Chapter 28

Natalie, nursing newborn Samuel in a sparsely furnished room, fields her mother’s call proposing a weekend visit from Abigail and the kids. Exhausted yet determined to perform happiness, Natalie agrees, imagining both the farm’s optics and the relief of letting her mother hold the baby.

When Abigail’s family arrives, Caleb awkwardly performs a cowboy persona, the cousins play, and Natalie notes Abigail’s aged, unsettled demeanor. Touring the house, Natalie boasts about an imminent renovation, deflecting her mother’s concern over replacing “perfectly good” fixtures by insisting money isn’t a concern—though privately she admits the funds are nearly gone and the farm still isn’t profitable.

Out in the fields, workers labor while Caleb plays with the children. Abigail, brittle and smoking, needles Natalie about the stench and pretense. That night at a rodeo and a roadside dinner, Caleb extols his online “manosphere” forums. On returning home, he corrals five children for a bath while Abigail pours wine despite her pregnancy.

Abigail announces she’s leaving Bryce and has retained a divorce lawyer. Natalie responds with cutting realism: Abigail has no income, weak prospects, and risks custody battles. Their mother repeats “the children” in alarm as Abigail breaks down. Overwhelmed, Natalie retreats, her mind flashing to papers she signed that placed the ranch’s deed solely in Caleb’s name, echoing earlier agreements she felt coerced to accept.

In the steamy bathroom chaos, Caleb jovially bathes the cousins while baby Samuel bounces nearby. Natalie recognizes the stark imbalance: every cent and acre belong to Caleb. She fears how even a generally affable man may turn cruel when empowered by such legal control, underscoring her own precarious position.