woody he was an idiot for not asking Stephanie to be his girlfriend. "I've got a boyfriend back home." Caroline accepted Stephanie's explanation before skipping off to find her parents.

For the next few days, Stephanie, Woody and Edna attended all the rodeo events. Edna loved the bull riding event the best. She laughed when the rodeo clowns couldn't distract a particularly aggressive bull. "How do they match the bull to the rider?" Edna asked. "It seems quite a few riders got the wrong bull."

"It's a draw," Woody replied. "You don't know what you get until a few minutes before your ride." Edna thought it hardly seemed fair, but that was how it worked. It was the same process for the broncos. To make it in the rodeo circuit, you had to adapt quickly to the animal assigned.

Woody and his parents shared stories about Freddy with Edna and Stephanie. They laughed and cried throughout the night. Stephanie noticed Woody had loosened up significantly since they arrived on the farm.

After the rodeo ended, Woody rode the bronco and the bull, much to Edna's delight. Woody helped Edna onto a horse before getting on the saddle behind her. Stephanie rode the horse she helped Toby train. Sandor wouldn't let anyone other than Stephanie ride him. Toby made Stephanie promise to visit the horse. He thought it was a shame that Woody and Stephanie weren't dating.

"Pop loves you," Woody said as they rode across the open field.

"He hardly knows me. I'm nobody special," Stephanie replied, laughing. "Toby's just shocked I trained his horse."

"How did you know what to do?" Woody didn't think Stephanie particularly liked horses.

Stephanie turned to the side. Her horse Sandor chomped on his bit from irritation. "Sorry, Sandor." Stephanie tapped his back above his saddle. "Easy, boy." She clicked her tongue a couple of times. Sandor swung his head side-to-side before relaxing. "Good, boy." She turned her head to look at Woody. His mouth was wide open in shock.

"What the hell, Steph?" Edna giggled. She kept her mouth pressed tightly closed to let Stephanie explain.

"My Uncle Joe Juniak owns a horse farm outside Trenton. I used to help him when I was younger. After the incident with Joe, I got grounded. Uncle Joe asked me to help for a few years before giving up."

"Why didn't you help again?"

"Stephie was grieving Frankie," Edna replied. "She drifted through life for several years until she married Dickie Orr. It was the only way Helen could control her. When Stephanie caught him cheating, she came back. Not fully, but it was a start."

"Ranger sent out an email asking for volunteers at the Hundred Acre Wood," Stephanie said. Woody laughed, thinking she was joking. "I loved Winnie the Pooh. Uncle Joe asked me to name his ranch."

Woody and Stephanie guided the horses back to the farm. "I can't believe Sandor let you ride him that long. It usually takes several months to train a horse," Woody said. Stephanie shrugged her shoulders. She wondered if Mary Alice would be a horse whisperer too.

"I should take Mary Alice to visit the ranch." Woody was curious why Stephanie never took her before. "It never crossed my mind until now."

Edna went to bed when they returned to the house. She loved helping Jean collect eggs in the mornings. Stephanie tried to help a few times, but the hens chased her from the chicken pen. "She's amazing with horses, but chickens, geese and any other fowl do not like her," Edna explained. Jean laughed as Edna told her about Stephanie feeding the geese at the park.

They visited with Woody's family until Stephanie decided it was time to leave. It was getting too close to when the Burning Man celebration began. Stephanie used the laptop to schedule a flight to Nevada for her and Edna. Woody wanted to remain behind to spend another week with his family.

"I'm going to miss you, cowboy," Stephanie said when Woody arrived at the airport. Woody climbed from the car to grab their luggage. Stephanie hugged Woody before accepting the bags. He kissed Stephanie's forehead then he pulled Edna into his arms.

"Thanks for the kick in the pants," Woody whispered to Edna.

"Any time, cowboy. You're a good friend to Stephanie. Take care of my baby granddaughter when I'm gone," Edna replied. It was an easy promise for Woody to make.

Stephanie kissed Woody's cheek before entering the terminal. She would miss her favourite Texan.

Tank waited outside the security clearance area for Stephanie and Edna to arrive. He landed in Texas an hour before Stephanie and Edna were scheduled to arrive at the airport. Tank used the time to reflect on his last day at home. Manny would stay at his house to watch the cats.

The previous night, Lester, Binkie and Bobby arrived at his house, claiming to do a "wellness" check. He had expected the men to appear and arranged for Thai food to get delivered. Tank had a bar fridge filled with beer and coolers. The men helped themselves to the beverages before sitting on the couch and chairs to eat.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lester asked.

"Nope," Tank replied. The men tried to get Tank to talk, but it was worse than pulling teeth.

"I'll drive you to the airport in the morning." Lester understood their wellness check on Tank was an exercise in futility. He at least had to try. Lester drove Tank to the airport the following morning. Tank maintained his silence. Lester prayed Stephanie and Edna could get through to his friend.

Tank snapped out of his memory when he saw Stephanie and Edna approach him. Stephanie's smile was radiant. She launched into his arms, squeezing him tightly as she whispered, "I missed you, Big Guy."

"I missed you too, Little Girl."

~~~~~~~~~~

Frank heard Helen's cell phone ringing in the living room. He grinned when he recognized the home phone number. Helen had called her mobile device. Frank quietly stood outside the kitchen as Helen left a message. "Hi, Joseph. It's Helen. Congratulations on your marriage to Joyce. I heard you're expecting a baby, too. Your mother and Marion must be proud. Could you pass along Mooch's number? I'm hoping he'd be interested in dating Stephanie," Helen said. She had her back to the door. Helen knew Frank was in the house. She had purposely timed the call for him to eavesdrop.

Helen didn't know Frank stood watching the live video from the camera outside the kitchen window on his phone. Frank saw the smirk on Helen's face. The vixen was goading Frank. She wanted him to "punish" her for interfering.

Technically, Helen was going against his wishes, but in reality, she was doing nothing wrong. Frank sent a message for Hector to cut the surveillance feed at the house. Once he received confirmation, he strutted into the kitchen, removed the phone from Helen's hand, then carried her to the table, where he teased her until she panted like a dog in heat.

"Frank, please," Helen groaned.

"You've been a bad girl, Helen," Frank growled. He tossed her over his shoulder and carried her upstairs. Nobody heard from Frank and Helen for several hours.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hector disconnected the video feed on the Plum's home before the men at the control desk saw too much. He laughed when Frank said Helen feigned interference.

"¿Donde esta la casa de Plum?" Ranger asked. (Where is the Plum's house?)

"Desconectada," Hector replied. (Offline) Hector explained Frank wanted to have sex with his wife without an audience. Ranger laughed, then returned to his apartment.

He opened the email from Stephanie containing the search results for an upcoming Rangeman/FBI/DEA joint mission. Ranger refused to participate in multi-government missions without adequate research. He worked tirelessly to get Stephanie high-level clearance to view the necessary military files.

Ranger laughed when he received the photos from Stephanie's visit to the Walker homestead. Stephanie rode a midnight black horse with a small patch of white on its head. Woody said the horse got named Sandor. Ranger laughed aloud, causing Lester and Bobby to run into his office. He explained the horse's name to the men, who, in turn, joined in the laughter.

Stephanie sat on the ground beside a hogtied pig. Lester asked, "Did she do that?"

"I don't know, but Woody included a video." They watched Stephanie chase after the pig. She launched herself into the air.

"She jumped the wrong way," Lester said before Stephanie suddenly landed on the pig. She had anticipated the pig would change directions.

Stephanie grabbed the rope off her belt and expertly tied the pig's legs together. She grinned at the camera for Woody to capture her expression.

"Proud of you, Babe."