The BMW salesman looked at Mary Carter’s worn farm dress, laughed in front of the entire showroom, and said, “Try the used-car lot. That’s more your speed.”
“I’ll take all three,” she said. “Today. No financing.”
Evan blinked once.
“All three?”
“All three.”
Mary reached into her canvas bag and removed a thick envelope stamped with the name of a private bank.
The dealership manager, Daniel Ruiz, walked over as Evan opened the purchase file.
Daniel glanced at the documents.
Then he stopped breathing for a moment.
At the top of the first page was a name recognized across three Texas counties:
MARY CARTER
OWNER AND CHAIRWOMAN
CARTER VALLEY FARMS
Daniel looked from the papers to Mary’s faded dress.
