. who is they? Vi asked.“That Colorado land outfit.”“But, how?” she asked again.“It’s all in here in this letter. They claim to have a rec...eational development lease on the National Forest land surrounding us, including the strip that our ranch road crosses. They also claim that our road easement was improperly filed and the easement contains an error in the property description. According to their attorneys, our road easement is null and void.““And that means, what, exactly?” Vi asked.“They’ve. It seems the man that owns the farm felt the same way, so we made a bet. If I won, I got to take as much aged prime meat that I could carry. If I lost, I had to slaughter and skin the ten other cows he had to do that day. Supposedly the bragging man had made a similar deal. They had aprons that fit me and hooks that went up the cow’s butt to let them bleed out while gutting them and skinning them. Did you know that the man who owned the farm has never had an intact cowhide or any that didn’t. " Does she know/" No. Carl and I, despite the divorce, decided to tell her she was ours. It seemed easier and better for everyone." Does he... ?" No. He gave me a generous settlement, but he moved to another state. He was remarried two years ago. He's never even seen Kimmie." It just doesn't seem fair..." I don't blame him." No, I meant it doesn't seem fair that something beyond the control of either of you should break up a marriage." It was hardly a fairy tale marriage. The night it happened. It's astrategy he's used before -- a strategy that he seems to be using moreand more often these days. But it will work. She's going through thestages of anger. If he just rides it out, she'll process her fury, herconfusion and her frustration, and slowly come to acceptance. Whatevershe says or does, just go with the flow.Rita felt the chill in the air, but forged ahead. "OK, so we need to runthrough a few things about safety and cleanliness. As it turns out,you're both pretty.