The Drip by Michael Gullo: Connections, Chapter by Chapter

The Drip is a novel told entirely in dialogue, with no narrator and no speech tags. Because nothing is explained, the book holds together through connections: a line in one chapter ties to a line somewhere else, earlier or later. This page lists every chapter's connections, the threads it plants, and the chapters where each thread lands.

Read The Drip free at michaelgullo.com

The eight kinds of connection

Each spoke on a fans page is a tie between a line in the chapter and something elsewhere in the book, earlier or later. The ties come in eight kinds. Each key below says what the reader meets on the page, then shows both ends of one tie from Chapter 77.

Same object

A thing you already know turns up again. Nobody describes it this time. It is simply there, with its history attached.

77 'Door's open.'

15 'My locks!'

Same words

A phrase you have heard comes back, sometimes from a different speaker. You hear the echo before you know why it rings.

77 'Dig a hole without a permit is bad enough'

67 'I'm digging without a permit, and when that goes bad, it goes bad fast'

Setup paid off

Something left open earlier closes here. If you kept it, you feel the click. If you didn't, the line still stands on its own.

77 'he told me to put a deadbolt on it, but we never got to that either'

72 'I'll have Tanner finish the deadbolt install today for all the good that'll do'

Testimony checked

A character says something, and you already know whether it is true. You are a step ahead of the people in the scene.

77 'No way he heard us in that machine.'

18 'I heard him going as I'm in the skid'

Same habit

Someone does what they always do. You know who it is by the act, before any name is given.

77 'Kitty's on the cutoff tree.'

55 'She sits up there every time she comes out.'

Parallel

A different person repeats the same shape. Nothing on the page points to it. You either notice it or you don't.

77 Kitty waits on the stair to be let in

18 Rusty's girl: 'Juss wait fer me get out and we go home.'

Standing condition

A pressure that never lifts, so the chapter can mention it in passing. It needs no explaining because it has been there all along.

77 'Plus, they garnish his check.'

59 'the court has been garnishing his wages'

Seed-back

A root planted in an early chapter after the later scene was written. To the reader it works like any other tie. You just meet the root first.

77 'Kitty's on the cutoff tree.'

10 'that tree stump throne that keeps her little wild kingdom under control'

Chapter 1, November 2, 2023 (19 connections)

November 2, the Hardin Valley kitchen. Stef and Michael fight about money and motion: a foundation two years outside the dining-room window, six bedrooms nobody wanted, four cars in a year, the Hummer flat against the garage wall. Build on income, never mortgage the home; put it on the market; get an apartment. 'You're Wabi-Sabi with a Brooklyn accent.' One parenthetical names Michael as the variable she is trying to subcontract out of the critical path.

The line worth the page: 'I can't go from living in one construction site to living in the next.' Stef's opening refusal is answered in her own mouth at 27 ('I get to live in a whole new construction site'), and the book's middle is her moving into the third one, her mother's.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 22, 27, 29, 31, 34, 42, 44, 49, 54, 62, 63, 66

The H, the chalk outline (lands in 10, 16, 27)

• 10 'Maybe we can up the price if we go get that paint'; the helipad named by Stef
• 16 'So it's the chalk outline?' after the David Lawson story
• 27 Buyer: 'I loved the H, man, but was that a chalk outline?'

Build on income, never mortgage the home (lands in 10, 16, 54)

• 10 LMA plan; 'the build-it-on-income idea isn't possible'; 'Oh, hell no' to a mortgage
• 16 Stef recites the whole plan back; 'we never mortgage our home'
• 54 'We're real light'; the nest gone sparse; two told-ya-so's

Six bedrooms, un-home; six-bedroom septic (lands in 10, 31, 62, 66)

• 10 'six bedrooms so un-home it's a place to go poop inside'
• 31 'Six bedrooms, and she chooses the actual bedroom for her office'
• 62 'six bedroom septic is a big field' at the new seat
• 66 'Two bedrooms?' 'I just imagined bigger.'

Garden-tractor basement, the bunker (lands in 9, 42, 63)

• 9 The 1,200-cubic-feet defense; the hole is now a concrete bunker with a mini-fridge
• 42 The crew hunts the hidden door; Cody finds it; fingerprint reader
• 63 'Are you doing another bunker?' Concrete roof for the batteries

Four cars, the Hummer against the wall (lands in 42, 44)

• 42 Stef to Tom: 'Bought four cars this year already'
• 44 'your douche canoe is parking outside tonight'

Construction site to construction site (lands in 3, 27, 29, 34)

• 3 'faded Tyvek and unfinished work' / 'Oh, so it's like our house'
• 27 Stef: 'I get to live in a whole new construction site'
• 29 'I don't have to keep building this place anymore'
• 34 The shed retrofit: outlets, heat, the toilet in the mud

The apartment (lands in 10, 29, 44, 49)

• 10 'Kitty's too old to live in an apartment'
• 29 'You and Clover go to the apartment idea'
• 44 Apartment struck; 'Karen keeps telling me to move home'
• 49 'Could have got an apartment' / the childhood twin bed

Hardin Valley's economy changed; acreage means subdivisions (lands in 2)

• 2 Lonnie: 'Acreage meant sub-divisions and people and traffic' (judgment, not a shared word)

Go get the paint (lands in 10, 27)

• 10 'Maybe we can up the price if we go get that paint after all'
• 27 The H seen by the buyer, the chalk joked by Stef

Tuscan kitchen, the nook off it (lands in 27, 31)

• 27 Trim pulled off the kitchen windows mid-showing
• 31 'that little nook room in the front corner off the kitchen'

EV and solar power (lands in 11, 18)

• 11 Twenty-four panels ordered for the 2023 credit
• 18 First power in the holler, 4:20 PM

Michael as the variable in the critical path (lands in 16, 22, 44)

• 16 'You built the GPS before you closed your eyes'
• 22 Bill: 'you're undiagnosed, but something ain't right'
• 44 'Leadership change': the crew works better for Stef

Chapter 2, November 4, 2023 (41 connections)

Lonnie Norman watches the green Hummer crawl Dripping Springs Road past Teague's junkyard and reads the driver through the tint: gold watch, pressed shirt, smooth-bottom shoes. Acreage means subdivisions. He borrows Jed's truck, nearly rear-ends the Hummer at the blind curve, and delivers Boyd's file as archive: the registered offender, Mama who bought the land, the two rottweilers, the bouncy chair. The Hummer turns into that driveway.

The line worth the page: 'Acreage meant only one thing.' Lonnie's whole fear is a reading of a sign, and the book gives him a man who buys acreage to keep it from becoming acreage; he is never told.

Connected chapters: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28, 30, 34, 35, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 63, 65, 68, 69, 70, 71

Smooth-bottom shoes, gold watch, pressed shirt (lands in 5, 8, 25, 28, 38, 44, 56)

• 5 Lonnie reads the tracks: 'smooth bottom shoes made fer office carpet'
• 8 Cody clocks the Danskos: 'Them ain't slick bottom. I know'd Deddy was bullshittin''
• 25 'Slick don't mean smooth'; the print with little circles
• 28 'Slick soles go runnin' cuz his money's at risk'
• 38 'Slick soles tell it all'
• 44 Ayers: 'Let the man smooth shoes and pressed shirts play the price game'
• 56 'Slippers... the shoes doctors and cooks and men on their feet wear'

Boyd: the file, the driveway, the easement (lands in 3, 7, 24, 45, 56, 57, 59, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71)

• 3 The near-miss at 'the child molester's place'; the easement washout
• 7 Lonnie: 'a man name of Boyd... owns the land marks the only entrance'
• 24 Roy: 'Boyd, like the battle'; title just changed hands; voicemail
• 45 'this creeper' to Tanner; 'I've never met him'
• 56 Lonnie: 'Boyd see that from his mama house'
• 57 Bernie and Mernie on Boyd's Creek and the holler
• 59 The ear-tagged male bear; 'Does his brother have kids too?'
• 63 Fourteen feet from center; 'We don't know the man, and he's not answering his phone'
• 68 'That's a Rottweiler got me trapped in the ho, run me in here try n chew my ass off.'
• 69 'He's a registered sex offender with a story should have been on the news.'
• 70 'Them dogs smell me up on that ridge, and I had all I could do git over the hill and up the tree stand.'
• 71 'Whole thing's a dog yard. You can see the perimeter walk is all like raw dirt and hard weeds under the chain link.'

Mama bought the land; the lady died, the son owns it (lands in 24, 56, 68)

• 24 'some lady bought the piece down the hill... I guess the lady died. The son owns it now'
• 56 'Boyd see that from his mama house. Land vacant.'
• 68 'I own this land.' – the neighbor, at the equipment yard

The near-miss at the blind curve, told from both cars (lands in 3, 68)

• 3 'this dude almost parked a pickup... right in my back seat'
• 68 'Man that's a blind curve. I almost got hit again backing out.'

Acreage means subdivisions (lands in 1, 16, 54, 71)

• 1 Michael: 'They put in the school and the thousands of homes'
• 16 'Twenty-eight boxes'; the listed house
• 54 'Poor communities are the only places left in America where cash even moves'
• 71 'It's a sub division – like nineties era. Working class.'

The fishing hole, lost (lands in 5, 6, 8, 20, 25, 28, 48, 52)

• 5 'he can't get nowhar near that pond old man Wiggins been tendin''
• 6 'Bad enough he bought the fishin' spot'
• 8 'the countless fishing days up Trail Holler'
• 20 Bill: 'that old fishin hole up the road'
• 25 Lonnie and Cody at the dam on the Ring
• 28 'we git our holler back'
• 48 'We hunt and fish up thar, near ever meal'
• 52 Cody: 'We used to swim here... Bullhead... Best though is them turtles'

Old man Teague's junkyard, the school bus on blocks (lands in 3, 5, 6, 13, 25, 56)

• 3 'heavy equipment and specialized truck junk yard'
• 5 'papped right out from 'round old man Teague's place'
• 6 'old man Teague, he like 'em ragged out'
• 13 'some long dead train engine behind the trailers'
• 25 'Old man Teague, he got a dozer out front'
• 56 'Might's well call old man Teague with that machine'

Jed's truck, the third DUI, the license (lands in 4, 7, 25, 48)

• 4 'That's Jed's truck, but ain't him driving it'
• 7 'Wasn't like that when Jed had it'
• 25 'they took his license last year'
• 48 Lonnie's day-pay memory: court fees, garnish

The Hummer's buzz; the birth of stupid (lands in 3, 4, 5, 6, 65)

• 3 'It's, um...' the phone-in-car tour; 'this thing weighs ten thousand pounds'
• 4 'I didn't hear the engine. It just showed up there, rolling slow'
• 5 'Didn't hear a thing till I heard those tires'
• 6 'the Hummer guy'; Kodak Harley to charge it
• 65 'that stupid moon machine... supposed to be lunar lander'

Dupont Baptist (lands in 9, 17, 34, 42)

• 9 'this is the Dupont community. Meth capital'
• 17 'I'm going to that Dupont Baptist this Sunday'
• 34 Stef's Bible in the she-shed for Dupont Baptist
• 42 'How do you know I went to Dupont?' / 'Hills got echos'

The Wye Exxon (lands in 3, 6, 15, 18, 30, 35, 39, 43, 47, 54)

• 3 'There's that gas station at the Wye. Can you make it there?'
• 6 Rusty seen at the Wye
• 15 Hostess cupcakes and candles from the Wye
• 30 'I saw Rusty at the Wye'
• 39 'on my way to the Exxon for cigarettes'
• 54 Milk from the Wye

Lonnie's boy, useless; the baby the light of his life (lands in 5, 7, 28, 38, 48, 56)

• 5 Layla, Meghan, the rent, the back-sass
• 7 Mernie's Lonnie history: wife dead, baby, drink
• 28 'that baby need heat'
• 38 'My boy got loyalty'
• 48 'I set here and I listen you talk my boy like that'
• 56 'there's my boy there tickin at that computer'

Hunting and fishing these hills with her; the way Cody should have (lands in 5, 8, 25, 48)

• 5 'Good fer the huntin' though'
• 8 'It's me gets the buck ever' year'
• 25 'Who git the job, Deddy?'
• 48 'Been our land all my life'

The money-tap: finished Hardin Valley, needs the next one (lands in 9, 21, 28)

• 9 'We bought it, now we gotta break it'
• 21 'I don't have the strength to start a new one anymore'
• 28 'they line you up one tax bill atter the other'

Community Center turnaround (lands in 3, 4, 7, 20, 39, 57)

• 3 'gorgeous Community Center... across from an old timey church'
• 4 Mernie and Emma watch Jed's truck turn around
• 7 Emma lands Lonnie in the parking lot
• 20 Bill installs cameras
• 39 Michael and Bill in the lot; Emma comes out the church door
• 57 Bernie's search; the flood

Ellijoy (lands in 5, 6, 50)

• 5 'buy the land's up fer sale up Ellijoy way'
• 6 'make it soun' more like up Ellijoy way'
• 50 'I'm on Ellijoy' at a hundred

Lonnie on the porch, already decided on the man (lands in 5, 28, 38, 48, 56)

• 5 The persimmon porch; 'Cody, are you listenin'?'
• 28 'See that, boy? Coward'
• 38 'That Yankee think he take my son'
• 48 'you ain't come up here say he honest on my porch'
• 56 'Dig, Yankee' from the ridge

'Lives with his Mama' – Boyd's mother, the chain of title (lands in 24, 56, 63)

• 24 'some lady bought the piece down the hill'; 'the lady died. The son owns it now'
• 56 'Boyd see that from his mama house. Land vacant.'
• 63 'We don't know the man, and he's not answering his phone' – the easement across her land

Chapter 3, November 4, 2023 (43 connections)

Michael on the phone to Stef and Phil from the car: the street catalog, the gate post that falls, the easement washout, the property pin with its rotting pink ribbon, the split where left is briars and right is forest. Forty-five minutes the wrong way. The bleb named plain between a cigarette and a subject change. A shiv in the tire, mailboxes all on one side, the Community Center and the chapel promised to her.

The line worth the page: 'I got two voices. Loud and everyone hears me' / 'Loud as hell, and mumble's more like it.' Stef names the attribution key for a tagless book in its third chapter, and no one picks the phrase up again.

Connected chapters: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 54, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 68, 71

The bleb, named plain for the first time (lands in 6, 15, 17, 18, 24, 31, 34, 61, 62)

• 6 Tanner: 'this thing on his lung could pop or something'
• 15 'No, the lung is fine'
• 17 'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle'
• 18 'Pile on Michael's bleb'
• 24 'I got a lung thing, I can't climb those hills at kid speed'
• 31 The dark walk: 'And this damned bleb'
• 34 'that bag of air time bomb on their lung'
• 61 'Are we still talking about the bleb?'
• 62 'the weight limit is forty-pounds... Moving that arm will kill you'

Smoking while the lung is mentioned (lands in 17, 18, 31, 61, 71)

• 17 'You'll be shocked to know I'm a smoker'
• 18 The smoking aria; 'If you can't smoke, blow bubbles'
• 31 'I'm sitting on my ass the whole time, promise'
• 61 'I get sun today... foggy breath'
• 71 'you're there alone, and that lung. This isn't Amsterdam.'

Brittany the doctor (lands in 13)

• 13 'you got Brittany to prescribe you permethrin' (the scabies)

The near-miss at the blind curve, backup-camera side (lands in 2, 68)

• 2 Lonnie: 'he almost smashed right into the back end of that piece of shit Hummer'
• 68 'Man that's a blind curve. I almost got hit again backing out.'

The gate post that fell; the one post left (lands in 62)

• 62 'They almost made me crash into the one gate post we have left'

Easement washout; back out and walk up (lands in 10, 13, 15, 21, 24, 45, 47, 48, 54, 63, 71)

• 10 'I can hardly get my car past the easement'
• 13 Chris walked the bore up the driveway
• 15 'That easement needs work'
• 21 'Chris found rock all the way down the easement'
• 24 'I can't get the owner of the easement on the phone'
• 45 Boulders on the high side; 'this isn't my land'
• 47 'Do you see why I did boulders on the easement?'
• 48 'more bumps and turns in it than that easement'
• 54 'Are we going to straighten up the easement too?'
• 63 Eight hundred fifty feet of the neighbor's land
• 71 'owns our easement and controls our entire sense of peace and security'

Property pin, pink ribbon, survey stake (lands in 18, 19, 24, 68)

• 18 'I used his ribbon to mark the tree'
• 19 'we're carrying a couple pins around'
• 24 'I saw the easement pins coming up'
• 68 'I saw your survey sticks.' 'Faded ribbons told me something like that.'

Left is briars, right is forest; the Wiggins berry patch (lands in 5, 8, 28, 45)

• 5 'old man Wiggins been tendin' that Blackberry crop'
• 8 'where old man Wiggins' blackberry patch should be'
• 28 'Wiggin's blackberry come back'
• 45 'This briar patch where we drove the road right through'

Blackberries-for-sale sign, leaning on the second house (lands in 5, 28, 45)

• 5 'Puts the sign out ever' year'
• 28 'You see that sign down there lean 'gainst the house? Sad, boy.'
• 45 'I was right about the blackberries sign that first day'

Forty-five minutes one way; the walk counted (lands in 5, 18, 35)

• 5 'he stop a lot... he gassed, 'specially onna way back'
• 18 'Be back in forty-five minutes'
• 35 'took me forty five minutes to walk up to it was so thick'

The limp in his step (lands in 5)

• 5 'one heavy one a bit lighter. A steady sign there's a limp'

Mailboxes all on one side; cross the road for junkmail (lands in 10, 11, 13, 45)

• 10 The neighbor's mailbox bought at Home Depot for the gift
• 11 The mailbox dug in without a level
• 13 'Without that, we wouldn't have an address'
• 45 Betty: 'put in that mailbox, and I hear all about it from my porch'

The shanked tire; the tire inflator (lands in 11, 16, 17)

• 11 'Is it a tire inflator?' 'Ouch.'
• 16 'the venerable yoke around my neck'
• 17 'I was sure the tire inflator got company'

Phil on speaker, the warrant, the lady they pick up Monday (lands in 9, 15, 17, 41, 46, 49, 63)

• 9 'Stef's buddy Phil... coach Little League'
• 15 'I'm neck deep in a warrant application'
• 17 'You stood on the deck twenty minutes talking to Phil and Jen'
• 41 'Phil's desk, Michael'
• 46 Chattanooga with Phil
• 49 Department of Revenue
• 63 'Is everything on Op?'

Sick puppy, you get off on it; desperate math later (lands in 10, 15)

• 10 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in'
• 15 The Antivenom book

Street catalog: cemetery in pasture, chimney, rusted tractor (lands in 59, 62, 65)

• 62 'a chimney stands alone in the field... weathervane on top of an abandoned phone pole'
• 65 'The steps. There's a chimney down there.'

Community Center and the chapel, promised to Stef (lands in 4, 7, 20, 36, 39, 57)

• 4 Mernie on the porch as the Hummer rolls by
• 36 Stef's first Sunday at the chapel
• 39 'I saw this place on my first day up here'

Junkyard of heavy equipment (lands in 2, 6, 13, 25, 56)

Lunch on Chapman (lands in 41, 42, 71)

• 41 Region's on Chapman Highway
• 42 'bigger than The Chatterbox on Chapman'
• 71 'It's that little like side road, the one that like parallels Chapman'

Bears and blackberries, first we-all-do (lands in 7, 17, 32, 48, 59, 61, 62)

• 7 The eavesdropping bear
• 17 'She's not big boned, but she's fat like she's pregnant'
• 32 Bear on the ridge, ambling
• 48 'She looks different'
• 59 Ear-tagged male
• 61 'two different bears'
• 62 'For a second I saw a cub'
• Two voices, loud and mumble — no return yet

'There's that gas station at the Wye.' (lands in 68)

• 68 'I'm at the Wye.'

Chapter 4, November 4, 2023 (28 connections)

Narrator: the Baptist church born of the schoolhouse, Mernie with her Kear's broom on the 1907 porch, Emma tallying who she can call to scrape and paint. Two mismatched steel doors that don't belong; Newell's Station, Pickens School House, the boys' door and the girls' door where the whole holler is now counted as one. Jed's truck turns around; the Hummer rolls by silent. 'Bet he could buy a couple fit-in doors.'

The line worth the page: 'Lonnie's okay. I don't like that kid of his though - got a bad habit finding other people's stuff before they even know they's missin'' / 'Long's it's not that boy.' Mernie sentences Cody before he speaks a word, and the arc carries it out: no redemption. The same call starts the premise. The holler won't let the bad apple spoil the bunch, so Cody never makes Emma's scrape-and-paint list, and the punishers come up a painter short on their own job.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 34, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 46, 48, 50, 52, 53, 57, 59, 62, 64

The two doors that don't belong; fit-in doors; the glass originals (lands in 7, 20, 57)

• 7 'how to get those doors replaced'
• 20 'Asked everyone I know where the originals are'; 'for security'
• 57 Mernie: 'They was glass panes from top to bottom'

Scrape-and-paint the clapboards; Emma's recruit list; March 2 (lands in 7, 20, 39, 57, 64)

• 7 'Prolly wanna scrape and paint the community center'; Cody can paint
• 20 Cameras first, then doors
• 39 'she'll have you on the donations list'
• 57 'March second's the day... I could use one or two more'; 'How about Stefanie?'
• 64 'Did you recruit any riders?' (golf cart; church report withheld)

Mernie and her broom; the worry sweep (lands in 7, 20, 36, 57)

• 7 Mernie in the passenger seat
• 20 'Lonnie know the rules'
• 36 'The quiet one back there is Mamaw Mernie'
• 57 'Emma, get the dust pan'; 'S'not worry, Emma. Keep it up, it last forever'

Emma tabulating who she can call (lands in 7, 20, 39, 57, 64)

• 7 'I set the hook and I land him'
• 20 Bill on the list
• 57 'All the usuals, their kids and grandkids'

Pickens School House, Newell's Station, 1907 (lands in 57)

• 57 Bernie: 'every search net I cast... comes up void'

The church born of the schoolhouse; Stef's first Sunday (lands in 36)

• 36 'That cast iron wood stove looks like it was installed with the building'

Jed's truck, not Jed driving; Lonnie's license (lands in 2, 7)

• 2 'the truck he'd borrowed offa Jed'
• 7 'That old truck smoke up the whole valley'

That kid of his, finding other people's stuff (lands in 7, 30, 38, 42, 43, 48, 50)

• 7 Wiggins: 'he collects them like prizes'
• 30 'You're a thief, twice convicted'
• 42 The jewelry boxes
• 43 'put those plastic jewels back'
• 48 Mrs. King's rent credit for the tree
• 50 The saw in the hollow oak

The bear in the side yard, unnoticed; the bear that changes the subject (lands in 7, 20)

• 7 'That bear sitting over there on the side like he eavesdropping'
• 20 'And you didn't even need a bear this time'

There's always a reason (lands in 7, 10, 25, 46, 52, 59)

• 10 'Story as old as stealing. If you got the right name...'

The Hummer rolling silent, windows like mirrors (lands in 2, 3, 18, 22)

• 2 'The driver invisible through the deep tint'
• 3 'Super Cruise'

Fit in / fit-in (lands in 2, 18, 20, 24, 34, 38, 41, 62)

• 2 'fit-in-families'
• 18 'You're going to fit in just fine around here'
• 20 'donating a couple fit-in doors'
• 24 'Trying to fit in'
• 34 'I'll never fit in if I don't'
• 38 'roll off his draws and think he fit in now'
• 62 'more fit in than eerie'

Separate doors at the threshold; the whole holler counted as one (voting) (lands in 39, 57)

• 39 'This's where you'll come vote this Fall'
• 57 'I vote here. We all vote here.'

Kinfolk buildings: church and Center, one born of the other (lands in 36, 57)

• 36 The chapel Stef enters
• 57 'this building survived unphotographed'

Two doors that don't belong – the book's first image of fit (lands in 5, 20, 28, 53, 57)

• 5 'I can see the kitchen light thoo this gap in this door'
• 20 'These doors. They plague me.'
• 28 Scrap cut wrong on purpose for the door gap
• 53 Cedar on the door in the headlights
• 57 'I remember the doors... glass panes from top to bottom'

Chapter 5, November 5, 2023 (18 connections)

Lonnie's porch, persimmons underfoot, the seed a spoon for snow. Cody back-sasses about rent, Tecovas on overdraft, the door gap you can read a lightbulb through. Lonnie's tracking report: smooth-bottom shoes, a limp, the cedar the man sat on, the wrong way up the hill, and not one sign he stopped to piss. Wiggins and his blackberry commerce. 'I ain't no carpenter' said first by the father.

The line worth the page: 'Boy's roots run deep like the ground wire for cattle fence.' Lonnie's insult is Michael's doctrine by 18 ('I'm the ground wire, Cody'), and the cattle-fence tick is how Lonnie hears his son at the laptop in 56. One wire, three owners.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 18, 25, 28, 38, 43, 45, 48, 53, 56, 59, 65, 70

Persimmons on the deck; the seed is a spoon (snow) (lands in 9)

• 9 The closing parenthetical: 'the persimmons on the porch are the ultimate given'

Reading sign: the weight in the walk, the limp, the stops (lands in 3, 8, 25, 28)

• 3 'I'll lift up my shirt... heavy breathing and a fast heart rate from exercise'
• 8 Cody: 'He act like he can read sign. Im'a read that sign myself'
• 25 'Ain't I said they slick bottom' / 'you wrong'; Lonnie reads Cody's own gait
• 28 'Feel like that man run off all the sign'

Smooth-bottom shoes, made fer office carpet (lands in 2, 8, 25, 38, 56)

• 2 The shoes imagined through tint
• 8 Cody clocks the Danskos
• 25 'slick don't mean smooth'
• 38 'Slick soles tell it all'
• 56 'Slippers'

'You on that pipe again, boy?' (lands in 6, 9, 11, 48)

• 6 'You ain't smokin' still are you?' 'Shit, no.'
• 9 'tell the truth, you got a meth pipe in your pocket'
• 11 'I don't smoke no more, anyhow'
• 48 Stef: 'You just don't like the drugs history'

Roots: 'deep like the ground wire for cattle fence'; flag boots don't make you 'Merican (lands in 8, 18, 25, 28, 56)

• 8 'Up here they can't tell him what he is'
• 18 'I'm the ground wire, Cody'
• 25 'This boy got no roots'; the flag boots vs the work boots
• 28 'all he doin is tear out the roots was here fore he got sight of us'
• 56 'tickin at that computer, tick, tick, tick like a cattle fence'

Meghan's mama pays the rent; Mrs. King; fed at the back door of the church (lands in 43, 48, 65, 70)

• 43 'It's like Mom is keeping that whole family up'
• 48 'Mrs. King give us three months rent we come cut that tree'; 'Meghan's mama pay the rent'
• 65 'Jed move out, and I'm move in. That's the plan. Red one's to rent.'
• 70 'don't want Mrs. King come over, and we got the hood up'

Tecovas on overdraft; thirty-five and thirty-five extra (lands in 25, 48, 59)

• 25 'I know'd that walk soon's I seen it... flag boots... too clean'
• 48 'They's levy my bank account'
• 59 Comenity: 'pay ahead'

The gap in the door you can read a light bulb through (lands in 28, 38, 53)

• 28 'we put them up here over this gap in the door'
• 38 The frozen caulk bead
• 53 Cedar trim on Cody's door in the headlights

Old man Wiggins knocks the briars down every fall; the sign, the fruit trays (lands in 3, 8, 28, 45)

• 3 Left is briars on the first walk
• 8 'where old man Wiggins' blackberry patch should be'
• 28 'Wiggin's blackberry come back... Sad, boy'
• 45 'You knock down all the brown ones' – Michael cultivates the same patch

Layla, the baby in the house; Cody a kid with a kid (lands in 6, 25, 53)

• 6 'I can't work the weekends though with Layla'
• 25 'keep Layla warm with clean burnin' wood'
• 53 Stef: 'There's a baby in the house'

Interwebs: the Hummer's skid plate, couldn't get past the washout (lands in 3)

• 3 'Even this thing can't get past that'

'Once upon a time' – the cedar he sat on, the wrong way up the hill (lands in 3, 25)

• 3 'I walked for like forty-five minutes. Then I had to turn around'
• 25 'You should come with one of them disclaimers... Once Upon a Time'

'He ain't just pissin' neither' (lands in 8)

• 8 Cody's 'prolly hadda piss' answered by his own walk up

Lonnie on the porch tryin' to tell him what he saw (lands in 28, 38, 48, 56)

• 28 The porch, Lonnie wins one
• 38 The porch, caulk bead
• 48 The porch, Tanner's hearing
• 56 The ridge

Chapter 6, December 15, 2023 (35 connections)

Tanner calls Cody with a job for the Hummer guy, and Cody takes it to spite Deddy. Mulching not milling, protective of the hardwoods; the dam washed out and a new spillway planned; the lung thing he smokes through; 'he's different.' Pay ladder eighteen to nineteen-fifty, check not cash, 'I don't pay no taxes.' Four-hooter rats, field-cam batteries flipped by Lonnie. He beats Tanner there every morning.

The line worth the page: 'He's different.' Tanner's hedge for a man he can't describe becomes the crew's password and, by 34, Michael's own ('We're different'); the one line almost everyone in the book gets to say.

Connected chapters: 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 50, 52, 55, 58, 59, 62, 65, 70

Tanner calls Cody; the hire as spite against Deddy (lands in 8, 9, 43, 48)

• 8 Cody walks up the Wiggins stretch to the job; 'I'm his'
• 9 'I didn't get his name. Cody, but...'
• 43 Tanner and Devin: 'He's spiteful – but no cause for it'
• 48 'I ain't gonna let you railroad me in your spite engine'

'He's different' – Tanner's first coinage (lands in 8, 9, 11, 15, 17, 24, 25, 34)

• 8 'I told you he's different'
• 9 'Different.' / 'Weird.' / 'Different.'
• 11 'Different.' after the dam tour
• 15 'Different.' at the cupcakes
• 17 'She's different too' (Stef)
• 24 Roy: 'He always like this?' 'He's different.'
• 25 'Look out, Deddy, he's different'
• 34 'We're different' (Michael, on DirecTV)

The bleb, county translation: 'this thing on his lung could pop' (lands in 3, 15, 17, 48)

• 3 Stef names it first
• 15 'the lung is fine'
• 17 'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle'
• 48 Tanner: 'He's sick. That's plain'

Camels, the pack, the butts in his pocket (lands in 9, 18, 19)

• 9 'Why's he keep putting all them butts in his pocket?' / 'It's camo'
• 18 The smoking aria
• 19 'that's a lot of cigarettes'

Mulching, not milling; protective of the hardwoods (lands in 9, 15, 21, 32, 58, 62)

• 9 'I could get a fortune for all that Poplar'
• 15 'Let me mulch the brush so he could park near the shed'
• 21 One bucket at a time vs the moonscape
• 32 'Three times I've put you in the machine... killed a tree'
• 58 'All those Poplars are history'; Gum trees live
• 62 'the stretch next to the pond. See how I mulched that?'

The dam washed out; the new spillway down the side (lands in 11, 25, 30, 47, 52, 55, 62, 65)

• 11 First dam tour: 'water coming out underneath is steady'
• 25 Lonnie and Cody at the spill pipe
• 30 'Dam day starts there'
• 47 Sheeting over; the weir
• 52 The spillway set
• 55 The slide
• 62 'It held through the rain Friday'
• 65 'There are probably one or two boss bass' / 'There's rumors.'

The Facebook ad Stef put up; Seymour Speaks Out (lands in 9, 18, 21, 24, 35, 41, 62)

• 9 'So back to the Facebook ad?'
• 18 'my draw is informal Facebook leftovers'
• 21 'I could advertise this business all day long on Facebook'
• 24 'I put some bait out on Facebook'
• 35 'Stefanie's Facebook habit comes to mind'
• 41 Shotcrete guy found on Facebook
• 62 'I looked on Facebook... no luck'

Pay ladder: eighteen, nineteen, nineteen-fifty (lands in 9, 17, 21)

• 9 'He put us up to twenty'
• 17 'twenty an hour, paycheck with a W2, day cash the first week'
• 21 'The bid is twenty bucks an hour'

Check or nothing: remodeling license, Truist, payroll, withholding (lands in 11, 17, 21, 41, 48)

• 11 'I own it. It's all in my name'
• 17 Rusty: 'the ten ninety-nine's a trap, so it's a W2'
• 21 The vows
• 41 'Man gets paid on payday'
• 48 'I don't want no withholding' / the levy

'I don't pay no taxes'; no Social Security in forty years (lands in 28, 48, 59, 70)

• 28 'Tax evasion, and his lady a tax cop'
• 48 'I don't want no withholding'
• 59 'I could pay my taxes' (Tanner)
• 70 'We live on that 1099 money all our lives, and we ain't file taxes.'

Cody can't work weekends; Meghan waits tables (lands in 25, 45, 47, 48)

• 25 Saturday at the dam: 'Meghan don't work till four'
• 45 'That boy don't work weekends'
• 47 'add in another Saturday, pay up'
• 48 'bid jobs somewhere else, like on the weekends'

Holler rats, coons, the four-hooter (lands in 17, 25, 31, 47, 50)

• 17 'flying off with the four hooter hunting rats'
• 25 Owl calls parsed: announce vs mate
• 31 'mine-mine, mine, mine' on the dark walk
• 47 'Wel-come-home-guys'; hoot and shoot
• 50 'Do you hear that owl?' 'Real.'

Field cams; the batteries flipped by Lonnie (lands in 18, 25, 30, 70)

• 18 Real cameras go up
• 25 'Is that the guy from the trail cam batteries?' 'Camera batteries says different'
• 30 The camera that didn't ping
• 70 'Other night we sneak in the holler instead, Lonnie got a Bullhead, and that shed light go off we gotta split.'

His lady's a cop (lands in 9, 25, 28, 41)

• 9 'Does he know you're armed?'
• 25 Stef at the confrontation
• 28 'his lady a tax cop'
• 41 'Phil's desk'

He figures shit out; building the whole church from a post card (lands in 7, 17, 21, 45)

• 7 Bernie described the same way, from the other side
• 17 'They're not all troubled. Most of them... minds too complex'
• 21 The shed-step sermon
• 45 'Forgiveness doctrine'

Spend less than you make; 'a you problem' (lands in 10, 48, 59)

• 10 Stef's desperate-math speech
• 48 'Pay's not the same. They's levy my bank account'
• 59 Comenity: pay ahead

He beats me there every day (lands in 9, 11, 14, 19, 30, 34, 37, 40)

• 9 'I beat Tanner here again'
• 11 'At least I got here before Tanner again'
• 14 'do you sleep at all?' 'I'm a vampire'
• 19 'I took my time, teach you a lesson'
• 30 'both of you get here before me again'
• 34 'I beat you to work. I was checking out at Lowes'
• 37 Cody at 6:15
• 40 'All four here before me'

Chapter 7, December 15, 2023 (28 connections)

Narrator: Bernie as Mernie in smooth skin, 'Claude and Copilot and Gemini rolled into one.' Emma lands Lonnie in the Community Center lot and sets the hook for a paint crew; Trail Holler named for the escapees, Boyd's Creek, the bear that changes the subject, Cody's phone that's never paid. In the car: Mernie's history of Lonnie, the lumber yard and the wife's cancer; Wiggins on Cody – 'he collects them like prizes.'

The line worth the page: 'That boy don't just make bad decisions, he collects them like prizes.' Wiggins on Cody, quoted by Emma, is the narrator's sentence on Gibson five chapters later ('curated them into display cabinets'); two men, one verdict, and at 54 the recording is a Greatest Hits.

Connected chapters: 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 24, 25, 28, 32, 34, 36, 39, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 56, 57, 59, 64, 68, 70, 72

Bernie: Mernie in smooth skin; 'Claude and Copilot and Gemini rolled into one' (lands in 20, 36, 57)

• 20 'Already on it, Mama'; the Ring subscription priced from the back seat
• 36 'Welcome, ma'am, I'm Bernice'; the Stephanos etymology
• 57 The search that finds everything but the doors

Emma sets the hook and lands Lonnie (lands in 9, 20, 42, 45)

• 9 Michael's Facebook 'bait... wandered right in the trap' (24)
• 20 'All I do is install them and grin when you pick which of your own traps you got yourself stuck in'
• 42 Stef: 'I know how to dial it up too'
• 45 Tanner won't let go of the hand

Church budget, seed money for the Center (lands in 20, 46, 57)

• 20 Cameras donated, doors next
• 46 Michael's budget: 'another budget stack on the retaining wall'
• 57 'I can even get a few of them purdy cheap'

Trail Holler: the escapees' fortress; the 407 folklore (lands in 8, 20, 34, 36, 57)

• 8 'the countless fishing days up Trail Holler'
• 20 'the man bought Old Trail Holler'
• 34 Robby: 'prime hunting ground back when the Cherokee own this land'; the old still
• 36 'She just bought Trail Holler'
• 57 Bernie: 'the internet don't call it that'

Boyd's Creek history; 'a man name of Boyd' owns the entrance (lands in 24, 32, 57, 59, 68, 70)

• 24 Roy: 'Boyd, like the battle'
• 32 'That tree was here at the Battle of Boyd's Creek'
• 57 'I've been to the Boyd's Creek book crew'
• 59 White Star on Boyd's Creek road
• 68 'I own this land.' – the neighbor, at the equipment yard
• 70 'now that Boyd come skull aroun' and he put up a house the only way Lonnie know git into that holler quiet'

The bear that changes the subject (lands in 17, 20)

• 17 'that bear's in her life too'
• 20 'And you didn't even need a bear this time' / 'Bear work with a man like Lonnie'

Co-op propane for the heater (lands in 25)

• 25 Lonnie's stolen twenty for propane

'That boy can paint' (lands in 57)

• 57 Emma's March 2 recruit list (Cody absent from it)

'Oh brother' – Mernie's verdict (lands in 13, 17, 20)

• 13 Michael: 'Oh, brother!'
• 17 Stef: 'Oh, brother.'
• 20 Mernie again: 'Oh, brother'

Bless your heart (lands in 20, 39)

• 20 'That's so sweet of you. Bless your heart' (Bill gets it)
• 39 Bill: 'before I can say, bless your heart'

Mernie's Lonnie history: lumber yard, wife's cancer, the drink (lands in 25, 28, 56, 57)

• 25 '(Conflicts with Mernie lumber yard story)' – Lonnie's Blalock dozer years
• 28 'your mama hung them pinks out to dry'
• 56 'Lumber yard close. I work them dozers for day pay'
• 57 Mernie as the valley's living record

10,000 years of humans repeating themselves; the Samsung (lands in 57)

• 57 Bernie to the end of the internet and back

'Cody's the monster under his own bed'; collects bad decisions like prizes (lands in 12, 43, 48)

• 12 Gibson 'did not just collect setbacks like prizes, he curated them'
• 43 'like he was sabotaging his own graduation'
• 48 Stef: 'the jail is of his own making'

Mrs. Wiggins, the counselor who poured into him (lands in 11, 43, 45, 57)

• 11 'You can't just hope, you gotta hustle too'
• 43 'Wiggins was all over him'
• 45 Betty on the porch: 'one of my favorite boys'
• 57 'your friend Betty'

'since back when your grandma was first married, before your grandma had your mama here' – Mernie to Bernice, third person: Mernie is Emma's grandmother, Bernice's great-grandmother; Emma's mother and father never named (lands in 4, 36, 57, 64)

• 4 Mernie on the 1907 porch, 'She really wanted to do the stairs, but...'
• 36 'That's Mamaw Mernie and my little girl Bernice' – Emma calls her Mamaw too
• 57 'Emma, he died the day you was born' – Emma born 1978; Mernie at Ray and Louise's wedding
• 64 'back again to Mernie's' – the circle of houses

'his wife die of cancer and leave him all alone with the baby' – Cody motherless at two (lands in 5, 28, 39, 56)

• 5 'This kid don't got no roots' – the widower on the boy whose roots he is
• 28 'your mama hung them pinks out to dry ever' year... you was a fevered baby'
• 39 'His mother is dead.' – Michael's, same condition
• 56 'can't finish pay the funeral'

'You never do know when he's paid the bill er lost the blame-thing' (lands in 72)

• 72 'I called him like six times, and he didn't answer the phone.'

Chapter 8, December 18, 2023 (30 connections)

Cody's interior on the walk up: the chicory blue gone from the shoulder, the Wiggins stretch as the seam where judgment washes off, 'I'm not my fault. I'm his.' Deddy ain't no tracker; it's Cody gets the buck and the ramps and the wire. Then the hire: Michael reads the wife's red coat, Cody reads the Danskos – 'Them ain't slick bottom' – and says nothing. Tractor Supply for a coat, boots, and a speed square.

The line worth the page: 'I'm not my fault. I'm his.' Cody's creed on the walk up is the thing Stef says of Michael at 16 ('He's you') and Michael says to Cody at 30 ('I was you'); three people assign the same blame in three directions.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 28, 30, 31, 35, 40, 43, 45, 46, 48, 51, 52, 54, 56, 59, 60, 62, 70

The chicory blue on the shoulder; the Wiggins stretch as the seam (lands in 3, 5, 11, 45, 62)

• 3 'Blackberries for sale' sign seen on the first walk
• 5 Lonnie's read of the same stretch from the tracks
• 11 'She lives right there' / 'Like, there, there?'
• 45 Betty from the screen: 'We're not sleeping'
• 62 Daffodils at Mrs. Wiggins' roadside

'You can't just hope, you gotta hustle too' (lands in 9, 11, 45)

• 9 'He's a hustler like the rest of them'
• 11 'It's not hustle when you're always behind' / 'I hustle'
• 45 'Tanner, hustle' / 'Yes, Miss Betty'

'I'm not my fault. I'm his.' (lands in 14, 17, 30, 48)

• 14 'I ain't no quitter, Cody' / 'Okay, dad'
• 17 Stef: 'He's you.' / 'Fuck no. This kid's a mess.'
• 30 'I tell you because I was you'
• 48 'I'm not my fault' inverted by Tanner: 'you're the one owes money'

Deddy ain't no tracker; who gets the buck, the walnuts, the ramps (lands in 5, 25, 48, 62, 70)

• 5 Lonnie's tracking monologue
• 25 'Who git the job, Deddy?' / 'That's Cody gait'
• 48 'near ever meal we get half the Winter come off the deers'
• 62 Walnuts in the old-tree swath
• 70 'I'm up thar, get the sang'

The wire: strip it, sell it; scrap (lands in 28, 30, 51, 52)

• 28 'Been sellin' Pine to the tourists'
• 30 'Live Bait... stripping that wire from the rafters'
• 51 'You stole wire that weighed twenty-pounds... ten thousand dollars'
• 52 'I took the wire out years ago' (25)

The rumbling freightline of grievance; the books to balance (lands in 46, 54, 59)

• 46 'You judge all you like'
• 54 'You're just being asked to keep accurate books' / 'Accurate to who?'
• 59 'Why do you have to keep the books fair'

Cody reads the sign himself, two months later (lands in 25)

• 25 Cody reads the circles in the Dansko print; Lonnie reads Cody's work boots

Tanner's truck where the berry patch should be; the dread in full view (lands in 9, 15, 43)

• 9 The shed frame flips
• 15 'Tanner's coming around the curve, White Reading plain as day'
• 43 'I can't believe you trust them to borrow your truck'

Wife's red coat; 'you don't look like no electrician' (lands in 9)

• 9 'he's got on his wife's winter coat' / 'That's sad'

Sneakers, Danskos; 'Them ain't slick bottom' (lands in 2, 5, 25, 56)

• 2 The imagined smooth soles
• 5 'Got smooth-bottom shoes'
• 25 'Slick don't mean smooth'
• 56 'Slippers'

The chipped pipe in your pocket (lands in 9, 13, 17)

• 9 'tell the truth, you got a meth pipe in your pocket'
• 13 'Well he does pretty good with a meth pipe'
• 17 'back-pocket-crack-pipe'

'Welcome aboard. Ya think you can stay out of jail' (lands in 40)

• 40 'Hey, Devin. Welcome aboard.'

'My way? That's time. A lotta time.' (lands in 21, 35, 59)

• 21 'My way takes time, a lot of time. I got a two year job here'
• 35 'The little steps make the goals'
• 59 'The confidence of disposable income'

'Sometimes the jokes are just for me' (lands in 11)

• 11 Same line to Stef about geometry class

'I know that 35p over there, and the skid' (lands in 9, 15, 25, 52)

• 9 'this guy says he knows that 35p over there'
• 15 'He covets em'
• 25 'I'm the only one can, Deddy'
• 52 'I'll run the ex.' / 'It's gotta be me.'

What side of the hammer to hit your thumb with (lands in 9)

• 9 'Did you hit yer head with the wrong side of the hammer?'

Speed square, Tractor Supply, a coat and boots (lands in 9)

• 9 'panicking cuz I can't find the speed square'

'The responsibility comes with being human' (lands in 18, 22, 31, 46)

• 18 'I'm the ground wire, Cody'
• 22 'Whatever you people do to one another is my fault'
• 31 'Because I'm in charge here'
• 46 'the responsibility that comes with being human is to do things the best you can'

Every step one step closer to the next worst (lands in 21, 54, 60)

• 21 'Zero is what Cody will get'
• 54 'you're not being punished here by it'
• 60 'Can't, won't, same thing'

'Ball Homes' – so you know how to change the question (lands in 14)

• 14 The serpentine reveal at the grill

Chapter 9, December 18, 2023 (37 connections)

Michael's phone dossier on Cody to Stef: Einstein hair, Manson eyes, Pig Pen cloud; the garden-tractor bunker defended. On site the shed frame flips, 'I ain't no carpenter' / 'That thing says you are,' chalk lines and ropes, obtuse defined, Ouch and Oucher christened. Tanner and Cody's sidebar: day cash, twenty an hour, butts in the pocket, poplar to sell, 'I ain't no charity case.' Two drawer parentheticals on given versus earned.

The line worth the page: 'I ain't no carpenter' starts in Lonnie's mouth at 5, about the door, and is Cody's by 9, about everything.

Connected chapters: 1, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 68, 70, 71

'I ain't no carpenter' / 'That thing says you are' (lands in 5, 11, 17, 25, 48)

• 5 'I ain't no carpenter. Why you don't git yer friend Kerry King fix that door?' (Lonnie)
• 11 'Einstein the Texan Parrot'
• 17 'You ain't no carpenter. Got it.'
• 25 'You ain't no carpenter – especially not on Saturdays'
• 48 Tanner: 'You ain't no carpenter, but it's not that'

Ouch / Oucher christened (lands in 11, 14, 25, 31, 34, 42, 50)

• 11 'Ouch' as the scale: 'Dumber you get, the more of these I got loaded up'
• 14 'You say Ouch, and I'm going to die right here'
• 25 'Machiavelli, ouch.' 'What is that, that ouch..?'
• 31 Stef: 'Stop saying ouch every time someone scores a point'
• 34 'Did you see Stef's face the other day when you said, ouch?'
• 42 'You will not ouch God's ears'
• 50 'Pizza's good.' 'Ouch.'

Bossman (lands in 15, 18, 22, 40, 56)

• 15 'Yeah, thanks, bossman'
• 18 'Stop calling me that, Bill.' 'Okay, Slippers.'
• 22 'I ain't your bossman, you are'
• 40 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses'
• 56 Lonnie: 'Hell's he call bossman? ...Got my boy genuflect'

Twenty-two-year-old teeth; teeth in a cup by thirty (lands in 14, 15, 28, 56)

• 14 'I'll knock three of your black stinking teeth out right here'
• 15 'It's his teeth knocked out he ever talk to me like that'
• 28 'if you ain't listen, he knock out yer teeth'
• 56 'Nuff sense'; Lonnie's account of the threats

Einstein hair, Manson eyes, Pig Pen cloud; the skid-row hologram (lands in 11, 17)

• 11 'Einstein the Texan Parrot'
• 17 'wafting off you like a cloud of fart' (Rusty gets the same read)

Workman's comp, disability, homeowner's on bare land (lands in 10, 37, 48)

• 10 'you make me get disability insurance, workman's comp'
• 37 'Workman's Comp does not cover you for fraud'
• 48 'here you got Workman's Comp and Disability insurance'

The gag: insulting the shit out of him (lands in 39, 46)

• 39 Stef: 'You'd be six bits deep in that caricature insult gag'
• 46 'that caricature insult gag of yours' (39); 'You saw me cut to the chase'

'Does he know you're armed?' (lands in 28, 58, 68, 71)

• 28 'threaten me more 'n once'
• 58 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?'
• 68 'Are you armed?' 'Honey.' 'Right. Just checklisting.'
• 71 'I have a gun and a gas pedal'

'You're not bringing this one home, right?' (lands in 29, 42)

• 29 'please don't bring this one home with him, and here they come'
• 42 The crew in the Hardin Valley house

Shallow grave, six feet under, Blalock's finishes the dirt work (lands in 15, 25, 56)

• 15 'Blalock' as Cody's old boss
• 25 'Blalock pay two million dollar for that machine'
• 56 'I work with Blalock. Can't granish cash.'

'We bought it, now we gotta break it' (lands in 41, 46)

• 41 'Hardin Valley' / 'break it' echoes in the cash speech
• 46 'I'm in the dirt, Stef, and I'm not stopping to ask permission'

The garden-tractor hole: twelve hundred cubic feet, ninety-five dump trucks (lands in 1, 17, 30, 46)

• 1 'Who digs a hole next to the foundation... with a garden tractor'
• 17 'That garden tractor ain't' (new)
• 30 'fifty dump trucks of dirt down the back'
• 46 The hundred boulders, one trailer at a time

The golden puzzle box and the butter knife (lands in 10, 16, 50, 55)

• 10 'that puzzle piece mind tromping their smart asses'
• 16 'until some puzzle piece tromps in'
• 50 'I wouldn't have puzzle pieced myself out of a home'
• 55 'I missed a puzzle piece'

The dock: shower in the open air, boat lift never off (lands in 27, 42)

• 27 'You guys enjoy the dock'
• 42 'That dock is sick!' / 'My girls'd grow gills'

'Give me his name. I'll run him' (lands in 11, 15, 28)

• 11 'It's Norman. Cody, 1221 Dripping Springs Road'
• 15 'We went over his whole record'
• 28 'his lady a tax cop'

Told-you-so cued up under the bed (lands in 44, 54)

• 44 'I don't get many of these'
• 54 'Why do you get all the clean told-ya-so's, and I gotta hide under the bed for mine?'

The gouged tree; 'it's gonna scar the tree' (lands in 32, 47, 48)

• 32 The Beechnut half-girdled; 'Three times... killed a tree'
• 47 'Cody Norman's the last ring in its history'
• 48 Tanglefoot and the bridge graft

Chalk-line the joists; the deck that held (lands in 11, 34)

• 11 Geometry by rock-scratch; 'A-squared plus B-squared'
• 34 Tanner wires the shed

Tax cop; 'a-squared plus b-squared is a hard C-ya later' (lands in 10, 11, 70)

• 10 'simple percentages are over her head'
• 11 'I'm out.' 'Yeah, he ain't no carpenter.'
• 70 'Man's a tax evader, and his old lady's a cop. Did you even ask?'

Day money, the week held back, 'He just knew' (lands in 15, 17, 59)

• 15 'Gave me cash so I can pay you day money'
• 17 'day cash the first week'
• 59 'It's advance pay'

Butts in his pocket: 'It's camo' (lands in 6)

• 6 Tanner: 'camel runs off with the pack'

The poplar Cody could sell; 'I ain't no charity case' (lands in 25, 31, 58)

• 25 'Maybe I grab one of them poplar logs on the way out'
• 31 Chevylegs behind the big Poplar
• 58 'All those Poplars are history'

Given vs earned; persimmons underfoot (parenthetical) (lands in 5, 11, 15, 59)

• 5 The persimmon porch
• 11 'Given means gamed, Tanner'
• 15 'Took is gamed too'
• 59 'giving is receiving. Let me receive my way'

Chapter 10, December 18, 2023 (41 connections)

Home. Amy lists the house with football photos at the i-dare-you price. Kitty's first ink: too old for an apartment, a cat door and eleven acres, 'I'll live in that shed they're building first.' The New York leases sell on the twenty-seventh; the LMA; whole stack on red; 'Oh, hell no' to a mortgage; the tourniquet on the vest. Stef's Lamborghini parable: 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in.' A gift that fits in a mailbox.

The line worth the page: 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in.' Stef says it about her defendants; the levy on Cody's account (48) and Lonnie's garnished wages (56) are the same math run on the other side of the road, and Michael's cash withdrawals (41, 46) are her own husband walking toward it.

Connected chapters: 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 62, 65, 66, 67, 69, 72

Amy lists the house; footballs, the i-dare-you price (lands in 23, 27, 29, 31, 44, 65)

• 23 'Ten days, and I haven't even had a call yet'; raise it five percent
• 27 'We listed in Winter with the low ball price'
• 29 'The offer is for one nine fifty. The i-dare-you price.'
• 31 The conference call with Emam
• 44 'Amy's would have been great, but it's too from the office'
• 65 'the I dare you price... a built in cotton candy maker'

Politics; if you got the right name, it's pedigree brilliance (lands in 7, 25, 57)

• 7 'There's always a reason' (Emma)
• 25 'I'm on the inside now'
• 57 Ray Reagan's name on the bridge; Pickens Schoolhouse on nothing

Disability, workman's comp, homeowner's on bare land (lands in 9, 37, 48)

• 9 'You got Tanner the workman's comp right?'
• 37 The 1099 test list
• 48 'here you got Workman's Comp and Disability insurance'

The she-shed; the roof framed into the studs (lands in 27, 34)

• 27 'you gotta see this she-shed he built for Stef'
• 34 Stef's Bible in the she-shed

The tool bag hidden in the cabinets (lands in 26, 27)

• 26 'She better not touch my tool bag'
• 27 'good luck finding your tool bag, Toolbag'

Kitty: too old for an apartment; cat door, eleven acres, chipmunks (lands in 16, 29, 34, 50, 55, 62)

• 16 'They're Kitty food, like always'
• 29 'me and Kitty go to the shed at The Drip'
• 34 'some kind of foster for Kitty'
• 50 Kitty screaming in the car; the shed at 42 degrees
• 55 'She doesn't know where she is'; no cat door yet
• 62 Kitty off the porch, 'out of bounds'; the chipmunk as encode

'I'll live in that shed they're building first' (lands in 29, 30, 34, 35, 54)

• 29 'me and Kitty go to the shed'
• 30 'I'm about to move into that shed over there'
• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael'
• 35 'I'll stay here a while until we get that workshop built'
• 54 'you've been sleeping in there without heat?'

Clover in a culvert pipe; 'we're not gonna be homeless' (lands in 17, 29, 47, 54, 60)

• 17 Clover at the groomer
• 29 'You and Clover go to the apartment idea'
• 47 'Karen's pretty excited me and Clover are coming'
• 54 Clover at the door crack; the biscuit
• 60 The spins; 'she's got her outside glands on'

The student-housing deal, the twenty-seventh, New York taxes (lands in 16, 33)

• 16 'You sell half the leases in New York'
• 33 'the two I just deposited from the sale'

A mansion we don't want; six bedrooms un-home (lands in 1, 28, 55)

• 1 'Whose idea was it to renovate three bedrooms into six?'
• 28 Lonnie: 'wife can't keep up the mansion and moves'
• 55 Karen: 'so Emam can live in a mansion'

Schwab, the LMA; borrow money we have (lands in 16, 31, 33, 54, 67)

• 16 Stef recites the whole plan
• 31 'withdraw all the LMA funds and get to Cuba' (notes)
• 33 Duran: 'the loan ceiling is like one point three'
• 54 'feather the rest back to the money market'
• 67 'Well, Charlie, get to it.' 'Charlie?' 'Schwab.'

Whole stack on red; the land that paid the bills twenty-five years (lands in 16, 33)

• 16 'I've had James West, Chris Fernandez...'
• 33 'I got a seller's note'

'Oh, hell no' to a mortgage; our land sale just became our income (lands in 16, 66, 67)

• 16 'we never mortgage our home'
• 66 'Look, if you don't have the money to build it, we offer financing.'
• 67 'Leases been a five-cap for twenty years, never more and never less.'

The tourniquet on the vest; the appendage (lands in 54, 59)

• 54 'all my income is outgo – and then some'
• 59 'I will give him that money if I have to hock the Hummer' (58)

Lamborghini, the sales-tax account; 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in' (lands in 3, 15, 30, 46, 48, 67, 72)

• 3 'She's a criminal. I don't feel bad.'
• 15 'Um, No way you took the test already' – Cody's fines on payment plan
• 30 'I'm not a criminal anymore'
• 46 'Suspicious Activity Reports are a real thing'
• 48 The levy: 'Can't get the money out fast enough the bank's in on it'
• 67 'Desperate math again?' 'That's the shape.'
• 72 'Any bet Cody rides them Legborghinis to work?'

Our family is in Sevier County; the imminent move they rolled their eyes at (lands in 16, 47, 53, 60)

• 16 Mamaw's Christmas
• 47 'Karen keeps telling me to move home' (44)
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'
• 60 'Got Stefanie back in the nest'

'So now it's my fault you're going to jail' (lands in 28, 35)

• 28 'He goes jail, wife can't keep up the mansion'
• 35 'Beats forty-three. Of course, you'll be in prison.'

Stock account, psych ward, mountain remodel from a skidsteer seat (lands in 33, 49)

• 33 Duran and the Street-Smart-Edge account
• 49 'The front seat of that skid steer' as the loading dock

Holler balls (lands in 22, 29, 44)

• 22 'Cody's holler balls' (Bill)
• 29 'transfer their holler balls to my Mamaw's china'
• 44 'three days ago holler balls on Mamaw's china'

The Christmas gift that fits in a mailbox (lands in 11, 13, 15, 17)

• 11 'You can't give me land with no house for Christmas'
• 13 'That mailbox is busy. Is it a new watch?'
• 15 'The key to our home to come is Stefanie's Christmas gift'
• 17 'I put the key on a chain'

The neighbor's mailbox bought at Home Depot (lands in 11, 13, 45)

• 11 The mailbox dug in without a level
• 13 The address it gives them
• 45 Betty heard the mailbox go in

Puzzle-piece mind tromping into a problem (lands in 16, 50, 55)

• 16 'some puzzle piece tromps in'
• 50 'I wouldn't have puzzle pieced myself out of a home'
• 55 'I missed a puzzle piece'

'Did I say it wrong? Prefer Spanish?' (lands in 69)

• 69 'Hablas Espanol?' / 'self defense with a bad accent'

Chapter 11, December 19, 2023 (36 connections)

The mailbox dug in without a level. Cody and Tanner walk up: Wiggins lives right there, hustle, 'Given means gamed,' the node, associates. First dam tour, the trickle and the seep; little duckies; geometry by rock-scratch. Stef on the phone: Norman, 1221 Dripping Springs; 275,000 gallons; the million-year landslide called a guess; forty-two or forty-three; twenty-four panels ordered for the credit.

The line worth the page: 'A new node... A new place to put a new thing when it don't fit with the old ones.' Wiggins' lecture to Cody, never given to Tanner, is the only account in the book of how Cody's mind files the Yankee, and Tanner hears it as a scam.

Connected chapters: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 52, 54, 56, 59, 62, 63, 65, 71

The mailbox dug in without a level; 'But it's crooked' / 'So are you' (lands in 10, 13, 25, 45)

• 10 The neighbor's mailbox from Home Depot
• 13 'That mailbox is busy'; the address it earns
• 25 'crooked in the next' (Lonnie on Cody)
• 45 Betty: 'put in that mailbox, and I hear all about it'

'Einstein the Texan Parrot' / 'I ain't no carpenter' (lands in 9, 17)

• 9 'Einstein yes, but with Manson eyes'
• 17 'You ain't no carpenter. Got it.'

'No way I survive this. No way.' (lands in 18, 40)

• 18 Same line at the solar panels
• 40 Same line at Rusty's fart in the trailer

No bucket rides; rules for me and rules for thee (lands in 18, 31, 43)

• 18 'No bucket rides, but bucket lifts, I didn't say that'; 'responsibility for me'
• 31 'No more bucket lifts for those two pricks'
• 43 'No bucket rides the flavor'

Wiggins lives right there; 'You can't just hope, you gotta hustle too' (lands in 7, 8, 43, 45)

• 7 Emma quotes her on Cody
• 8 Cody's chicory-walk memory of the phrase
• 43 'Wiggins was all over him'
• 45 Betty from the screen

'It's not hustle when you're always behind' / 'Sellin' shit so you can skim the rock' (lands in 9, 13, 30)

• 9 'He's a hustler like the rest of them'
• 13 'the rock to come at the end of the paycheck'
• 30 'a cold walk to pick up a new rock'

'Given means gamed, Tanner' (lands in 9, 15, 59)

• 9 The drawer parenthetical: given doesn't count
• 15 'Took is gamed too'
• 59 'giving is receiving. Let me receive my way'

A new node; Wiggins' word for where new info goes (lands in 41, 43)

• 41 'Here's Devin... Syllabus is, legal' – the lesson format
• 43 'He gets stuff, like off center stuff'

The bridge Michael and Peter are building (lands in 13, 24, 34, 45, 47, 65)

• 13 'I was with Peter'
• 24 Roy: 'Is that a voo-swarz Bridge?'
• 34 Robby: 'This bridge sets us up on the septic side'
• 45 'Peter and I got the bridge stone pallets' in Newport
• 47 'That bridge fits in, though. It's like it was never not here'
• 65 'Now tell me about that bridge. That thing is gorgeous!'

First dam tour: the trickle from the spill pipe, the steady seep underneath (lands in 6, 19, 25, 30, 52, 54, 65)

• 6 Tanner: 'I could see spillway was running the back side'
• 19 'It's dam day'
• 25 Lonnie and Cody at the spill pipe
• 30 'Dam day starts there'
• 52 The spillway set
• 54 'The dam survived too'
• 65 'That last one failed because whoever did it put it in the middle like that.'

The nasty chew spit where we work (lands in 14, 17, 43)

• 14 'Needed some backer'
• 17 'careful spitting it out the window'
• 43 'don't spit dip out my window again'

Roof line at nine and ten; 'A-squared plus B-squared' / 'I'm out' (lands in 9, 10, 32)

• 9 'a-squared plus b-squared is a hard C-ya later'
• 10 'twenty five years out of the high school that planted it there'
• 32 Benches cut to the engineering limit

Tanner at 7:30, Cody five minutes after; 'That one stays in the pocket' (lands in 25, 37)

• 25 'I kept that in the pocket' – the cam in the grass
• 37 Cody punched in at 6:15

'It's Norman. Cody, 1221 Dripping Springs Road' / 'I'll run him' (lands in 9, 15, 25, 30)

• 9 'Give me his name. I'll run him'
• 15 'We went over his whole record'
• 25 'You know his record as good as I do'
• 30 'You're a thief, twice convicted'

Interview questions bleeding over from her desk (lands in 9, 17, 43)

• 9 'I don't have time to be interviewed when they find your body'
• 17 'Gimme the test later'
• 43 'Interview a hundred thousand liars'

275,000 gallons; 'I'll be in the seat when the dam gets breached' (lands in 52, 56)

• 52 'It's gotta be me'
• 56 'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide'

The million-year landslide; 'So you're guessing?' (lands in 9, 24, 47, 62, 65)

• 9 'a forest geologic time forgot about ever since the mudslide'
• 24 'a ten thousand year arch that starts a million years into the holler's history'
• 47 'Jury's still out on that mudslide guess' / 'Not a guess'
• 62 'You accused me of making up the million year old dam'; the young-poplar swath
• 65 'Those are pioneer species... Don't build this higher. Ever. It already collapsed once.'

Not forty-two. Maybe forty-three. (lands in 13, 22, 35, 49)

• 13 'my forty-second birthday'
• 22 'Forty-second birthday being the goal'
• 35 'Forty-two and a half, maybe'
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'

'It's a rough cut gem in the wilderness'; the mailbox and UPS (lands in 42, 49)

• 42 Stef's craft-show jewelry
• 49 FedEx crests the dam

No road, no hole, no contractor, no septic, no plan (lands in 24, 34, 41, 46, 63)

• 24 Roy: site plans, septic permits
• 34 Robby Giles
• 41 'The tube arrived'; the cold-call list of contractors
• 46 Michael-the-second bounces off the dig
• 63 The GC hunt again

Twenty-four panels, inverter, four batteries; Bill coming; the 30% credit (lands in 13, 18, 49, 59)

• 13 The panels Cody brought up
• 18 'For the first time ever, the holler has power!'
• 49 Twelve Pytes batteries
• 59 Top-balancing

'Michael's Misdemeanors and How He's Going to Pay For Them' (lands in 71)

• 71 'Misdemeanor's boo..?' / 'I had this all planned out, and you took it from me. Felonies book.'

Chapter 12, December 20, 2023 (21 connections)

The narrator's farewell: Chris Gibson Directional Drilling, the Grapes of Wrath jalopy, the kicked dog, 'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone,' forgiveness the dog never petted all the way up, setbacks curated in cracked-glass cabinets. December 2023, same jalopy, new crack; if this man won't try to earn a new failure, the thing cannot be done. All Rock.

The line worth the page: 'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone.' Michael stays his at 25 (the cam in the grass kept in the pocket), 30 (his own burglaries confessed before Cody's), 32 (the drug test asked, not ordered), 46 ('I'll leave that to you'). Lonnie never hears the sentence and describes the same man as a coward who runs when his wife calls (28).

Connected chapters: 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 30, 32, 34, 41, 45, 46, 54, 56, 57, 59, 63

Chris Gibson, the jalopy, the bore (lands in 13, 16, 18, 21, 34)

• 13 'Chris gets out' told four times; the brother on the rust deck; 'It's all rock, Michael'
• 16 'Chris was rough yesterday, and today I was Paul Bigler'
• 18 'this two hundred and thirty-five foot direct bore that Chris pushed for us so that he didn't have to go home empty handed'
• 21 'now that Chris found rock all the way down the easement'
• 34 'Probly Robly' – the next contractor up the hill, laundry-fresh where Chris was not

The Grapes of Wrath jalopy; the furniture stacked without care (lands in 7, 41)

• 7 Mernie on lore: 'some stains just can't wash off, like gas on a rag'
• 41 Lenny and George in the raccoon toilet

Kicking a cornered dog; cruelty as the selfish thing (lands in 10, 14, 16)

• 10 'I won't let that mean man put us in a storm drain' (Clover)
• 14 The grill speech: 'I'll knock three of your black stinking teeth out'
• 16 'I was cruel and angry and unprovoked – not really'

'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone' (lands in 25, 30, 32, 46, 54, 56)

• 25 'think of a reason I shouldn't do as I'm told and let her lock your ass up'
• 30 Michael's confession: the cousin's change can, the purple bike
• 32 'Do I need to drug test you?' / 'You can't fire me'
• 46 'I won't be the person to punish you for your feelings – I'll leave that to you'
• 54 'you're not being punished here by it. You're just being asked to keep accurate books'
• 56 Lonnie: 'Shame me again, granish the wage'

Forgiveness, the dog that could never be petted all the way up (lands in 20, 32, 45, 59)

• 20 'beg forgiveness like that might get me on CNN'
• 32 'before I ever have to beg the forgiveness'
• 45 'Forgiveness doctrine' / 'Fifty cent royalty'
• 59 'Oh, forgive me my poor humor. I'll forgive you your hallucinations'

Setbacks collected like prizes, curated in cracked-glass cabinets (lands in 7, 9, 30, 54)

• 7 Wiggins on Cody: 'he collects them like prizes'
• 9 'A thousand ways to knock this off'
• 30 'Nobody gets caught the only two times they ever do a thing'
• 54 'Cody Norman's Greatest Hits'

The windshield: crack across the width, star in the corner, a separate event (lands in 13)

• 13 'It was like someone threw a bear at it'

Five years of projects; dope sick every one, by year six Chris too (lands in 9, 13, 18, 21)

• 9 'Meth capital of a geography's a lot bigger than the state'
• 13 Narcan; the weeping scab
• 18 'Dan two point oh'; Bill's twelve years
• 21 'I've hired a lot of guys – Bill here was one of them'

No municipal power; cancel the Sevier County Electric permit (lands in 13, 18, 63)

• 13 'now you gotta call Sevier County Electric to cancel the permit' / 'Without that, we wouldn't have an address'
• 18 Solar in the shed instead
• 63 'ten power poles and the required fifty-foot-wide swath... It's all rock'

'All Rock' (lands in 13, 57, 63)

• 13 'Well, It's all rock, Michael, I almost lost the head'
• 57 Bernie: 'Every tease met a wall. All rock.'
• 63 'It's all rock' – the power easement

'If this man is unwilling to try and earn a new failure, then the thing cannot be done' (lands in 13, 21, 59)

• 13 'If this man won't try the bore, it can't be done'
• 21 'Nobody else is picking you for their team'
• 59 'You buy it, you find out what's wrong with what you bought, and then you try again'

2014; the Hardin Valley home; the owner who did it three times (lands in 18, 21)

• 18 'we work together twelve years now'
• 21 'ten years ago when I was the one in your shoes' (Bill)

Chapter 13, December 21, 2023 (34 connections)

Cancel the electric permit; without it no address, no license, no jury summons. Two stories fight for one phone: Stef's Cody on the forks with the glass panels, Michael's Chris getting out of the truck. The brother on the rust deck, Narcan not needed, the weeping scab, 'got any D-batteries?' 'I speak in interruptions and restarts' / 'Parables.' 'It's all rock, Michael.' If he won't try the bore, it can't be done.

The line worth the page: 'Who's telling this story, Stefanie?' The chapter is a duel for the narrator's vacated chair the day after he left; Stef takes Michael's Cody story, he takes her Chris story, and the book settles the question by letting neither finish.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 41, 45, 48, 49, 54, 57, 59, 60, 61, 63, 68

Cancel the electric permit; 'without that, we wouldn't have an address' (lands in 12, 34, 57, 63, 68)

• 12 'absolute proof this site will never have municipal power'
• 34 DirecTV transferred to this address
• 57 Bernie: 'I can't even get a straight answer on the address. It's 1711, 1720.'
• 63 Ten poles and a fifty-foot swath; 'It's all rock'
• 68 'Did they plan power poles right along the hillside for you too?' 'We're going solar.'

The mailbox earns a license, a voter card, a jury summons (lands in 10, 11, 28, 60)

• 10 The mailbox bought for the gift
• 11 The mailbox dug in crooked
• 28 Lonnie: 'they put you on the rolls'
• 60 Karen the former Clerk; Angie

The soil scientist tomorrow; septic permit (lands in 14, 15, 24, 34, 41)

• 14 'The soil scientist is coming, and I gotta get back'
• 15 'I'm sitting here waiting on the soil guy'
• 24 Roy: two site plans for septic
• 34 Robby Giles
• 41 'Got septic permits'

'Is it a new watch for work? G-Shock. Mint green.' (lands in 15, 17)

• 15 'Is it a tire inflator?' / the misdemeanor book
• 17 'So not in the misdemeanor's book'; the key on the Milan chain

Oh, brother! (lands in 7, 17, 20)

• 7 Mernie's 'Oh brother'
• 17 Stef's 'Oh, brother.'
• 20 Mernie again

Cody brings the panels up on the forks; the box truck won't try the driveway (lands in 45, 49, 59)

• 45 'two pallets there, like ten boulders'
• 49 'The freight company called to confirm that we have a loading dock' / 'The front seat of that skid steer'
• 59 'the pallet comes rattling up the road on the skid steer'

'Who's telling this story?' – two stories fighting for the phone (lands in 9, 14, 19, 45)

• 9 'Wait, there's more'
• 14 'the serpentine reverse reveal'
• 19 'let me tell it'
• 45 'Start over.' 'Stops and interruptions.' 'Parables.'

'My skidsteer' / 'Your skidsteer?' (lands in 15, 25)

• 15 'He covets em'
• 25 'that machine he covet so bad'

'the best outcome possible is to never realize he could just keep going with it' (lands in 25, 48)

• 25 'they didn't both come just for the one machine'
• 48 'We borrow them machines on the weekend when he ain't thar'

'my forty-second birthday' (lands in 11, 22, 49)

• 11 'Not forty-two. Maybe forty-three.'
• 22 'Forty-second birthday being the goal'
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'

'he does pretty good with a meth pipe' / 'every one I see is cracked and broken' (lands in 9, 17, 30)

• 9 'tell the truth, you got a meth pipe in your pocket'
• 17 'back-pocket-crack-pipe'
• 30 'a cold walk to pick up a new rock'

'like someone threw a bear at it' – the windshield (lands in 12)

• 12 'same jalopy, new crack across the windshield'

Registration expired, license suspended – Stef 'contextualizing' (lands in 14, 35)

• 14 Cody's own license story
• 35 'Kingdom, ha?' 'Contextualizing.'

Scabies, permethrin, Brittany; the medical abstract (lands in 3, 61)

• 3 'Should we call Brittany tomorrow just to have a listen?'
• 61 Dr. McCormick

The girlfriend in the passenger seat; hoodie up, face scabs (lands in 17, 18)

• 17 Rusty's LeSabre, 'Fentanyl 500'
• 18 'Tanner looks good. Rusty's a pleaser.'

'I tell you everything' / 'the recorder caught the whole meaning' (lands in 17, 31, 54)

• 17 'Cody's got a recording of you guys at breakfast'
• 31 'transcribing my breath, putting it all down on the register'
• 54 The recording as Rusty's lullaby

'I speak in interruptions and restarts' / 'Parables' (lands in 16, 21, 31, 45, 49, 59)

• 16 'your parable of highways and byways'
• 21 'Nice parable, but right now I'm the one running hours'
• 31 'this guy is on the parable pipe today'
• 45 'Stops and interruptions.' 'Parables.'
• 49 'It's your own fault, Parables.'
• 59 'Nope. No parables.'

The brother on the rust deck; Narcan; 'those fucking eyes' (lands in 14, 18)

• 14 'Did you see that man die on that truck bed yesterday?'
• 18 Dan two point oh; the hire roster

'It's all rock, Michael, I almost lost the head' (lands in 12, 57, 63)

• 12 'All Rock he says'
• 57 'All rock.'
• 63 'It's all rock'

He walked the bore up the driveway; the train motor mistaken for the junkyard (lands in 2, 18, 21)

• 2 Teague's junkyard
• 18 The 235-foot bore used for the solar wire
• 21 'Chris found rock all the way down the easement'

Chapter 14, December 22, 2023 (29 connections)

Seymour Grill before Christmas. Michael and Tanner beat Cody in; Cody has no license, drove Wednesday, parked in the slip. In the car: tickets, Granny's car, 'unauthorized use,' the Weigles for backer. At the booth, the table speech – a brain built for NASA, the disease of distraction, three teeth, the Sheriff – recorded on Cody's phone. A hundred and nine dollars to get a license. Then Michael turns to Tanner: Master Craft was never meant to be only yours.

The line worth the page: 'You got a fucking disease. You can't stop. If you're speaking, you're distracting.' Michael's diagnosis of Cody at the booth is, by 15, his own ('He got me in a centrifuge... I spun off pissed') and by 16 Stef's diagnosis of him ('He's you'). The recording Cody makes of the speech is the one document in the book that both men keep.

Connected chapters: 6, 7, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 48, 51, 54, 55, 58, 65, 69

'Do you sleep at all?' / 'I'm a vampire' (lands in 6, 19, 30, 37)

• 6 'He beats me there every day... Got no clue how'
• 19 'I took my time, teach you a lesson'
• 30 'both of you get here before me again'
• 37 Cody at 6:15, 'baby had me up'

Gahhllee – Cody's first (lands in 17, 18, 21, 42, 54, 55, 58)

• 17 'Gahhllee, Bro, Yer toast'
• 18 'Gahhllee, he got you'
• 21 'Gahhllee, don't forget the dam'
• 42 'Gahhllee, why? Must be a hundred rooms'
• 54 'Gahhllee, What are you trying to prove?'
• 55 'Gahhllee, Rusty just shit his pants'
• 58 'Gahhllee, I didn't connect the battery'

The twenty Tanner wins; 'You bet against me, boss-man?' (lands in 17, 33)

• 17 'What, no bet, Cody? At least me and Tanner put money on the line'
• 33 Dollars to dick warts with Duran

No license; drove Wednesday; the slip where the road Y's (lands in 15, 22, 40, 48, 51, 69)

• 15 'he's never had a license, and I didn't have a social for the criminal search'
• 22 Deno asks for his license at the amendment lunch
• 40 'Four vehicles parked in the slip'
• 48 'Are you deliberately skipping it so the bill collectors can't find you?'
• 51 'I gave you money for a driver's license almost forty days ago'
• 69 'did you get your license when it was my money?'

Driving Mr. Magoo; 'Use the gas pedal' (lands in 17, 25)

• 17 'Whoa, brakes.' Stef as sidecar
• 25 'you're off-roading'; Stef drives to the confrontation

Seymour Grill; Meghan loves it; baby eats free (lands in 15, 41)

• 15 'Seymour Grill?' 'Yeah'
• 41 'Cody and Meghan were at Seymour Grill with the baby'

The serpentine reverse reveal; 'a migraine with cold coffee' (lands in 19, 34)

• 19 'I don't need the image clouds'
• 34 'I won't dare read that serpentine thing'

'It's my own move. Play just dumb enough, render the info too costly' (lands in 25, 43, 48)

• 25 'I kept that in the pocket'
• 43 'he lives on plausible deniability'
• 48 'You'd fight the water hose if you were on fire'

Granny's car; 'unauthorized use' (lands in 30, 32)

• 30 'You're a thief, twice convicted'
• 32 'the Granny's house that you stole a car from'

Weigles, backer, dip (lands in 21, 25, 43)

• 21 'I can sure find another one at the Weigles waiting in line for backer'
• 25 'spit that nasty chew'
• 43 'bring spit cups'

'I hope this dude never has to call 911' – image clouds (lands in 16, 19, 32, 46, 55)

• 16 'Do you call 911. Nooo, not Michael.'
• 19 'I'm with you, but I don't need the image clouds'
• 32 'that, my friend, that is an image cloud'
• 46 'That's some image clouds.' 'Called mixed metaphors'
• 55 'Image clouds.' (Tanner)

Coffee, Coke, orange juice – the order (lands in 34, 54, 65)

• 34 'Get me a Coke, coffee and orange juice'
• 54 'Not this again. It was coffee, Coke, orange juice' / 'Turnabout's the flavor'
• 65 'Coffee, Coke, orange juice?' – Devin, run to the grill

'I had him a stuttering fool' / 'he works the ropes pretty good' (lands in 22, 43)

• 22 'Cody pushing back like he's dealt with Michael all his life'
• 43 'He gets stuff, like off center stuff. But he gears it toward provocation'

'And you tell lies.' 'Same thing. Image clouds. Match the energy.' (lands in 25, 42, 51)

• 25 'We go up, match the energy and see where it goes'
• 42 'A lady never lies, Cody. We tease. We torment.'
• 51 'twisted-facts campaign'

The table speech: a brain built for NASA, the disease of distraction (lands in 15, 16, 17, 51, 54)

• 15 'I went full on aggression. He got me in a centrifuge'
• 16 'I was Paul Bigler. I was cruel and angry and unprovoked'
• 17 'Cody's got a recording of you guys at breakfast'
• 51 'a recording of our personal conversation that you show around to your friends'
• 54 'Cody Norman's Greatest Hits'; Rusty's lullaby

'Did you see that man die on that truck bed yesterday?' (lands in 13, 18)

• 13 The brother on the rust deck
• 18 Dan two point oh

'I'm a PhD in fuckups like you'; 'I'm the first person ever tried to help you' (lands in 7, 30, 51)

• 7 Wiggins 'poured it into that boy' – she was first
• 30 'I tell you because I was you'
• 51 'I'm the first of the kind'

'you gotta back up your word' – the word jail (lands in 22, 46)

• 22 'I have forgotten more about making and backing up and paying for my threats'
• 46 'Run that one back, Cody. See what it gets you.'

A drippy lisp for the Sheriff (lands in 17)

• 17 'Drippy lisp over here has me flying off' / 'I just gotta say, drippy lisp, that was stone cold'

$79 plus $30; $120 from the bank across the street (lands in 15, 35)

• 15 'I gave him 120 bucks... Gotta wait ten days'
• 35 'one five-hundred-dollar withdrawal after the other'

'Do you remember the day we set up Master Craft Construction and Excavation?' – 'not intended as only yours' (lands in 15, 19, 21, 22)

• 15 'Bro, I paid the last fine payment' / the truck ride
• 19 The partnership talk, noose and stool
• 21 The vows
• 22 'Imagine Cody Norman, Vice President'

Chapter 15, December 22, 2023 (39 connections)

The day after the grill. Stef, neck deep in a fourteen-vehicle warrant, gets the confession: Michael hedged, spun off pissed, gave Cody $120 and sent him to Blount County. In Tanner's truck Cody pays the fine, can't sign up for ten days, and refuses the corporation – 'Took is gamed too' – while Tanner argues title is his. Back at the shed: Hostess cupcakes, birthday candles for a license that didn't come, five hundred each as Christmas bonus, three men as the design, Rusty named. The mail truck brings the locks; the key is Stef's gift.

The line worth the page: 'Took is gamed too. Just change who's get gamed.' Cody's answer to Tanner's 'we don't have to refuse the gift' closes the loop 11 opened; between them the two men build the Norman family's whole theory of money, and Michael is never in the room for either half.

Connected chapters: 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 43, 44, 46, 48, 51, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72

'I'm burning up' / 'Jesus! Do you mean?..' / 'No, the lung is fine' (lands in 3, 17, 34, 61)

• 3 The bleb named first
• 17 'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle'
• 34 'bag of air time bomb'
• 61 'Are we still talking about the bleb?'

The warrant: fourteen vehicles, a different tax evasion each (lands in 3, 10, 28, 41, 70)

• 3 'We got our warrant, and we're picking this lady up first thing Monday'
• 10 'Famous last words of every class-a felony I file'
• 28 Cody: 'Tax evasion, and his lady a tax cop'
• 41 'That's definitely tax evasion.' / 'It's Laddering. Literally.'
• 70 'Man's a tax evader, and his old lady's a cop. Did you even ask?'

The Antivenom book; owner manuals; the misdemeanor book (lands in 11, 17, 30, 71)

• 11 'It's right there on page three, Michael's Misdemeanors'
• 17 'So not in the misdemeanor's book'
• 30 Stef's filing cabinets (35)
• 71 'Misdemeanor's boo..?' / 'I had this all planned out, and you took it from me. Felonies book.'

'I hedged. I hedged hard.' – the centrifuge (lands in 14, 16, 33)

• 14 The table speech as told
• 16 'I was Paul Bigler'
• 33 'I had a guy. I hedged.' – the seller's note at five

'Some guys marry a gal like their mother. Me --- I take thee, Stefanie.' (lands in 17, 58)

• 17 'my mom owned a daycare center'
• 58 'I watched DCS take kids all my life at that daycare center'

White Reading through the valley's haze of woodstove smoke (lands in 9, 43)

• 9 'Tanner's got an old beat down Reading'
• 43 'What's it like in the Reading?'

The car at the ATM at six in the morning; the $120 (lands in 14, 35, 59)

• 14 'I'll give $120 out of the bank'
• 35 'one five-hundred-dollar withdrawal after the other'
• 59 Six thousand at the counter

The Christmas bonus, five hundred each; the two thousand saved (lands in 16, 19, 28, 59)

• 16 'my thousand?' / 'It was your idea'
• 19 'Tanner got engaged with your Christmas bonus'
• 28 'Best Christmas gift ever, Deddy. Not five hundred bucks'
• 59 Two thousand each, advance pay

Blount County for the fine and the test; 'wait ten days' (lands in 3, 48, 51)

• 3 'I came in the back way... through Blount County'
• 48 'Are you deliberately skipping it so the bill collectors can't find you?'
• 51 'almost forty days ago'

'So now you're a girlfriend? Did I forget our monthoversary?' (lands in 16)

• 16 'a monthoversary-sum-up wrapped in a certificate of occupancy'

'instead of we in the valley, we're from the valley' (lands in 7, 44, 60)

• 7 'You gotta be from here know the story'
• 44 'I am, and I know how to dial it up too' (42)
• 60 'The Henry women. They're a force.'

'Took is gamed too. Just change who's get gamed.' (lands in 9, 11, 59)

• 9 The drawer: given doesn't count
• 11 'Given means gamed, Tanner'
• 59 'giving is receiving'

'Title is me, and it is mine' – the right to privacy (lands in 11, 19, 22)

• 11 'I own it. It's all in my name'
• 19 'the shiniest part is that it's all yours'
• 22 'Any one of you at any time can walk into that bank'

'you're talkin' knots, full conjunctive adverbs and extra prepositions' (lands in 14, 46)

• 14 'Dude can't say straight what he means, so he invent image clouds'
• 46 'Called mixed metaphors'

'He covets em. Like they're more worth – like they's too good for me.' (lands in 13, 25, 28)

• 13 'My skidsteer' / 'Your skidsteer?'
• 25 'that machine he covet so bad'
• 28 'on my way headed for the seat of that machine he covet so bad'

'when we finish the build the tools are mine' / 'Ain't no man gonna give a quarter million machines away' (lands in 40, 54, 56)

• 40 'These tools are part of the subject'; buy a tool every trip
• 54 'The machines were two-fifty'
• 56 Lonnie: 'This Yankee sink a quarter million'

'We're all bought and paid for. I bet he is too. Money made that, not Michael.' (lands in 46, 51)

• 46 'Cody, friend, bought and paid for, you ain't wrong'
• 51 'You have done everything in your power to make me act out against you'

Cupcakes and candles; 'Sixteen years old and got his first license' (lands in 14, 22, 51, 69)

• 14 'drop me off... Tanner will drive you to go get your test taken'
• 22 Deno asks for his license
• 51 Still no license at the closing
• 69 'did you get your license when it was my money?'

'We need three. That's the best design for now.' (lands in 17, 21, 48)

• 17 Rusty arrives
• 21 The vows, three 'I do's
• 48 'I did choose to have three members so that... the other two can vote him off the island'

The mail truck; the locks; 'The key to our home to come is Stefanie's Christmas gift' (lands in 12, 17, 18, 55, 72)

• 12 'the cashing end of the check' – the key that Gibson waits for
• 17 'I put the key on a chain so I won't lose it'
• 18 'Is it a new watch?' guessed wrong (13)
• 55 Karen: 'Here's a key in case nobody's here'
• 72 'I'll have Tanner finish the deadbolt install today.'

'I went to the Wye and I got some Hostess and a pack of birthday candles' (lands in 68)

• 68 'I'm at the Wye.'

Chapter 16, December 22, 2023 (34 connections)

Christmas wrapping, two nights before. Michael was Paul Bigler today; Stef: 'It's Self provoked' and 'He's you.' The hire roster – James West, Fifi, Dan, David Lawson and the fifteen-year-old at dawn – as Exhibit A against troubled kids. Twenty-eight Amazon boxes, the first 'I love this man' triple, the thousand-dollar bonus that was her idea, the tow strap and the nailer for Tommy, 'You're The Good Yankee now.' Stormageddon; a month to the day; raccoon on the inverter, approved. She recites the whole LMA plan back to him and names how it fails.

The line worth the page: 'He's you.' Stef says it of Cody two days after the grill; Bill says it of the shed-step sermon at 22 ('Michael talking to his own personality in muddy boots'); Michael says it to Cody himself at 30 ('I was you'); Stef revises it at 48 ('this guy's different... clocking the guard's schedule'). The book never settles whether the likeness is the problem or the cure.

Connected chapters: 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 35, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 59, 65

'Love.' / 'Love.' – the sign-off, first time as an opener (lands in 10, 17, 31, 35, 50, 55, 65)

• 10 'Love you.' 'Love!'
• 17 'Love.' 'Love.' 'How was your day?' (19)
• 31 'Love.' 'Love.' 'Did Cody show?'
• 35 'Love.' 'Love.' 'So cute.' 'Shutup, Tanner.'
• 50 'Love.' 'Love.' 'The boys were knee deep'
• 55 'Love.' 'Love.' after Tanner comes back with no supper
• 65 'Love.' 'Love.' before the crew comes in

'today I was Paul Bigler... cruel and angry and unprovoked' / 'It's Self provoked, Michael' (lands in 12, 14, 15, 46)

• 12 The kicked dog; cruelty as the selfish thing
• 14 The table speech itself
• 15 'I hedged hard'
• 46 Cody: 'You judge all you like'

'He's you.' / 'Fuck no. This kid's a mess.' / 'You're a mess.' (lands in 8, 22, 30, 48)

• 8 'I'm not my fault. I'm his.'
• 22 Bill: 'Michael talking to his own personality in muddy boots'
• 30 'I tell you because I was you'
• 48 'he's like a jail junkie, but the jail is of his own making'

The sidecar, the parable of highways, the GPS built before he closed his eyes (lands in 3, 17)

• 3 Super Cruise; 'let the car drive'
• 17 'Sit back and enjoy the ride then, Sidecar'

The roster: James West, Chris Fernandez, Fifi, Dan, Sara, David Lawson (lands in 18, 21, 31)

• 18 'Is this the Dan two point oh?'; Fifi cut Bill's hair
• 21 'I've hired a lot of guys – Bill here was one of them'
• 31 'Look at our dinner parties, Fifi, Bill, Deno. All people you met by paying them'

'you think you can save them all because you didn't flush out' (lands in 18, 21, 51)

• 18 'Don't diss my kids, Bill'
• 21 'I need men to build this place, and I want them to be you'
• 51 'I have every reason to hold out hope for you'

'So it's the chalk outline?' (lands in 1, 27)

• 1 'I can use it for the chalk outline'
• 27 'I loved the H man, but was that a chalk outline?'

Guys went un-picked for dodgeball (lands in 17, 44, 45, 55)

• 17 'my little dodgeball team'
• 44 'How about that dodgeball team you're renting?'
• 45 'the dodgeball coach. She's our neighbor'
• 55 'Mine's the dodgeball discards' / 'I was the dodgeball captain'

'the forgotten-man freight' (lands in 21)

• 21 'whatever the whole freight of that word means to you'

Twenty-eight Amazon boxes; 'like a box hobo' (lands in 18, 54)

• 18 'Did you get me anything, buddy?' 'I got you an Amazon box of your own, Bill'
• 54 'It's the mailman. Dropping Amazon boxes at the yard'

'I love this man, I love this man, I love this man.' (lands in 26, 49)

• 26 'I'll – Do you? I love this man. I love this man. I love this man. I …'
• 49 'I love this man, I love this man, I love this man.' at the shopping list

'Me celebrating we saved our first buck' / 'My thousand?' / 'It was your idea' (lands in 15, 19, 59)

• 15 The two thousand saved on the shed
• 19 'Tanner got engaged with your Christmas bonus'
• 59 'This corporation is a gift'

'Stipulate it was your idea too... we can move on to the payoff' (lands in 13, 22)

• 13 'If you're on my jury, they'll never convict me'
• 22 'There it is, she admits it, your honor. Spontaneous utterance.'

Tow strap for the Sentra (lands in 17)

• 17 'Let's get down there and try out the new strap'

The tire inflator, 'the venerable yoke around my neck' (lands in 3, 11, 17)

• 3 'Too bad you didn't get the two for one deal'
• 11 'Is it a tire inflator?'
• 17 'I was sure the tire inflator got company'

'April 27, 1982, ma'am.' (lands in 17, 49)

• 17 'April 27, 1982, Ma'am.' again
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'

'You're The Good Yankee now' / 'Riding on the back of your wrapping skills' (lands in 7, 21, 35)

• 7 'that Yankee up the old Trail holler'
• 21 'backed down easy to the Yankee'
• 35 'Good Yankee, she says.' 'Yankee.' (Robby)

'Y' ain't got the ear for it, boy' – same mountains, different Winter (lands in 25)

• 25 'Tryin' tell ya, boy. Ye ain't got the ear fer it.' (Stef, on Deddy)

Stormageddon; six in the valley, ten in the hills (lands in 17)

• 17 Cody floats the bucket over the snow

The monthoversary sum-up; raccoon on the inverter, Approved (lands in 15, 19, 22, 41)

• 15 'Exactly one month into the build'
• 19 'We did get a couple raccoons though'
• 22 'no raccoon on the inverter like you promised'
• 41 Raccoons in the toilet

Contrition, allocution, a Jersey mea-culpa; spontaneous utterance (lands in 26, 59)

• 26 'because that's what assholes do when they forget'
• 59 'Oh, forgive me my poor humor. I'll forgive you your hallucinations'

Stef recites the plan: sixty-five, fifty, prime plus, amen (lands in 10, 19, 33, 59)

• 10 The plan first laid
• 19 'installment loans keep up credit score'
• 33 Duran: 'Six fifty to start'
• 59 'Everything around you is on the ring'

'until some puzzle piece tromps in while you have too much time on your hands in that skidsteer' (lands in 10, 50, 54, 55)

• 10 'that puzzle piece mind'
• 50 'I wouldn't have puzzle pieced myself out of a home'
• 54 'Because you had too much time in that skid steer just like I said'
• 55 'I missed a puzzle piece'

Chapter 17, December 26, 2023 (54 connections)

Boxing Day. Rusty arrives in a hand-painted LeSabre smelling of weed with a cop on her way; 'Everybody got to pick a man.' Three little girls, oldest nine. Cody has a recording of the grill. The bear interpolated pregnant. Tanner engaged at Zales with the bonus – knight a1 to h8 – and the bleb translated to a bag of air the size of a beer bottle. Stef walks in stuck. Then the drive for culvert pipes: Stoptional, Kathleen Madigan, a stop in the highway lane, Spanish with the contractor, houseplans.net, lodge versus lake house. 'You're not building the house.' 'Not decided.' 'Decided.'

The line worth the page: 'Everybody got to pick a man. I picked Tanner. Tanner picked Cody. Cody picked Rusty.' The crew is a chain of one man's trust in the next, and the book tests each link in order – Tanner's title (15), Cody's spite (46), Rusty's slide (55) – with the man who picked him standing there each time.

Connected chapters: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71

'Rusty fix anything. It's got wheels, Rusty fix it.' (lands in 46, 56, 58, 70)

• 46 'Rus. You fix these things. The exhaust looks free' (56)
• 56 Rusty reads the hydraulic lock, the bypass, the fan cage
• 58 'Rusty and Cody, you're on the wrench'; 'It's like a brand new machine'
• 70 'why ain't we just put that Facebook ad again, fix machines on site?'

'That garden tractor ain't' (new) (lands in 1, 9)

• 1 'Who digs a hole next to the foundation... with a garden tractor'
• 9 The twelve-hundred-cubic-feet defense

Rusty can lay a fart; 'Normal man puke just at the thought' (lands in 22, 40, 54, 59)

• 22 'He hasn't stopped farting since we left the restaurant'; the squeak at Deno's
• 40 'For Christ's sake, Rusty! Get outside with that shit!'
• 54 'Rusty, if you fart in my house, I'll cut loose Cody's twisted mind'
• 59 'Don't suck'

The key on a chain; the Milan necklace (lands in 15, 55)

• 15 'The key to our home to come is Stefanie's Christmas gift'
• 55 Karen's key on a string

'We had been dating two months, Stefanie. Two months.' / 'Birthday, Michael.' / 'April 27, 1982, Ma'am.' (lands in 16, 49, 63)

• 16 'April 27, 1982, ma'am'
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'
• 63 'I was twenty-four when she graduated grade school'

'Rusty, you dip too'; insults first; 'called it right, Cody' (lands in 9, 14, 43)

• 9 The gag: insulting the shit out of him
• 14 Cody's backer
• 43 'bring spit cups'

The 1099 trap; W2; 'you put it on Tanner, now it's his problem' (lands in 28, 35, 37, 48)

• 28 'the trap ain't the form, it's the reason the form was chose'
• 35 Tanner: 'I like this system'
• 37 The 1099 test list taught
• 48 'I don't want no withholding'

Weed in the car with a cop on her way; 'a cartel barn' (lands in 3, 45)

• 3 'They'll come out shooting'
• 45 'He's spiteful... lives on plausible deniability' (43)

'Everybody got to pick a man. I picked Tanner. Tanner picked Cody. Cody picked Rusty.' (lands in 15, 21, 35, 40)

• 15 'We need three'
• 21 The vows
• 35 'Meghan's brother wants hours' – the fourth
• 40 Devin arrives, picked by Cody

'I got three little girls... Oldest nine, and she would --- know.' (lands in 18, 42, 58, 59, 70)

• 18 'the girls get out at 2:30'; the little one in the truck
• 42 Stef's loot for 'seven girls'
• 58 DCS: 'the girls have their own room'
• 59 'Go home early. Get an apartment for the babies'
• 70 'I got four girls keep me from quit. Them three babies all the motivation I ever need.'

'my mom owned a daycare center' (lands in 18, 58)

• 18 Bill's Peanut
• 58 'I watched DCS take kids all my life at that daycare center'

'Cody's got a recording of you guys at breakfast' (lands in 14, 31, 46, 51, 54)

• 14 The table speech
• 31 'transcribing my breath, putting it all down on the register'
• 46 'Play it back with your recording from the grill'
• 51 'a recording... that you show around to your friends'
• 54 'It's my lullaby'; 'Cody Norman's Greatest Hits'

'every human in her life is her known associates' (lands in 11)

• 11 'Yer one of my associates' (Cody)

'She's fat like she's pregnant' – interpolating (lands in 5, 37, 48, 59)

• 5 'Whoa, An' there they is!' – Lonnie's persimmon read
• 37 Cody: 'They's gettin' ready birth them cubs'
• 48 'She looks different'
• 59 'Fat, but not the sow'

'drippy lisp, that was stone cold' (lands in 14, 18)

• 14 'a drippy lisp while you tell your side to the Sheriff'
• 18 'Yeah, that's stone cold'

Tanner engaged at Zales; 'my knight jumping a1 to h8' (lands in 19, 24, 56, 59)

• 19 'Tanner got engaged with your Christmas bonus. Okay, byeee.'
• 24 'Sure, a Rook is good, but you gotta love a Knight'
• 56 Tanner: 'Talk about a1 to h8' / 'How many moves does it take a Knight'
• 59 'What's the interest on that ring?'

'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle on my lung' (lands in 3, 6, 34, 61, 71)

• 3 The bleb
• 6 'this thing on his lung could pop'
• 34 'bag of air time bomb'
• 61 'Are we still talking about the bleb?'
• 71 'you're there alone, and that lung. This isn't Amsterdam.'

Two frames, two panels each (lands in 18, 52)

• 18 'Tanner, I noticed the panels are not in the same orientation'
• 52 Three racks of eight; Unistrut

Stef walks in stuck; 'try out the new strap' (lands in 16, 22)

• 16 'a tow strap for when you get that Sentra stuck in the mud again'
• 22 'Broomstick carried me up'

'Same old Bill, just a new works site to be late at' (lands in 18, 20)

• 18 'Noon, Bill? Gets dark at 4:30'
• 20 Bill at the Community Center

'If you're waiting on me, you're backing up' (lands in 22)

• 22 Stef: 'What's that even... Nevermind.' – Bill's line borrowed

Brakes, turns, look-outs; 'Sit back and enjoy the ride then, Sidecar' (lands in 3, 16, 25, 26, 67, 68, 71)

• 3 'Try and keep it between the lines'
• 16 'You take these men in your sidecar'
• 25 'you're off-roading'; 'I drove cuz last night I had a bad dream'
• 26 'You can't stop in the middle of the road, Stef'
• 67 'Oh, my little helper's back. I missed you so much I forgot all of your secondary qualities.'
• 68 'Slow down, hurry up. My little helper is conflicted today.'
• 71 'Don't you use the brakes at all?' 'Only as a last resort.'

'Stoptional' / 'God help me' / 'Hey, that's my line' (lands in 16, 18, 30, 62, 71)

• 16 'God help me, I thought you learned your lesson'
• 18 'God help me. So, Tanner look in here'
• 30 'God help me. Rusty will grab the spoils'
• 62 'God help me.' after Dateline
• 71 'I'm not arguing.' 'That was my line.'

'I'm going to that Dupont Baptist this Sunday' / 'You should try out Dripping Springs Baptist too' (lands in 2, 34, 36)

• 2 Dupont Baptist in Lonnie's head
• 34 'I want to go to that Dupont Baptist this Sunday'
• 36 Stef's first Sunday

Stop in the middle of the highway; the construction site; 'You can't just pull into someone's driveway' (lands in 26, 27, 45)

• 26 'You can't stop in the middle of the road, Stef'
• 27 The showing
• 45 'I never said hi to a soul... Forgiveness doctrine'

Spanish with the contractor; 'Where you learn?' 'School, amigos, oreja.' (lands in 10, 63, 69, 70)

• 10 'Did I say it wrong? Prefer Spanish?'
• 63 'Mas gracioso que ella' / 'Hey, pendejos. English.'
• 69 'Hablas Espanol?' / 'self defense with a bad accent'
• 70 'Shoulda seen him today, got some Mexican up there, he's speak Spanish just like them.'

Houseplans.net; 'a cutter off the internet'; lodge vs church vs lake house (lands in 29, 41, 47, 63)

• 29 'order the house plan online'
• 41 'the tube arrived this morning'
• 47 'if we put the house over there, and the garage is on the basement level in back'
• 63 'The foundation is sixty five by thirty five'

'You're not building the house.' / 'Not decided.' / 'Decided.' (lands in 21, 29, 31, 34, 44, 54, 65, 67)

• 21 'we're probably going to get a general contractor'
• 29 'That's not decided.' 'Decided.'
• 31 'Decided.' – the office nook
• 34 'So, decided.' – the totes
• 44 'I decided that other thing too' – Karen's
• 54 'Good try. You're not building the house.'
• 65 'I am on the hunt for GCs…' 'Don't do it.'
• 67 'Michael! You can't do it. I'm telling you, you're not building this house.'

'So not in the misdemeanor's book.' (lands in 71)

• 71 'Misdemeanor's boo..?' / 'I had this all planned out, and you took it from me. Felonies book.'

Chapter 18, December 26, 2023 (40 connections)

Bill arrives at noon with Peanut in tow and names him Slippers. The drive for a router: the smoking aria – forty-two years, every thirty minutes, blow bubbles, thank God for it – employees as product, Cat's Ass Holler. Lamont, 4G. Back on site: ten Ring cameras, the neighbor's ribbon re-tied to aim the first, Rusty's little one waiting in the truck, Peanut twice, 'I'm the ground wire, Cody.' The 235-foot bore Chris left behind carries the wire; cattle fence on the panels; lick it and stick it. At 4:20, for the first time ever, the holler has power.

The line worth the page: 'If you can't smoke, blow bubbles.' The aria is Michael's whole social theory – every thirty minutes, step out of the crucible – and by 55 the only smoking fellowship left is a cat under an awning. The book gives him the speech on the day the holler gets power and takes the huddle away when he moves in.

Connected chapters: 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 30, 31, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 58, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72

'I had Peanut. She's prettier than you.' – Bill's daughter; Rusty's neighbor who called his girl Peanut (lands in 17)

• 17 Rusty's three girls; 'Oldest nine'

Fifi, the feefster; 'Mr. Shop-With-Care' (lands in 16, 31)

• 16 'You had James West, Chris Fernandez, Fifi, Dan'
• 31 'Look at our dinner parties, Fifi, Bill, Deno'

'Slippers' – Bill names him (lands in 21, 49, 54, 56)

• 21 'Slippers over here tip toed all over my learning'
• 49 'Mikey Slippas'
• 54 'That commute got slippers in it?'
• 56 'Don't lose your slippers' / 'the shoes doctors and cooks... wear'

'Is this the Dan two point oh?' / 'Dan called actually' / 'He called for Christmas?' (lands in 16, 21)

• 16 Dan on the roster
• 21 'I've hired a lot of guys – Bill here was one of them'

Assumption, Bill's own special ingredient; the match saved in his pocket (lands in 20, 21, 25, 46)

• 20 '(Yup, Bill's always been funny like that... out come the match)'
• 21 'I thought assumption's Bill's game' (Cody)
• 25 'I kept that in the pocket'
• 46 'a point of friction... out comes the match'

The smoking aria: forty-two years, every thirty minutes, blow bubbles, thank God for it (lands in 3, 6, 9, 41, 55, 67)

• 3 'Yes, I'm smoking, and no, I didn't hurt the lung'
• 6 'he smokes like he's gotta get 'em in'
• 9 'Why's he keep putting all them butts in his pocket?'
• 41 'That's why you're so out of breath, and I'm used to it' (47)
• 55 'She's the only smoking fellowship I have now'
• 67 'You smell like you rolled around in an ashtray though.'

'A human person, unlike yourself an asshole person, sees a point of friction' (lands in 20, 46)

• 20 Bill's match restated by the narrator
• 46 'a point of friction... sand out the high spot'

'Don't diss my kids, Bill' / 'I'll leave that to you, coach' (lands in 9, 45, 55)

• 9 'Stef's buddy Phil... I coach a foil and feed team'
• 45 'the dodgeball coach. She's our neighbor'
• 55 'I was the dodgeball captain'

'You hire them so that you can afford them'; employees are product, like any other camera (lands in 15, 21, 46)

• 15 'more than I made with any man that's paid me as a cost of goods sold'
• 21 'The need is easy... What I cannot fill is the want'
• 46 'bought and paid for, you ain't wrong'

'my draw is informal Facebook leftovers and their friends' (lands in 6, 24, 35, 69)

• 6 'Seymour Speaks Out'
• 24 'I put some bait out on Facebook'
• 35 'Stefanie's Facebook habit'
• 69 'Is Facebook working out?' 'Ees good platform.'

'They look --– consistent.' 'Rusty's a pleaser.' 'A dozen in every line up here.' (lands in 46, 48)

• 46 'Cody, friend, bought and paid for'
• 48 Stef: 'the Codys of the world aren't hard to find'

Cat's Ass Holler – 'big on the beauty and heavy on the rejection' (lands in 20, 22)

• 20 'He calls it Cat's Ass Holler – when Stefanie lets him'
• 22 The wifi named Cat's Ass Holler; 'Get it off there'

'A good shit stir is its own poultice' / 'holler healthcare' (lands in 22, 44)

• 22 'the cauldron'; 'the soup ladle... the boat oar'
• 44 'Don't you dare pull a full Bill shit stir'

Lamont; 4G only; 'Wrap it up' (lands in 34, 50)

• 34 DirecTV; 'Internet, a cell phone'
• 50 Netflix tonight

'the girls get out at 2:30'; the little one waiting in the truck (lands in 17, 58, 63, 69)

• 17 'I got three little girls'
• 58 DCS; 'the girls have their own room'
• 63 Seven girls at the table (42)
• 69 'I just looked up around time to get the girls'

'I know a guy calls his little girl Peanut' – Rusty's ramble cut off (lands in 22)

• 22 'Give a guy the President job'

'We were talkin about you all last week. Crack the whip get this place ready, his friend can visit' (lands in 16, 17)

• 16 'Bill is coming up next week'
• 17 'Same old Bill, just a new works site'

'That's why we keep homeowners out the machines' / 'you win blisters' (lands in 15, 40, 56)

• 15 'He covets em'
• 40 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses'
• 56 'That's me work'

'Did we just de-evolve?' (lands in 17, 40)

• 17 'Wait. Did we just de-evolve? I felt something there'
• 40 Rusty's fart

Ten cameras; the neighbor's survey ribbon re-tied to aim camera one; early warning, critter cam, defcon 5 (lands in 3, 24, 30, 50, 51, 72)

• 3 'a property pin with deep faded pink ribbon, knot rotting in the sun'
• 24 'I saw the easement pins coming up'
• 30 The camera that didn't ping
• 50 'At the critter cam'; 'The Equipment Yard never saw them'
• 51 'the new cam he put in thar' (50)
• 72 'I didn't get any Ring notifications.' 'Me either, but kitty was blinging all night.'

'Dan would know better set a sword in the ground, challenge me to bicker' (lands in 16)

• 16 Dan on the roster

The 235-foot bore Chris pushed so he didn't go home empty-handed (lands in 12, 13, 21)

• 12 Gibson
• 13 'It's all rock, Michael'
• 21 'Chris found rock all the way down the easement'

'Million years, nothing but wildlife and passers through campfires, and we're installing electricity at the speed of light' (lands in 24, 31)

• 24 'a ten thousand year arch that starts a million years into the holler's history'
• 31 'every man and thing that ever sat in this place throughout all time, they felt it too'

'Yeah, right' decoded: extreme doubt up north, deep agreement down here (lands in 19, 21, 25, 46, 54)

• 19 'Yeah, right.' (Rusty, first in his mouth)
• 21 'Yeah, Right.' (Cody)
• 25 'Yeah, right.' (Lonnie)
• 46 'Yeah right, I see it.'
• 54 'Yeah, right. That's so awesome'

'My cousin down at the Community Center' / 'Gahhllee, I know Emma' (lands in 20, 39)

• 20 Bill installs Emma's cameras
• 39 'if my cousin Emma comes back'

'I'm a sneaky some-bitch' (lands in 30, 56)

• 30 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch too, Cody'
• 56 'I'm a sneaky some bitch.' again

'No bucket rides, but bucket lifts, I didn't say that' (lands in 11, 31, 43)

• 11 'He did say, no bucket rides'
• 31 'No more bucket lifts for those two pricks'
• 43 'No bucket rides the flavor'

'I'm the ground wire, Cody. And I choose when I carry the load.' (lands in 19, 22)

• 19 'I don't want to absolve myself of liability and lay it on an innocent kid'
• 22 'that makes me the liable one'

'I've been sued a hundred times for stuff I never did... I'm the only hard pocket' (lands in 55, 65)

• 55 'When the hotels got me sued a dozen times and the gas station two dozen more'
• 65 'I bet the injury lawyer'll see it the same way.'

'Lick it and stick it'; hot landing; no ground rod till morning (lands in 19)

• 19 'the solar panels are hot'

'For the first time ever, the holler has power!' – 4:20 (lands in 19, 31, 50, 68)

• 19 'the holler has power'
• 31 'the headlights go off... it's noon daylight here compared to the Drip'
• 50 'This place is so dark'
• 68 'Did they plan power poles right along the hillside for you too?' 'We're going solar.'

Chapter 19, December 27, 2023 (38 connections)

The morning after power. Coffee, the loan-to-credit lesson, raccoons on the Ring through a branch that won't stop alerting. Tanner arrives late on purpose: 'Played.' The partnership talk in the dark – noose and stool, shelf company, 'your hires are your partners' – and Tanner names the price: 'you need me to trust you.' Michael tells Stef about the engagement in one breath and hangs up; the phone rings through a solar word problem; Rusty's first 'Yeah, right.' The chapter ends as a word problem whose answer is zero.

The line worth the page: 'Your hires are not your helpers, they're your partners. They make you, or they break you. But if you don't have hands, you're broken already.' Said to Tanner in the dark before the sun is up; at 55 it comes back as Tanner's own ('It's a real thing, debt to man'), with Rusty's skid in the mud as proof.

Connected chapters: 3, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 58, 59, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71

'You sure it's tomorrow already?' / 'Today, Michael.' (lands in 18, 31)

• 18 The day that ended at 4:20 with power
• 31 'It's dark as country'; the dawn walk

The Ring app on his phone all night; 'I'd rather let the machines walk off' (lands in 25, 30, 50)

• 25 Two holler rats on the dam cam
• 30 The camera that didn't ping
• 50 Dirt bikes on the critter cam

Buy big loan, pay it nearly off; interest front-loaded; credit ratio (lands in 10, 55, 59, 67)

• 10 'installment loans keep up credit score'
• 55 'you buy those stupid loans, so it's insured – see, I listen'
• 59 Comenity: 'pay ahead'
• 67 'Eighty of that went to John Deere Financial. We still owe eighty there.'

The branch in front of the camera; raccoons; 'I just want to pet their little ears' (lands in 16, 41, 48, 62)

• 16 'raccoon on the inverter... Approved'
• 41 Raccoons in the toilet: 'Lenny' and 'George'
• 48 'I could pet her little ears' – the bear
• 62 'Feed the little trash pandas too'

(Raccoon, Coyote – Stef opens a case on the wildlife) – drawer (lands in 47, 49, 55)

• 47 'Fish and Wildlife will be paying three-thousand bucks a head'
• 49 'Coyotes do okay with an AR though'
• 55 'I don't worry about the coyotes, they can't climb trees'

'Played.' / 'I took my time, teach you a lesson' (lands in 14, 30, 34)

• 14 'I'm a vampire'
• 30 'both of you get here before me again'
• 34 'I beat you to work. I was checking out at Lowes'

'we're carrying a couple pins around... The survey guy is coming tomorrow' (lands in 24, 46)

• 24 Roy; 'I saw the easement pins coming up'
• 46 'Yours look good too' – pins and mesh for the shotcrete

'the gravy train has a track under it. One way on, headed in one direction' (lands in 21, 49)

• 21 'Nobody else is picking you for their team'
• 49 'I'm not just giving away a company, I'm giving away the knowledge'

'adding people to it taints your thing – and I won't play the bully' (lands in 15, 17)

• 15 'Title is me, and it is mine'
• 17 'A little pissy I see about I'm adding people to his little fiefdom'

'That did look a little trickster, call it my choice right after you left me no other choice' (lands in 28, 43)

• 28 Lonnie and Cody plot the same read from the other side
• 43 'I chose to as soon as he left me no other choice' (Tanner, on the truck)

'your hires are not your helpers, they're your partners. They make you, or they break you' (lands in 21, 55, 66, 68)

• 21 'Your doubt earned answers I wanted to hear'
• 55 'It's a real thing, debt to man. When they count on you, it's not just money, it's their safety'
• 66 'Them your boys In the machines?' 'Partners.'
• 68 'And he's not my employee.'

'that's a comforting noose... the more your feet move, the more the stool wobbles' (lands in 7, 58)

• 7 'I still need a stool to reach the top shelf'
• 58 'Stress will yank that stool right out from under you'

'the bank does the work, and Deno does the legal'; a shelf company; 'get this one dirty and dinged up' (lands in 21, 22, 31, 35, 71)

• 21 'Tanner call Deno'
• 22 Deno's lunch, the amendments
• 31 'Deno is my ex girlfriend's uncle'
• 35 'my lawyer Deno can set it all up for him'
• 71 'Deno ain't got shit on these charges, buddy.'

'You got engaged – I forgot to tell Stefanie' (lands in 17, 43)

• 17 Zales; the bonus
• 43 'You two just got engaged, didn't you?'

'you'll never get to work before I do because I never stop thinking about it' (lands in 58)

• 58 'I never stop thinking about it, Tanner.' 'I'm starting to get that.'

Cut holes in the floor for the conduit (lands in 18, 51, 52)

• 18 'we don't have time to excavate, drill, conduit'
• 51 'It'll get harder and harder to pull new wire into that conduit'
• 52 'Marry up the pairs, and get them into the conduit'

'If I don't tell her about this, she'll murder me' / 'Tanner got engaged with your Christmas bonus. Okay, byeee.' (lands in 16, 22)

• 16 'my thousand?'
• 22 'I'll deal with you later'

'Worthy cause' – every bit of garbage into the shed (lands in 10, 16)

• 10 'It was a worthy cause.'
• 16 'It was a worthy cause. And look at this'

'that's a lot of cigarettes. I can't believe you smoked them all in one night' (lands in 18, 54)

• 18 The smoking aria
• 54 'I'm gonna smoke two cartons a week with this arrangement'

'I hate when my old lady does that, just keeps calling until I answer' (lands in 16)

• 16 'the kid literally called you at 6:30 in the morning'

Nameplate: 425 watts, sun-hours, forty percent; 'Listen up Cody, or stay toxic' (lands in 18, 49, 59)

• 18 'the nameplate stickers down toward the ground'
• 49 'Three racks of eight is just over ten kW nameplate'
• 59 Top-balancing

'Honey, you're on speaker phone with Cody and Tanner...' 'And Rusty. Mornin' Stef.' (lands in 3, 54, 63)

• 3 'You're on the car speaker.' 'So, no cussing, got it.'
• 54 'Put me on speakerphone. Hi Karen.'
• 63 'Why have a secret code if it's party line anyway?'

The third degree: 'Did she cry?' 'Did you cry?' 'What did her mom say?' (lands in 42, 43)

• 42 Stef picks an engagement gift for Emily
• 43 'I met Emily Senior year'

'Yeah, Right.' – Rusty's first (lands in 18, 21)

• 18 The phrase decoded
• 21 Cody: 'Yeah, Right.'

The word problem: if the three men do not stop interrupting, how much will Michael be paying them? (lands in 21, 22)

• 21 'Zero, Cody, which, as you already clocked and blocked, is the answer to this morning's word problem'
• 22 'So, um, no more word problems.' 'No promises.'

'You're little. Why you so violent?' (lands in 69)

• 69 'Yeah, they're violent.' 'Mine too. Those are no less violent.'

Chapter 20, December 27, 2023 (18 connections)

Bill at the Community Center for the Waltons – Emma, Mernie, Bernie. The doors plague Emma; nobody knows where the originals went; cameras first, fit-in doors next. Mernie explains the bear as a technique ('a lady need less manners'), and Bill knows it as Michael's 'don't make an asshole outa me.' Bill leaks the talk of the town: Michael bought the fishin hole, calls it Cat's Ass Holler when Stefanie lets him – 'Oh, there's a Stefanie too?' DVR or Ring; 'That's how they gitcha.' Bill installs and grins at whichever trap she picks.

The line worth the page: 'Bear work with a man like Lonnie. You two, a lady need less manners.' Mernie explains the subject-changing bear as a technique with a register – and Bill immediately recognizes Michael's version of it ('don't make an asshole outa me'). The holler and the Yankee have the same move; only the animal differs.

Connected chapters: 2, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 22, 25, 36, 39, 42, 46, 47, 57, 59, 72

'Hey, Uncle Bill' – the Waltons; Bill's cousin Emma (lands in 18, 39, 42)

• 18 'I have to install some cameras for my cousin down at the Community Center'
• 39 'if my cousin Emma comes back... she'll have you on the donations list'
• 42 'Hills got echos'

'I see you more at the grocery store' / 'make up work for you to do just to get sight of you' (lands in 47)

• 47 'The problem with conflict up here, you'll run into him at the grocery store'

'These doors. They plague me.' – where the originals are; 'for security' (lands in 4, 7, 57)

• 4 The two doors that don't belong
• 7 'how to get those doors replaced'
• 57 Mernie: 'They was glass panes from top to bottom'; no photograph exists

Bill donates the cameras; 'maybe I can sweet talk you into donating a couple fit-in doors' (lands in 4, 39, 72)

• 4 'bet he could buy a couple fit-in doors'
• 39 'on the donations list before I can say, bless your heart'
• 72 'Maybe. I'll call Bill today'

'Teach school twenty-five years, Church Trustee, Elections Officer, and still folksy enough' (lands in 36, 57)

• 36 Emma at the chapel: 'Oh we ain't so formal's all that'
• 57 Emma's March 2 list, Williams Library, the Heritage Museum

'Is it Tennessee Mutual?' – donate a couple months mortgage (lands in 10, 16)

• 10 'Oh, hell no!' to a mortgage
• 16 'we never mortgage our home'

'Oh, brother.' 'What's that, mama?' 'You heard me.' (lands in 7, 13, 17)

• 7 Mernie's first 'Oh brother'
• 13 Michael's
• 17 Stef's

'And you didn't even need a bear this time' / 'Bear work with a man like Lonnie. You two, a lady need less manners.' (lands in 4, 7, 17)

• 4 The bear in the side yard, unnoticed
• 7 'That bear sitting over there on the side like he eavesdropping'
• 17 'And that bear's in her life too'

'My buddy Michael just bought that old fishin hole up the road' / 'the talk of the town' (lands in 2, 7, 36)

• 2 The Hummer past Lonnie
• 7 'that Yankee up the old Trail holler'
• 36 'She just bought Trail Holler'

'He calls it Cat's Ass Holler – when Stefanie lets him' (lands in 18, 22)

• 18 'Cat's Ass Holler is big on the beauty and heavy on the rejection'
• 22 The wifi renamed; 'You're a child'

'Oh, there's a Stefanie too?' / 'It's a security business ladies, you're going to have to get your gossip somewhere else' (lands in 7, 36, 39)

• 7 'he called for some gossip on the Yankee'
• 36 Stef introduced at the chapel by name-meaning
• 39 'You're not ready for Emma yet'

Cameras inside and the Elections Commission; 'CNN in November' (lands in 4, 39, 57)

• 4 'where the whole holler files through to be counted as one'
• 39 'This's where you'll come vote this Fall'
• 57 'I vote here. We all vote here.'

'big honking cameras say keep out more than, ha, gotcha' (lands in 18, 25)

• 18 Early warning, critter cam, defcon 5
• 25 'You saw the cam on the tree, loud and proud, but you missed the cam in the grass'

DVR vs Ring; 'That's how they gitcha, Emma. They get you on that 'scription, and you hooked for life' (lands in 18, 59)

• 18 'Oh boy! Ring. This'll be an easy day'
• 59 'the modern day pawn shop... customer stickiness'

'All I do is install them and grin when you pick which of your own traps you got yourself stuck in' (lands in 7, 17, 59)

• 7 Emma sets the hook and lands Lonnie
• 17 'wandered right in the trap' (24)
• 59 'I could call that bluff'

(Bill's match saved in his pocket for just this occasion) – narrator (lands in 18, 46)

• 18 'out comes the match he's been saving in his pocket'
• 46 'a point of friction... out comes the match' (18)

Chapter 21, December 27, 2023 (37 connections)

The shed-step sermon. Bill as witness. 'This job ain't normal': a play for control, one bucket at a time against the moonscape, the company that would never hire Cody anyway, zero as the answer to the morning's word problem. Need versus want. 'You're in, and you saved face.' Tanner's real question – who does the work – answered with Oz: every Tin Man gets the straw. Bill's Google review. Pass the books. 'I guess we'll vote on that,' unattributed on purpose. Three 'I do's, hands joined; Deno at Stock and Barrel on Michael's card.

The line worth the page: 'The need is easy, Cody. I can fill that chasm with a tea spoon in each man's hand. What I cannot fill is the want.' The book's transaction stated once, on the shed steps; everything Michael overpays for afterward – boulders (46), six thousand cash (59) – is him buying the want at need prices.

Connected chapters: 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 41, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 58, 59, 62, 63, 65, 66, 70, 73

'I need you as a witness.' 'Usually I'm your alibi.' (lands in 29, 59)

• 29 'Amy, I may need an alibi'
• 59 'witness. Shill. Good?' 'Shill, maybe. Witness, sure.'

'This job ain't normal. I'm not doing a normal thing here.' (lands in 6, 24)

• 6 'this guy, he's not --- normal'
• 24 'He's different alright'

'we're probably going to get a general contractor' / 'Why don't you build it yourself?' / 'Bill, hush.' (lands in 17, 46, 62, 63, 66)

• 17 'You're not building the house.'
• 46 Michael-the-second bounces off the dig
• 62 Three GC appointments
• 63 'I'm on the GC hunt again this week too'
• 66 'My men dig the house seat. And that ain't the place fer it.'

'Chris found rock all the way down the easement, I need a whole lot of solar' (lands in 12, 13, 49)

• 12 All Rock
• 13 'It's all rock, Michael'
• 49 Twelve batteries, three racks

'I doubt I'll save a buck, but I'll spend slower' (lands in 9, 54)

• 9 'It's the responsibility comes with being human'
• 54 'We're real light'

'Bro, this a sucker game' / 'where's the sucker?' (lands in 32, 63)

• 32 'Did you just, I'm rubber, you're glue a mountainside?'
• 63 'You're the one lulled me in with your bits and pieces' (55)

'It's a play for control': one bucket at a time vs the moonscape only rats live in (lands in 6, 9, 17, 25, 47)

• 6 'He's super protective of the hardwoods'
• 9 'one bucket at a time'
• 17 'We're just piling those'
• 25 'Hard to see a man pay all that money for a machine and pay a man a fraction of it'
• 47 'It's like it was never not here'

The job application that is the bane of his existence; references that say the least bad shit (lands in 15, 17, 48, 52)

• 15 'twenty an hour is more than I've made anywhere else'
• 17 'I don't have his job application'
• 48 'This is the best money either one of us ever got'
• 52 'like on the weekends' – bidding jobs elsewhere (48)

'Zero, Cody' – the answer to the word problem (lands in 19)

• 19 The word problem

'these men got groceries to buy and... the same next thirty years of work' (lands in 10, 25)

• 10 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in'
• 25 'thirty years later, all my income combined'

'The business is the thing. But I don't have the strength to start a new one anymore' (lands in 35, 49)

• 35 'Why not just start your own company?' 'Same desk problem.'
• 49 'I'm giving away the knowledge how to run a company'

'I can sure find another one at the Weigles waiting in line for backer' (lands in 14, 25)

• 14 Granny's car at the Weigles
• 25 'spit that nasty chew'

'The need is easy... What I cannot fill is the want. I need men to build this place, and I want them to be you.' (lands in 33, 59)

• 33 'How can I ask to manage your money, and I won't work at least as hard'
• 59 'giving is receiving. Let me receive my way'

'You won't be won, Cody'; 'your belly won't wait for your wisdom' (lands in 46, 48, 65)

• 46 'And why do you work, Cody?' 'I do it feed my family.'
• 48 'you didn't leave'
• 65 'It's a job.' 'Then quit.' 'I mean the company is the job.'

'If you're a partner... there's no firing possible' / 'Pedro literally fired you' (lands in 22, 28, 32, 38, 51, 70)

• 22 'I ain't your bossman, you are'
• 28 'That's how they git Pedro, that ten-ninety-nine'
• 32 'I cannot fire you anymore – not without firing your whole damned crew'
• 38 'you go stay with Pedro'
• 51 'unlike everyone else that did fire you'
• 70 'They put Pedro in jail for the same thing.' 'Pedro went to jail for human trafficking.'

'Cody's in. He's just fighting to save face now' (lands in 22, 59)

• 22 Bill: 'Cody pushing back like he's dealt with Michael all his life'
• 59 'Cody... here's two thousand for you'

'a twenty-two year old man with a baby at the house, came to work eight days before her first Christmas' (lands in 6, 14, 17)

• 6 'It's the 15th. I could stan'a get me some Christmas money'
• 14 'You're twenty-two, Cody'
• 17 'I have lint in pants pockets older than you'

'You're hearing two messages, Cody... I said you are low, and your worth is high' (lands in 14, 46)

• 14 'You got a brain built for NASA and an attitude built for a long life of fiery suffering'
• 46 'you ain't wrong, but you're not even close to right'

'forty thousand dollars a year out of your own kid's open mouth by not closing yours' (lands in 25, 48)

• 25 Lonnie's stolen twenty for propane
• 48 'this week I only get one-fifty'

'the skeptic, the pragmatist, and the dreamer... All of you are the executive officer, the vice, and the treasurer' (lands in 22, 59)

• 22 President Rusty, Treasurer Tanner, 'Imagine Cody Norman, Vice President'
• 59 'Cody voted to take the full twenty'

'It's not Wizard of Oz, Tanner. Every Tin Man gets the straw, and you all need to have all nine names, pinhead' (lands in 34)

• 34 'Goodbye yellow brick road' – Tanner's earworm

Bill's Google review: 'if he would have found this three man master plan ten years ago... I'd line up in that driveway all over again' (lands in 18)

• 18 'when I taught this guy twelve years ago, he couldn't wire a light switch'

'you pass the books, and you teach the ways to the next man' (lands in 35, 41, 48)

• 35 'Cody said Meghan's brother wants hours'; the laptop
• 41 'It's Tuesday, buddy. You gotta get me the invoices'
• 48 'It's your turn for the next two weeks'

'I got three open mouths in my own nest already... where's the book money come from?' (lands in 17, 58)

• 17 'I got three little girls'
• 58 'He doesn't have two thousand dollars'

'I guess we'll vote on that.' (Line left unattributed on purpose) (lands in 48, 59)

• 48 'the other two can vote him off the island'
• 59 'If he hadn't voted against leaving some funds as operating account'

'Do you, Rusty, take Tanner and Cody to be your lawfully wedded partners?' – 'I do' ×3 (lands in 22, 45, 66)

• 22 Bill retells it; 'We ain't holdin hands again, bossman'
• 45 'I ain't holdin hands again, Michael.' 'Yes you are, buddy.'
• 66 'Them your boys In the machines?' 'Partners.'

'Tanner call Deno... Stock and Barrel. Here's my card.' (lands in 22)

• 22 Duck fries; the squeak at the paperwork

Chapter 22, December 27, 2023 (34 connections)

After the vows. Bill and Michael in the shed, Stef arrives by broomstick and finds them sitting; 'Forty-second birthday being the goal.' Bill retells the wedding – sweaty paw, holler balls, 'like kids at the principal's office' – and Stef wants the Reelz version. The wifi is Cat's Ass Holler. The crew returns from Deno's: duck fries, a squeak, President Rusty, Treasurer Tanner, Vice President Cody Norman. Then the one rule – the pin number, embezzlement, 'I will make the victim whole with your ass' – and in the same breath, 'That's what friends are for.'

The line worth the page: 'That's what friends are for.' Said one breath after 'you will pay until the day that you die'; three chapters later Cody reads the same sentence back as a purchase ('hire men, pay them to be your friend') and Stef says it's not wrong. The one rule and the friendship are delivered as one speech because in Michael they are one thing.

Connected chapters: 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 40, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 51, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 67, 69, 70, 71

'That Cody's gonna be problems.' / 'He's smart. Like really smart... he's got them dancing boots on' (lands in 14, 43, 48, 55)

• 14 'Told you he was smart. He got you pegged'
• 43 'He gets stuff, like off center stuff. But he gears it toward provocation'
• 48 'Menace.' 'I put him in the company though'
• 55 'I told you he's smart'

'Epiphany.' / 'More like you're undiagnosed, but something ain't right.' (lands in 16, 35)

• 16 'You built the GPS before you closed your eyes'
• 35 'epiphany across the face. Send him down to the county'

'Broomstick carried me up' – Stef's arrival (lands in 17)

• 17 Stef walks in stuck

'Forty-second birthday being the goal. That's four months, honey.' (lands in 11, 13, 49)

• 11 'Not forty-two. Maybe forty-three.'
• 13 'my forty-second birthday'
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'

'You're supposed to be at the culvert pipe store with the boys' / 'Change of plans.' 'That's the flavor' (lands in 17, 30, 51)

• 17 'We don't have time for culvert pipes'
• 30 'Last I heard it's Culvert pipe day'
• 51 Southeast Drainage; seven sticks

Deno; the amendments; duck fries at Stock and Barrel (lands in 19, 21, 31, 35, 71)

• 19 'Deno does the legal'
• 21 'Tanner call Deno'
• 31 'Deno is my ex girlfriend's uncle'
• 35 'my lawyer Deno can set it all up'
• 71 'Deno ain't got shit on these charges, buddy.'

Bill retells the vows: 'like kids at the principal's office'; 'Michael talking to his own personality in muddy boots' (lands in 16, 21, 30)

• 16 'He's you.'
• 21 The vows
• 30 'I tell you because I was you'

'Rusty's sweaty paw, Tanner's what-the-fuck-did-I-get-myself-into, Cody's holler balls' (lands in 10, 29, 44)

• 10 'I get holler balls on my hands too'
• 29 'transfer their holler balls to my Mamaw's china'
• 44 'three days ago holler balls on Mamaw's china'

'there was a wedding, and I wasn't invited?' – 'I need the Reelz version' (lands in 36, 57, 60)

• 36 Stef's first Sunday, alone
• 57 'I was at that wedding. Louise was the loveliest lady'
• 60 'They're taking you all out to dinner' – the anniversary as the wedding she gets

'an epiphany wrapped in serendipity wrapped in opportunity' / 'Yeah, the zone, I know' (lands in 26)

• 26 'I was in the zone. The zone, babe.'

The cauldron, the soup ladle, the boat oar – Bill stirring (lands in 18, 44)

• 18 'the same witch's cauldron of boil and brew that you stir'
• 44 'Don't you dare pull a full Bill shit stir'

'Little Morgan la Fay over here, he named the wifi Cat's Ass Holler' (lands in 18, 20)

• 18 'Cat's Ass Holler is big on the beauty'
• 20 'when Stefanie lets him'

Rusty's duck fries and the squeak at Deno's desk; 'I'm glad I didn't get the shrimp' (lands in 17, 40, 54)

• 17 'He can lay a fart though'
• 40 'For Christ's sake, Rusty!'
• 54 'if you fart in my house'

President Rusty, Treasurer Tanner, 'Imagine Cody Norman, Vice President' (lands in 21, 59)

• 21 'All of you are the executive officer, the vice, and the treasurer'
• 59 'Cody voted to take the full twenty'

'the pain of state sponsored separation... dissolve this thing' (lands in 48)

• 48 'the other two can vote him off the island'

'Man gets responsibility, man grows up and realizes he can't operate that excavator after lunch liquor' (lands in 33)

• 33 'hangover-goody's-powder shots' (Duran)

'you can either get a job and pay the bills... or you can build yourselves a job' (lands in 21, 35, 49)

• 21 'The business is the thing'
• 35 'Why not just start your own company?'
• 49 'an owner's point of view and an employee's point of view'

'Your company will live in an incubator for at least a year... without learning it at the barrel of desperation' (lands in 10, 59, 67)

• 10 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in'
• 59 'Baptism without the fire. Just like you.'
• 67 'Desperate math again?' 'That's the shape.'

The one rule: the pin number, embezzlement, 'I will make the victim whole with your ass' (lands in 14, 51, 59)

• 14 'back up your word'
• 51 'You have massive debt, which is every employer's threat'
• 59 'I put you men on each other's neck' recalled: 'We talked about this. I said if you come up short'

'You say threats big.' 'I know, Cody. You gotta save face' (lands in 21, 46)

• 21 'You're in, and you saved face.'
• 46 'Coward.' 'Run that one back, Cody.'

'I put you here. I will help you help each other. That's what friends are for.' (lands in 30, 31, 58, 59, 70)

• 30 'You lonely now, hire men, pay them to be your friend'
• 31 'It's not wrong.'
• 58 'I will give him that money if I have to hock the Hummer'
• 59 'I said if you come up short, and the team is not ready, then I am here'
• 70 'I'm your friend, Cody, and I'll help you cuz we're friends.'

'(thirty fewer feet of mud between the truck and the task)' (lands in 40, 49)

• 40 'Cleaned up my parking spot a little too'
• 49 'One thousand three hundred feet, Cody'

'I ain't your bossman, you are.' (lands in 69)

• 69 'You ain't the boss of me, I am.'

Chapter 23, December 28, 2023 (13 connections)

Amy calls: ten days, no calls, drop the price. Michael, from the mulcher, raises it five percent instead – the auto-mail, the sharks, scarcity and FOMO – and backs the bump with ninety-eight new windows he has just ordered. 'Don't be a pussy. This has always been an intro ad.' He emails her a script: owner finance, points on the back side. 'No way Stef goes for that.' 'Wanna bet? Our whole life is patient money.'

The line worth the page: 'Don't be a pussy. This has always been an intro ad. We put it up to read the room.' Michael says it to Amy on the phone from the mulcher; by 25 'read the room' is his tactical doctrine at the dam confrontation and by 29 the word 'pussy' has come back on him from Amy, Stef, and himself. The shortest chapter in the book and its most-quoted insult.

Connected chapters: 9, 10, 15, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 38, 43, 51, 55

'The listing's been up ten days, and no calls yet' (lands in 10, 15, 26)

• 10 'It's not selling at Christmas, so at least there's a week'
• 15 'ten days on the nose'
• 26 'She called me just like we said she would, Ten days on the nose'

'I don't drop my draws one crack hair at time' – raise it five percent (lands in 29, 31, 38)

• 29 'I told you. Raise it five percent, and look at that, we just got offered original asking price'
• 31 'I raised five percent'
• 38 Lonnie: 'roll off his draws and think he fit in now'

'Stef snitch me out?' 'Nope. Raise the price was the clue.' (lands in 27, 43)

• 27 'Did you think I wouldn't check in with Stef before you loaned out two million dollars'
• 43 'She lets me know when she's going in a thing and coming out'

'You raise the price and the phone will start ringing with my broker and my friends' (lands in 27)

• 27 'phone hasn't stopped ringing'

Scarcity, FOMO; 'next week... the price goes up another five percent' (lands in 27, 29)

• 27 'FOMO, baby.'
• 29 'The i-dare-you price'

'I just ordered ninety-eight new windows for the whole house. They come with the deal.' (lands in 26, 27)

• 26 'When were you going to mention the ninety-thousand dollars in windows?'
• 27 'Stef, I bought ninety-eight windows. How else do I bring it up natural?'

'Don't be a pussy. This has always been an intro ad. We put it up to read the room.' (lands in 25, 26, 27, 29)

• 25 'Evaluate, plan, react. Remember? Read the room.'
• 26 'You called her a pussy? Like, oblique?'
• 27 'You're the pussy.'
• 29 'You're a pussy! How did you not lead with that?'

'the real estate room, not the day room at the nut house' (lands in 9, 26)

• 9 'the butterfly net'
• 26 'Are you off your meds?'

Owner finance: 'Now we're in a whole new club... I catch points on the back side' (lands in 25, 27, 29, 33, 55)

• 25 'Michael! Did you order Amy to list the house as an owner finance?'
• 27 'no way I write up owner finance, and I don't talk to Stef first'
• 29 Ten percent down, four percent; the counter
• 33 'I got a seller's note' / 'That's a good instrument'
• 55 Karen: 'Owner finance, he says'

'Our whole life is patient money' (lands in 10, 51)

• 10 'Patient money got us this far'
• 51 'I'm a long-game man'

Chapter 24, December 28, 2023 (33 connections)

Roy the surveyor, coffee spilled on the driveway. He looked at this place years ago, wanted both lots; some lady bought the piece down the hill, the lady died, the son owns it, the phone number's no good. 'A surveyor can't find an owner.' Two-by-four solar racks as proof of concept, the voussoir bridge a ten thousand year arch. Full survey, two septic site plans, red lights and sirens if he hurries. Easement recorded last year; 'Boyd, like the battle.' Athens, McMinn County, commercial development: too much information, ten percent true.

The line worth the page: 'A surveyor can't find an owner. Promising.' The joke is the book's doctrine of records: Roy can stake every boundary and still not reach the man who owns the entrance, and at 63 Michael still can't. The title is exact; the phone number is no good.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 25, 27, 28, 32, 34, 35, 37, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 54, 56, 57, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72

Roy the surveyor; 'We turned off the heat for you' / 'You froze the pond' (lands in 46)

• 46 'Yours look good too' – the pins and mesh for the shotcrete sit on Roy's stakes

'forget that door lock for now and pull down these clouds and let the sun in' (lands in 37, 72)

• 37 'We ever gonna get back on this door handle?'
• 72 'I'll have Tanner finish the deadbolt install today.'

'They found me. I put some bait out on Facebook, and they wandered right in the trap' (lands in 7, 20, 35, 69)

• 7 Emma sets the hook
• 20 'which of your own traps you got yourself stuck in'
• 35 'I send her the ad text, and three hours later...'
• 69 'Is Facebook working out?' 'Ees good platform.'

'I looked at this place a couple years ago when the lot down the hill went up for sale... some lady bought the piece' (lands in 2, 56)

• 2 'Mama bought it. He livin' with Mama.'
• 56 'Boyd see that from his mama house. Land vacant.'

'A surveyor can't find an owner. Promising.' (lands in 13, 57)

• 13 'Without that, we wouldn't have an address'
• 57 Bernie can't find the schoolhouse

'I would never buy a piece with an easement like that one' / 'the lady died. The son owns it now... the phone number's no good' (lands in 3, 45, 63, 68)

• 3 The easement washout
• 45 'I've never met him. It's a long story.'
• 63 'We don't know the man, and he's not answering his phone'
• 68 'I own this land.' – the neighbor, at the equipment yard

'Labor of love.' / 'I see that.' (lands in 27, 66)

• 27 'Thanks, It's a labor of love.' – to the buyers
• 66 'Yeah, it's a labor of love.' 'Better be love cuz the money's a waste.'

Two-by-four racks; proof of concept; 'Test the sun, stick the Unistrut' (lands in 17, 49, 54)

• 17 Two frames, two panels each
• 49 'Nope. Unistrut.'
• 54 'take apart the wood rack madness'

'Is that a voo-swarz Bridge?' – 'a ten thousand year arch that starts a million years into the holler's history' (lands in 11, 18, 34, 47, 65)

• 11 'I wanna go look'it that bridge you an Peter's buildin''
• 18 'Million years, nothing but wildlife'
• 34 Robby: 'This bridge sets us up on the septic side'
• 47 'That bridge fits in, though. It's like it was never not here'
• 65 'Now tell me about that bridge. That thing is gorgeous!'

'He's different alright... Trying to fit in.' (lands in 6, 34)

• 6 'He's different'
• 34 'I'll never fit in if I don't'

Full survey, boundaries every hundred feet, two septic site plans – 'Plural?' (lands in 13, 34, 62, 66, 67)

• 13 'The soil scientist is coming'
• 34 Robby: 'I called the county, and I got your permit and the map'
• 62 'six bedroom septic is a big field'
• 66 'I had the survey printed into the bind.'
• 67 'The survey invoice came in the mail.' 'Thirteen thousand, Michael.'

'Easements get recorded with the Registrar of Deeds... recorded last year' / 'Boyd, like the battle' (lands in 2, 7, 32, 57, 71)

• 2 The file
• 7 'ghost irony a man name of Boyd'
• 32 'That tree was here at the Battle of Boyd's Creek'
• 57 'the Boyd's Creek book crew'
• 71 'owns our easement and controls our entire sense of peace and security'

'Commercial Development.' 'There it is. Nobody calls for a survey already has a survey in hand.' (lands in 2, 28)

• 2 'Another big deal rolling down the peaceful backroads'
• 28 'they gravel over the sign and they line you up one tax bill atter the other'

'Too much information, ten percent true.' / 'That's my job. Untangle the truth.' (lands in 3, 13, 43)

• 3 'Phil and I got all the way to Jefferson County'
• 13 'Contextualizing.'
• 43 'Interview a hundred thousand liars'

'I got a lung thing, I can't climb those hills at kid speed' (lands in 3, 17, 62)

• 3 The bleb
• 17 'a bag of air'
• 62 'Get higher up than me and I'll rest'

'(Sure, a Rook is good, but you gotta love a Knight.)' (lands in 17, 25, 56)

• 17 'my knight jumping a1 to h8'
• 25 'jump conclusions like a chess horse' / 'bit more like a Rook'
• 56 'Talk about a1 to h8'

Chapter 25, December 30, 2023 (39 connections)

Saturday. Lonnie and Cody at the dam on the pond cam – 'slick don't mean smooth,' who got the job, owl calls parsed, Lonnie reading his son's hidden work boots, the stolen twenty for propane, Blalock's two-million-dollar dozer against a lifetime of wages. Stef drives, Michael watches; Deddy decoded, Smokey and the Bandit, LP/OP. At the equipment yard: 'I ain't no fuckin' thief!' / 'Camera batteries says different.' 'I saw your longing.' Stef reaches for her phone – and Amy calls about the owner finance. 'Oh, shit!'

The line worth the page: 'I saw your longing.' Michael to Lonnie, at the equipment yard, with Stef reaching for her phone. Lonnie hears it as contempt ('Tell me I'm longin'... Hell's a chat?' at 56) and goes home to call him a coward (28); the only true reading of Lonnie in the book is delivered by the man Lonnie cannot hear.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 63, 68

'Ain't I said they slick bottom' / 'slick don't mean smooth' – the print with little circles (lands in 2, 5, 8, 56)

• 2 'stupid shiny smooth bottom shoes'
• 5 'smooth-bottom shoes made fer office carpet'
• 8 Cody clocks the Danskos and says nothing
• 56 'Slippers'

'a full ball of yarn 'thout I got no cotton spin it with' / 'Yarn made of wool, Deddy' (lands in 28)

• 28 Cody corrects Deddy on biennials

'Who git the job, Deddy?' / 'That's him. That's Cody.' (lands in 6, 28, 48)

• 6 'When can I start?'
• 28 'Nuff sense git you on his crew, now we got him'
• 48 'You took the job, Cody. You took it.'

Deddy decoded for Stef; 'Smokey and the Bandit' / 'Ye ain't got the ear fer it' (lands in 16)

• 16 'Y' ain't got the ear for it, boy'

'Oh Christ. It followed me home.' / 'Been here all along, baby. Born 'n raised in these hills.' (lands in 42, 45, 60)

• 42 'Michael ain't from 'roun here, but I am'
• 45 'That's us. It's how we getcha.'
• 60 'The Henry women. They're a force.'

'Could run Colegate if he didn't hate the product so much' (lands in 14, 22, 55)

• 14 'You got a brain built for NASA'
• 22 'He's smart. Like really smart'
• 55 'I told you he's smart'

Lonnie reads Cody's work boots: 'you got on differnt boots... Where you git them boots, boy? And why you hidin' em?' (lands in 5, 8, 28)

• 5 Tecovas with the flag
• 8 'Get a speed square and a coat and boots for this guy'
• 28 'You ain't think none of this'

'Once Upon a Time' – the disclaimer on every word out of Deddy's mouth (lands in 5, 7, 28)

• 5 Lonnie's tracking report
• 7 Mernie on lore: 'real history that went through the wash'
• 28 'Rose Pink come ever' year'

The pond cam; Stef driving; Sharpie on the bumper; tombstone mailbox names (lands in 3, 19)

• 3 'All the mailboxes are on one side'
• 19 The Ring app

'Cop, got her radio status check, reading the MDT screen... scoping a Golden Doodle reel' (lands in 59, 63, 68)

• 59 'I have my state radio right here... 342... the BOLO'
• 63 'Is everything on Op?'
• 68 'Did you just narrate my police stop?'

'them owls ain't ringin' the dinner bell, they's markin' home turf' / 'you don't speak Owl' (lands in 6, 31, 47)

• 6 'four-hooter rat'
• 31 'mine-mine, mine, mine. We'll share'
• 47 'Get-off-my-Land' / 'Wel-come-home-guys'

'Pull this pipe, like let the whole dam go. That man know that?' / 'I'm the one's gotta know the danger in the dirt' (lands in 11, 52, 55)

• 11 'I'll be in the seat when the dam gets breached'
• 52 'I'll run the ex.' 'It's gotta be me.'
• 55 'I almost killed you, man.'

Lonnie's stolen twenty for propane; the poplar log; the rick of stove wood sold (lands in 7, 28, 50)

• 7 Co-op propane
• 28 'that baby need heat'
• 50 The saw in the hollow oak

'Thinks I can read minds – I can't build a house, but I can read minds' (lands in 54)

• 54 'I talk to the man, and I know he can't hear me'

'all your life in dollars and cents ain't add up to just these two machines' – Blalock's two-million-dollar dozer (lands in 9, 15, 54, 56)

• 9 'I'll have to hire Blalock's to finish the dirt work'
• 15 'still less than he pay Blalock's'
• 54 'The machines were two-fifty'
• 56 'I work with Blalock. Can't granish cash.'

'(Conflicts with Mernie lumber yard story)' – author's flag (lands in 7, 56)

• 7 'Lonnie worked at the lumber yard with your grand dad'
• 56 'Lumber yard close. I work them dozers for day pay' – squared

'steps makes a man too. Processes. Systems.' / 'that ain't no dozer no more. And you still a man.' (lands in 21, 46, 56)

• 21 'Every Tin Man gets the straw'
• 46 'How you know all this shit?' 'Years, Cody.'
• 56 'Dozer's right there in the yard'

LP/OP; 'we're not storming the joint'; 'Evaluate, plan, react. Read the room.' (lands in 23)

• 23 'We put it up to read the room'

'obviate' / 'LP/OP over here is going to bust my balls for obviate' (lands in 9, 11, 41)

• 9 'obtuse'
• 11 'ascribed'
• 41 'pedagogy'

'They already hear the tires on the gravel... I hear them on the gravel long before they get here' (lands in 31, 54)

• 31 'the quarter mile of winding gravel road below the pond is an alarm system'
• 54 'I got four heads popping up over the dam top'

'Today's Saturday. You ain't no carpenter – especially not on Saturdays.' (lands in 6, 45)

• 6 'I can't work the weekends'
• 45 'That boy don't work weekends'

'I ain't no fuckin' thief!' / 'Easy, Crumb Bum... Camera batteries says different' (lands in 6, 30)

• 6 'Somehow they batteries got in upside down'
• 30 'He's a thief. Both of you are. It's the official record.'

'jump conclusions like a chess horse' / 'I come at it straight – bit more like a Rook' (lands in 17, 24, 56)

• 17 'my knight jumping a1 to h8'
• 24 '(Sure, a Rook is good, but you gotta love a Knight.)'
• 56 'Talk about a1 to h8'

'You saw the cam on the tree, loud and proud, but you missed the cam in the grass. I saw you, and I kept that in the pocket.' (lands in 11, 20, 30)

• 11 'That one stays in the pocket'
• 20 'big honking cameras say keep out'
• 30 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch too'

'I saw your longing... a gentleman's talk about your boy here and all the time you're scared about losing' (lands in 28, 56)

• 28 'Feel invaded... Feel empty.'
• 56 'Tell me I'm longin'. Tell me gentleman chat. Hell's a chat?'

Stef: 'his deddy come up here at night like the predator his rap sheet says he is... I'd rather be dead. I'm calling...' (lands in 9, 30, 48)

• 9 'Give me his name. I'll run him'
• 30 'twice convicted'
• 48 'I locked up a lot of people for drugs'

'Machiavelli, ouch.' (lands in 31)

• 31 'Stop saying ouch every time someone scores a point'

'You, Cody. This ain't some casual visit with Daddy, you're casing the joint' – two misdemeanors, one plead down (lands in 30, 51)

• 30 The Live Bait garage
• 51 'a theft record in bold ink'

'Michael! Did you order Amy to list the house as an owner finance?' 'Oh, shit!' (lands in 23, 26, 27)

• 23 'Wanna bet?'
• 26 'Get in the back seat.'
• 27 'I don't talk to Stef first'

'(Anger always starts with fear.)' / '(A proportional type in the mass)' (lands in 28, 55)

• 28 Lonnie: 'Coward, slave to they money'
• 55 'The adrenaline dump is catching up with me'

Chapter 26, December 30, 2023 (20 connections)

The car home from the equipment yard. Stef: you caught a thief and wouldn't let me call the cops. Michael invents a remote control with a stop-being-mad-and-listen button and is sent to the back seat. Amy is coming at four to throw their things in cabinets; the tool bag. 'I love this man' twice and a trailing 'I …' Publix for Swiffers, flowers, and batteries for the remote. 'I was in the zone.' The ninety thousand in windows surfaces. 'I came by it honest. Right?' 'Never.' Two sets of flowers.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 10, 11, 16, 19, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 46, 47, 48, 49, 55, 68, 69

'Brush them a little close with the mirror' / 'does it ever stop?' (lands in 3, 31)

• 3 'I moved the mirrors around'
• 31 'It never stops.' (Stef to Amy)

'You catch the guy on your land... and you won't even let me call the cops' (lands in 25, 30, 48)

• 25 'I'm calling...' interrupted
• 30 'You're a thief, twice convicted'
• 48 'I locked up a lot of people for drugs'

'Let you? I didn't know I had that kind of power. Do I get like a remote control?' – the stop-being-mad-and-listen button (lands in 27, 29)

• 27 'I got this remote control, and the be-nice-to-me-button'
• 29 'know that I have this remote control here, and I will use it' / 'Pause Rage TV'

'I will beat you to a pulp, a literal pulp' / 'Back seat. Get in the back seat.' (lands in 11, 19, 69)

• 11 'beat you with a different one'
• 19 'fat lip... need a straw'
• 69 'Yeah, they're violent.' 'Mine too. Those are no less violent.'

'She better not touch my tool bag' (lands in 10, 27)

• 10 'I couldn't find that tool bag for a week'
• 27 'good luck finding your tool bag, Toolbag'

'I love this man. I love this man. I love this man. I …' (lands in 16, 49)

• 16 The triple, first
• 49 The triple, third

'4:00 or 4:15' / 'the front windows will be in maximum sunset' / 'Are you off your meds?' (lands in 23, 27)

• 23 'the day room at the nut house'
• 27 The showing; trim pulled mid-tour

'Only meds I need are a steady diet of shit to handle and a tape measure for the bag size' (lands in 55)

• 55 'All's I need is a pile of shit to handle and a tape measure to pick the bag size.' 'I'd go extra large on this one. Tarp, maybe.'

Swiffers, flowers, batteries – 'because that's what assholes do when they forget they're not the only person in the world with feelings' (lands in 27, 46)

• 27 'These are for you. Jackass thought I wanted flowers for the table'; '(The Swiffers were court costs)'
• 46 'I won't be the person to punish you for your feelings'

'I was in the zone. The zone, babe.' (lands in 22)

• 22 'Yeah, the zone, I know.'

'You called her a pussy? Like, oblique?' 'Nopers. Dead pan, pussy.' (lands in 23, 27, 29)

• 23 'Don't be a pussy'
• 27 'You're the pussy.'
• 29 'You're a pussy!'

'They're all psycho like the camera's always on. Live by the network, die by the network.' (lands in 10, 47)

• 10 'Politics.' – the realtors' photos
• 47 'Google heard those owls, and it sent me the article'

'When were you going to mention the ninety-thousand dollars in windows?' (lands in 23, 27)

• 23 'I just ordered ninety-eight new windows'
• 27 'I bought ninety-eight windows. How else do I bring it up natural?'

'That was before you got Patrick to find land and then way-layed me with making the call to the guy because he's eighty-one' (lands in 2, 3, 68)

• 2 Dwight Price's sign
• 3 'I came in the back way like we said'
• 68 'When Patrick looked up the land... they paid eighty-thousand.'

'the inspection is going right at those windows, and bam, I got 'em answered' (lands in 29)

• 29 'No inspection. Construction site.'

'I came by it honest. Right?' 'Never.' (lands in 2)

• 2 'the kid came by it honest' (Lonnie, on Boyd)

'I'll get the flowers. Two sets' (lands in 27)

• 27 'Got these flowers out of the deal'

Chapter 27, December 30, 2023 (19 connections)

Stef and Amy gloat by phone – the meat-axe, the be-nice-to-me button – then Amy turns it: no owner finance without checking with Stef first, and 'good luck finding your tool bag, Toolbag.' The showing: Michael tears trim off the kitchen windows mid-tour to plant the ninety-eight windows ('placebo running the nuthouse'); Anna sees the H and asks about the chalk outline. Stef to a stranger: 'I get to live in a whole new construction site.' Five-man crew, Saturday sheetrock dust, the workshop as wildest dream. The Swiffers were court costs.

The line worth the page: 'Now all we gotta do is finish this place, and I get to live in a whole new construction site.' Stef's opening refusal (1) is answered by Stef in her own mouth to a stranger, as a joke, on the day the house gets its buyer. Anna's husband has a dozen started jobs too; the book gives Stef her only peer and keeps her in the hole.

Connected chapters: 1, 2, 3, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 34, 36, 40, 43, 45, 47, 53, 66

'I'm all like, stomp the brakes in the middle of the road, and he's shitting a meat-axe' (lands in 17, 26)

• 17 'You can't stop in the middle of the road'
• 26 'Back seat. Get in the back seat.'

'I got this remote control, and the be-nice-to-me-button... best he can do is, I forgot' (lands in 26, 29)

• 26 'Where's the stop-being-mad-and-listen button?'
• 29 'I have this remote control here, and I will use it'

'Did you think I wouldn't check in with Stef before you loaned out two million dollars in a contract?' (lands in 23, 25, 43)

• 23 'No way Stef goes for that.' 'Wanna bet?'
• 25 'Did you order Amy to list the house as an owner finance?'
• 43 'She lets me know when she's going in a thing and coming out'

'good luck finding your tool bag, Toolbag' (lands in 10, 26)

• 10 'I couldn't find that tool bag for a week'
• 26 'She better not touch my tool bag'

'These are for you. Jackass thought I wanted flowers for the table.' (lands in 26)

• 26 'Get flowers for the table. And for me'

'that dining room doesn't have sound. Amz has them going toward the front' – the Ring inside (lands in 22, 25, 43)

• 22 'I want my own copy of this'
• 25 The pond cam
• 43 'texts, no's'

Trim off the kitchen windows mid-showing; 'legit placebo running the nuthouse' (lands in 23, 26)

• 23 'the day room at the nut house'
• 26 'I was in the zone'

'Install the windows, price goes up. FOMO, baby.' (lands in 23, 29)

• 23 'the god almighty fear-of-missing-out, baby'
• 29 'we just got offered original asking price'

'I loved the H man, but was that a chalk outline?' / 'She was practicing' (lands in 1, 16)

• 1 'I'm thinking of painting a big red H'
• 16 'So it's the chalk outline?'

Anna: 'This guy has a dozen started jobs at our house too' (lands in 3)

• 3 'faded Tyvek and unfinished work' / 'so it's like our house'

'Amy said you bought a place in Seymour. That's where you're from, right Stefanie' (lands in 2, 36)

• 2 Seymour as Lonnie's valley
• 36 'She just bought Trail Holler'

'Now all we gotta do is finish this place, and I get to live in a whole new construction site' (lands in 1, 34, 53)

• 1 'I can't go from living in one construction site to living in the next'
• 34 The shed retrofit
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'We listed in Winter with the low ball price while I work, thinking we'd test the market for Spring season' (lands in 10, 23)

• 10 'Nothing sells in the Winter'
• 23 'an intro ad. We put it up to read the room'

'I got a five-man crew, and we're knocking off the list by the day' (lands in 17, 40)

• 17 Four men plus Michael
• 40 Devin makes five

'you gotta see this she-shed he built for Stef. I need one of these.' (lands in 10, 34)

• 10 'Remember how we built your she shed'
• 34 Stef packing the she-shed

'I need to sweep up the sheetrock dust they left all over the kitchen. Saturday. They're working on Saturdays!' (lands in 25, 45)

• 25 'Today's Saturday. You ain't no carpenter'
• 45 'Who can work tomorrow?'

'check out that workshop on your way down. It's my wildest dream.' (lands in 10, 43, 47)

• 10 'Your wildest dream.' 'Yep, that's me; worked all my life... to live in a tool shed with a cat'
• 43 Tanner and Devin pack the workshop in thirty totes
• 47 'When the workshop comes though'

'(The Swiffers were court costs.)' (lands in 26)

• 26 'Swiffers, flowers, batteries.'

'Thanks, It's a labor of love.' (lands in 66)

• 66 'Yeah, it's a labor of love.' 'Better be love cuz the money's a waste.'

Chapter 28, December 30, 2023 (28 connections)

Lonnie's porch after the equipment yard. 'Coward, slave to they money' – the Yankee ran when his old lady called. Cody's plan: the 1099 is a trap, the trap is the reason the form was chosen, 'And now I'm inside.' Pedro. The driveway feels invaded, empty; the deer thinned, Wiggins' berry sign leaned sad against the house. Rose Pink: Cody corrects Deddy on biennials, Deddy answers with the dead wife's bitters and a fevered baby. Then the scrap: window boards cut wrong on purpose, to be taken the back way and nailed over the door gap.

The line worth the page: 'trim scrap I made when I cut them window boards just wrong enough can't use them for the job at hand.' Cody confesses the sabotage as method, to his father, on the porch; at 53 Michael sees the cedar on the door frame in his headlights and says 'seeya in the morning.' The theft is planned in one chapter, executed off-page, and forgiven in a turning beam.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21, 25, 26, 30, 32, 37, 38, 41, 45, 46, 48, 50, 53, 56, 58, 62, 70

'See that, boy? Coward, slave to they money... minute you stand up fer y'self, slick soles go runnin'' (lands in 2, 25, 46, 50, 70)

• 2 'smooth bottom shoes'
• 25 'I saw your longing' – what Lonnie heard
• 46 'Coward.' 'Run that one back, Cody.'
• 50 'Coward piss in a cup'
• 70 'That man's a coward, won't fire nobody, n now he need that house built.'

'You was right bout that Yankee. Ever thing he do sleazy, and threaten me more 'n once' (lands in 14, 21)

• 14 'I'll knock three of your black stinking teeth out'
• 21 'a man trying to do nothing more than pay you for work'

'S'why I takes it on myself git up that holler first day' (lands in 5, 6, 25)

• 5 Lonnie's first-morning tracking
• 6 'Deddy wanted go fishin' one last time'
• 25 'I saw you there at the pond'

'Best Christmas gift ever, Deddy. Not five hundred bucks' – the 1099 and 'his lady a tax cop' (lands in 15, 17, 41, 70)

• 15 The bonus
• 17 Rusty: 'the ten ninety-nine's a trap, so it's a W2'
• 41 'That's definitely tax evasion.' (Stef)
• 70 'Man's a tax evader, and his old lady's a cop. Did you even ask?'

The scooter that won't crank; 'seize up' (lands in 58)

• 58 Rusty rebuilds the skid

Pedro: the 1099 first, then trafficking (lands in 21, 38, 70)

• 21 'Pedro literally fired you for doing exacly what yer doin right now'
• 38 'you go stay with Pedro'
• 70 'They put Pedro in jail for the same thing.' 'Pedro went to jail for human trafficking.'

'the trap ain't the form, it's the reason the form was chose... Make you boys file the paperwork' (lands in 11, 37, 48)

• 11 'Given means gamed'
• 37 Michael: 'It's not a trap at all, really. The trap is the morons that abuse the practice'
• 48 'It's his record, his reference. It's his job, put on us'

'And now I'm inside.' / 'Now you git the goods, and you get him good' (lands in 30, 50, 53)

• 30 'I'm on the inside now' (Michael, of the law)
• 50 The saw taken and returned
• 53 Cedar on the door

'din't that driveway feel differnt? Feel invaded... Feel empty.' (lands in 8, 25, 62)

• 8 'nothing is watching him now. Not yet.'
• 25 'scared about losing in this amazing place'
• 62 'This whole place is wonder and cypher'

'The deer come back we git him out' (lands in 8, 48)

• 8 'Think he get the deer feeds us a month'
• 48 'near ever meal we get half the Winter come off the deers'

'Wiggin's blackberry come back. You ain't tell me he gravel over the patch. You see that sign down there lean 'gainst the house? Sad, boy.' (lands in 3, 5, 45)

• 3 'this Blackberries for sale sign'
• 5 Wiggins' commerce
• 45 'cultivate' the briars; 'I was right about the blackberries sign'

'they gravel over the sign and they line you up one tax bill atter the other, and they put you on the rolls' (lands in 2, 13, 56, 70)

• 2 'Acreage meant... outsiders with their money'
• 13 'you're in the rolls now, baby'
• 56 'I got me a laptop now. Thankee, Yankee.'
• 70 'he give away a company, brag all his friends how smart he is teach monkeys keep the books'

'all he doin is tear out the roots was here fore he got sight of us' (lands in 5, 32, 56)

• 5 'Boy's roots run deep like the ground wire'
• 32 'clonal root sprouts'
• 56 'tear out roots put up a mud toilet'

'He don't knock out shit. He go runnin cuz his old lady call his name.' (lands in 25, 26)

• 25 'Michael! Did you order Amy...' 'Oh, shit!'
• 26 The car

'You ain't think none of this... you's helpless without my thinkin half through it' (lands in 25, 48, 56)

• 25 'Who git the job, Deddy?'
• 48 'Deddy, I told you let me do the talkin'
• 56 'I hadda stomp up and down git him steal that scrap lumber'

'Law slow, boy.' (lands in 48)

• 48 'soon enough the judgement start collectin''

Rose Pink: biennial, the skeleton, the leaf ball; 'My turn this year, your turn next' (lands in 25, 32, 45)

• 25 Cody corrects Deddy on wool
• 32 Clonal root sprouts, the Beechnut's children
• 45 'You knock down all the brown ones'

'your mama hung them pinks out to dry ever' year... you was a fevered baby' (lands in 7, 56)

• 7 'his wife die of cancer and leave him all alone with the baby'
• 56 'can't finish pay the funeral'

The shed-build cut-offs; 'trim scrap I made when I cut them window boards just wrong enough'; come in the back way, behind the cameras (lands in 5, 38, 50, 53, 70)

• 5 The door gap
• 38 The frozen caulk bead
• 50 'I make a Z'
• 53 'he cut it too thin, so it went in the scrap pile'
• 70 'now that Boyd come skull aroun' and he put up a house the only way Lonnie know git into that holler quiet'

Chapter 29, December 31, 2023 (25 connections)

New Year's Eve. Amy on speaker: the Fatahs wrote an offer at one nine-fifty, the i-dare-you price. 'You're homeless.' Michael's victory lap; Stef sends him to be quiet with the adults. Thirty days to pack eleven years. Decided: Stef and Clover to an apartment, Michael and Kitty to the shed. Chattel, a separate check, the books. Ten percent down and four percent – 'You're a pussy!' – then the counter: twenty-five down, dangle five, land at six. 'He buys my paper, and he upgrades my collateral.' Pause Rage TV. 'Where-are-we-going-to-live?'

The line worth the page: 'I work the build onsite, and you work the felons from a desk.' The marriage's whole geography for the rest of the book, said in one turn the day the offer lands: shed and Karen's house, phone calls between. Stef's 'Where-are-we-going-to-live?' closes the chapter because he has already answered it and she has not agreed.

Connected chapters: 10, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 41, 42, 44, 45, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 59, 66, 67, 68

'the Fatah's wrote an offer' / 'You're homeless' (lands in 10, 31, 55, 67)

• 10 'No, Clover, honey, we're not gonna be homeless'
• 31 Emam on the conference call
• 55 Karen: 'You paid my homelessness and your shed life so Emam can live in a mansion'
• 67 'Friday's the first. Duran and Fatah pay on the first if all goes right.'

'Just a little victory lap' (lands in 51, 56)

• 51 'Is it time for the victory lap yet?'
• 56 'If you ever want a victory lap, know this, you got one coming' (to Cody)

Amy's short-term rental; 'am I married to two women now?' (lands in 33, 44, 68)

• 33 'are you guys getting a short term rental or an RV?'
• 44 'Amy's would have been great, but it's too from the office'
• 68 'We were going to build short term rentals.'

'It's time for you to be quiet and let the adults discuss this' (lands in 26)

• 26 'Back seat.'

One nine-fifty, the i-dare-you price; 'Raise it five percent, and look at that' (lands in 10, 23, 31)

• 10 'It's the, I-dare-you price'
• 23 'raise it five percent'
• 31 'I raised five percent'

Thirty-day close; 'all eleven years we lived in this house' (lands in 30, 42, 51)

• 30 'we need to move in the next thirty days'
• 42 The packing day
• 51 The closing

'I'm in what-now too. I'm just not stymied by the easy stuff' – the house plan ordered online (lands in 16, 17, 41)

• 16 'You're reliving, baby.'
• 17 Houseplans.net
• 41 'The tube arrived this morning'

'That's not decided.' 'Decided.' (lands in 17, 31, 54)

• 17 'Not decided.' 'Decided.'
• 31 'Decided.' – the office nook
• 54 'You're not building the house.'

'Amy, I may need an alibi' (lands in 21)

• 21 'Usually I'm your alibi'

'You and Clover go to the apartment idea... me and Kitty go to the shed at The Drip. I work the build onsite, and you work the felons from a desk.' (lands in 10, 34, 44, 50, 66)

• 10 'I'll live in that shed they're building first'
• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael'
• 44 Karen's instead of the apartment
• 50 Kitty in the car
• 66 'I live in that shed over there, and I have a lot of time on my hands.'

Chattel: furniture, TVs, a separate check (lands in 42, 50)

• 42 'Tom' and the trailer haggle
• 50 'It's awesome they wanted all these TVs and beds'

'3 pairs of jeans, one hundred pairs of socks... tools, screws, electronics, books – my god, the books' (lands in 45, 59)

• 45 'three enclosed trailers... packed to the sunroofs with shit'
• 59 'That's why you had so much shit to move'

'we get the guys over here, and we start hauling it out one twenty-year-old at a time' / 'holler balls to my Mamaw's china' (lands in 22, 42, 44)

• 22 'Cody's holler balls'
• 42 The crew packs; pancakes
• 44 'three days ago holler balls on Mamaw's china'

Ten percent down, four percent: 'You're a pussy! How did you not lead with that?' / 'Easy, Magilla' (lands in 23, 27, 31)

• 23 'Don't be a pussy'
• 27 'You're the pussy.'
• 31 Four-point-nine-nine, twenty percent

'No inspection. Construction site.' 'Oh shit. This guy's good.' (lands in 26)

• 26 'the inspection is going right at those windows'

'Bury the lead in easter eggs and bombshell the real ask' – twenty-five down, six-five, dangle five (lands in 31, 33)

• 31 'Four point nine nine it is, then'
• 33 'What did you get, seven, eight points?' 'Five.' 'Bro!'

'He buys my paper, and he upgrades my collateral... I wholesale his equity and keep mine intact' (lands in 23, 33, 59)

• 23 'we're holding the paper'
• 33 'That's a good instrument'
• 59 'the modern day pawn shop'

'Hey, J.P. Morgan. Come down to earth.' / 'Have we met?' (lands in 31)

• 31 'Have we met?' again – the trailer bought before the offer was signed

'know that I have this remote control here, and I will use it' / 'Pause Rage TV' / 'Where-are-we-going-to-live?' (lands in 26, 27, 44)

• 26 The remote
• 27 The be-nice-to-me button
• 44 'I decided that other thing too' – Karen's

Chapter 30, January 1, 2024 (33 connections)

New Year's Day, dawn, the camera that didn't ping. Michael ambushes Cody from behind the Poplar – 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch too' – and goes straight in: a thief, twice convicted, the Live Bait garage reconstructed from formula, 'you hurt someone you know.' Then his own record: the cousin's change can, the purple bike, 'I ate while I was there.' 'Above all else I see lonely.' Cody returns it: 'hire men, pay them to be your friend.' Tanner and Rusty arrive; dam day starts at the bridge; the workshop seat; trailers on the New Year's sale; 'I'm about to move into that shed.'

The line worth the page: 'Above all else I see lonely.' / 'No, you the lonely one. You lonely now, hire men, pay them to be your friend.' The one exchange in the book where Cody lands a reading on Michael that Michael takes home; at 31 Stef says 'It's not wrong,' and the next time the crew is at the shed (55) Stef opens with 'don't you have any other friends?'

Connected chapters: 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 42, 44, 45, 46, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 66, 70, 72

'Hey.' from behind the camera; 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch too, Cody' (lands in 18, 50, 56, 70)

• 18 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch'
• 50 'It's like he know'd I's comin, Deddy'
• 56 'Jesus, you scared me.' 'I'm a sneaky some bitch.'
• 70 'Boy, you need to pay attention, let a man sneak up on you like that.'

The camera that didn't ping: sensitivity too low; Bill broke the branch and logged in (lands in 19, 22, 31, 72)

• 19 'It's this branch in front of the camera'
• 22 Bill on the Ring app
• 31 'I get the camera working'
• 72 'I didn't get any Ring notifications.' 'Me either, but kitty was blinging all night.'

'He's still mad you called him a thief.' 'He's a thief. Both of you are. It's the official record.' (lands in 25, 51, 53)

• 25 'I ain't no fuckin' thief!'
• 51 'a theft record in bold ink'
• 53 'No, officer. I didn't let him steal.'

'The biggest lie of all is the South has manners... nobody ever comes at a thing head on until the fight is on' (lands in 14, 46, 66)

• 14 'Some dance is manners. Just a little two step' (15)
• 46 'No two-step required, Cody'
• 66 'you forgot your manners on the bedside table'

'Nobody gets caught the only two times they ever do a thing' (lands in 7, 12)

• 7 'he collects them like prizes'
• 12 'curated them into display cabinets'

'I do know that, and I see it deep-time too. I tell you because I was you.' (lands in 8, 16, 22, 51)

• 8 'I'm not my fault. I'm his.'
• 16 'He's you.'
• 22 'Michael talking to his own personality in muddy boots'
• 51 'I'm the first of the kind'

'All you the same. Thinks you know.' / 'you're literally using the exact same logic on me' (lands in 46, 51, 54)

• 46 'All the same.' 'What's that, Cody?'
• 51 'All the same. Think they know ever thing.' 'Not all the same, Cody.'
• 54 'All the same.' 'Aw, come on Cody, don't get mad.'

Live Bait, two-foot red letters; dirt dauber tubes; 'you hurt someone you know' (lands in 8, 51, 54)

• 8 'It's me keeps him up' – the wire
• 51 'You stole wire that weighed twenty-pounds'
• 54 'I bet the live bait man would love a copy'

'They'll talk to me, Cody. I'm on the inside now. But know this. I was not always.' (lands in 25, 28)

• 25 'I can speak to him' – the arresting officer
• 28 'And now I'm inside.' (Cody)

Michael's confession: the cousin's change can, the best friend's house, the purple bike, 'I ate while I was there' (lands in 12, 31)

• 12 'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone'
• 31 'And you broke into his house as a boy.' 'And he stole my fish tank.'

'Above all else I see lonely.' / 'No, you the lonely one. You lonely now, hire men, pay them to be your friend.' (lands in 18, 22, 31, 55, 70)

• 18 'We froze together. We shared umbrellas.'
• 22 'That's what friends are for'
• 31 'He called me lonely.' 'It's not wrong.'
• 55 'Sheesh, don't you have any other friends?'
• 70 'I'm your friend, Cody, and I'll help you cuz we're friends.'

'You findin vulnerable people, and you taking advantage of them. You leave the change can cuz you don't need that no more, but you still stealin.' (lands in 21, 46, 59)

• 21 'the want'
• 46 'bought and paid for'
• 59 'giving is receiving'

'both of you get here before me again. Is this a thing now?' (lands in 14, 34, 58)

• 14 'I'm a vampire'
• 34 'I beat you to work'
• 58 'No walk up this morning'

'We're just buying friends, ain't that right, bossman?' (lands in 31)

• 31 Stef: 'It's not all of it, but it's some real'

'Dam day starts there' / 'fifty dump trucks of dirt down the back first' (lands in 11, 34, 52)

• 11 First dam tour
• 34 'Ten dump trucks is something like three-hundred skidsteer buckets'
• 52 The spillway set

The workshop seat: forty by sixty, 'dig this whole damn mountain bottom off' (lands in 32, 35, 46)

• 32 Benches cut
• 35 'He hit some shale tops... blue rock in the back'
• 46 The shotcrete

Smokey Mountain Trailers, Lenoir City; dump trailer and enclosed trailer on the New Year's sale (lands in 31, 42, 45)

• 31 'Is that Tanner pulling in? Why does he have a trailer?'
• 42 'this is my third trailer here this month'
• 45 'that dump trailer's been sitting in the sales lot since New Year's day'

'I'm about to move into that shed over there' / 'How you get yer old lady move in that shed?' / 'We haven't landed her yet' (lands in 29, 34, 44)

• 29 'me and Kitty go to the shed'
• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael'
• 44 Karen's

'How did you sell your house on a Sunday?' / 'We don't have time for the whole house selling lesson' (lands in 29, 51)

• 29 New Year's Eve offer
• 51 The closing, Tuesday

'the only reason you pay attention at all is so you can clock how to skip the level' – the spoils joke; 'He said genitals.' (lands in 11, 34)

• 11 No level
• 34 'I ain't touching Cody's spoils'

'topsoil down... the scrap left behind when we pick up the bridge' (lands in 34, 58)

• 34 The land bridge
• 58 'That mud hole sort of filled in'

Chapter 31, January 1, 2024 (42 connections)

New Year's morning told to Stef: the silent car, the dark, the owl's 'mine-mine,' the tent in Albany, echolocation, the dry truck in wet air, the accompaniment one level down transcribing his breath. The list floods in – and the bleb, caught. 'Six times.' Chevylegs behind the Poplar; the arrival race; 'He called me lonely.' 'It's not wrong.' Fifi, Bill, Deno; James and Gervie fifty years. Amy, Judy, Emam on one call: four-ninety-nine, twenty percent, seller's fees, one nine seventy-five. The office nook, decided. Tanner arrives with a trailer bought before the offer was signed. 'Have we met?' Sign it right-handed with a Crayola.

The line worth the page: 'The truck is dry. The air is wet. Aerodynamics dried the car.' The dark walk is Michael's one aria of perception, and it resolves into a physics fact about a parked Hummer; the book lets him be transmogrified for a paragraph and then hands him back his list. 'And this damned bleb' is the second load in the same breath, and Stef, not the narrator, catches it.

Connected chapters: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 69, 71, 72

The dark drive: garage door, electric car quiet, 'dark as country'; 'the equipment yard, that's what we're calling it now' (lands in 18, 50, 56)

• 18 'Million years, nothing but wildlife'
• 50 'This place is so dark'
• 56 The equipment yard named as place

The owl: 'mine-mine, mine, mine. We'll share, my mind answers.' (lands in 6, 25, 47)

• 6 'four-hooter rat'
• 25 'them owls... markin' home turf'
• 47 'Get-off-my-Land' / 'we got a deal. We'll share.'

Albany tent, homeless again, transmogrified; echolocation; 'The truck is dry. The air is wet.' (lands in 29, 34, 47)

• 29 'You're homeless'
• 34 'Warmest homeless guy under the bridge'
• 47 'I wasn't playing then, and I'm not sure I have the youth to be playing much this time'

Bears, Bobcat prints, Coyotes, Raccoons – 'some of them are watching me' (lands in 48, 50, 55)

• 48 'She saw us ages ago'
• 50 'Did you see the bobcat on the Critter cam?'
• 55 'the coyotes, they can't climb trees'

'a tunnel to the sky, our sky, honey'; 'the quarter mile of winding gravel road below the pond is an alarm system no company could ever give us' (lands in 25, 54, 62)

• 25 'I hear them on the gravel long before they get here'
• 54 'four heads popping up over the dam top'
• 62 'Our home. Do you see it?' from the ridge

'every man and thing that ever sat in this place throughout all time, they felt it too' (lands in 5, 24, 32)

• 5 'It's eerie 's hell that first time'
• 24 'a million years into the holler's history'
• 32 'That tree is our history here'

'the accompaniment... recording the gravel, transcribing my breath, putting it all down on the register for next time' (lands in 13, 14, 57)

• 13 'I don't think the recorder caught the whole meaning'
• 14 Cody's recording
• 57 Bernie's search

'And my list floods in... And this damned bleb.' – loaded twice before Stef catches it (lands in 3, 18, 61, 62)

• 3 'If that bleb pops while you're up there in the deep woods like a fool'
• 18 'Pile on Michael's bleb'
• 61 'Are we still talking about the bleb?'
• 62 'You're literally replying two words at time'

'It was dark, not the dead of night... I promise I'll go back to the doctor when we get the house done' (lands in 34, 61)

• 34 'We agreed to table that until after the build.' 'No, you agreed.'
• 61 Dr. McCormick

'Six times.' 'Camera, got it. You count too.' (lands in 9, 49)

• 9 'You guys walked it six times'
• 49 'It's about six-hundred steps. Are you seriously counting?'

'You look a little creepy messing with that thing... Your determined face.' (lands in 43)

• 43 'He's pretty intense, isn't he?'

'I hear Cody's Chevylegs walking up the driveway, and I duck fast behind that Poplar' / 'The one he hit with the excavator?' (lands in 30, 69, 72)

• 30 'Hey.' from nowhere
• 69 'So, um, why's Cody walking down the road?'
• 72 'Any bet Cody rides them Legborghinis to work?'

'Because I'm in charge here, that's why.' 'Yeah, people love that.' (lands in 22, 40)

• 22 'I ain't your bossman, you are'
• 40 'Nope, I'm the homeowner'

'right on cue for the arrival race... I'm straight in with the scalpel' (lands in 8, 30)

• 8 The walk up
• 30 'both of you get here before me again'

'He called me lonely. Says I'm paying for friends.' / 'It's not wrong.' / 'I don't wanna be that.' (lands in 22, 30, 55)

• 22 'That's what friends are for'
• 30 'hire men, pay them to be your friend'
• 55 'don't you have any other friends?'

Fifi, Bill, Deno: 'All people you met by paying them something' / 'Deno is my ex girlfriend's uncle' (lands in 16, 18, 21, 71)

• 16 The roster
• 18 Bill's twelve years
• 21 'Tanner call Deno'
• 71 'Deno ain't got shit on these charges, buddy.'

'No hello?' 'Nope, right in. See how it jars the moment?' 'Ouch.' 'Michael, Stop that.' (lands in 9, 34)

• 9 'Ouch' christened
• 34 'Did you see Stef's face the other day when you said, ouch?'

'this guy is on the parable pipe today for sure' / 'eighty measures of wheat, or flip the tables?' (lands in 13, 45, 59, 65)

• 13 'Parables.'
• 45 'Parables.' 'Fast grep.'
• 59 'Nope. No parables.'
• 65 'What wow and wonder awaits you?' 'You're on the pipe early today.'

'And now who's buying friends?' – Emam skipped Judy and asked for Michael; 'let the principals get together' (lands in 29, 33)

• 29 'You haven't even seen the offer yet'
• 33 'We wrote a deal this weekend... I got a seller's note'

Four-ninety-nine, twenty percent; 'I don't go to the tailor and pay his wool vendor'; 'one, nine, seventy-five' (lands in 29, 33, 51)

• 29 The counter planned
• 33 'Five.' 'Bro! What the hell?'
• 51 'So, that's it. We sold our home.'

'I'm getting the office in the new house... that little nook room in the front corner off the kitchen' / 'Decided.' (lands in 1, 41, 63)

• 1 Tuscan kitchen
• 41 'claiming my office space now that you see it on the plans'
• 63 'Stef was arranging the front door'

'You bought a trailer for the move because the work was finished here, but you didn't even have a signed offer yet?' 'Have we met?' (lands in 29, 30)

• 29 'Have we met?'
• 30 Smokey Mountain Trailers

'Don't forget the pick-axe. No more bucket lifts for those two pricks.' (lands in 18, 43)

• 18 'No bucket rides, but bucket lifts'
• 43 'No bucket rides the flavor'

'sign my name right-handed with a Crayola. They'll never question it.' / 'Ears of god.' (lands in 17, 33, 42)

• 17 'Crayola grass green pace car'
• 33 'he just signed a two million dollar contract left handed with a crayon'
• 42 'Ears of God.' 'Don't you dare.'

Chapter 32, January 1, 2024 (36 connections)

New Year's afternoon. The top bench is in; the engineering limit for retaining walls explained as a way to build legal before begging forgiveness. Mama duck, POV, the Granny's-house image cloud. A bear ambles the ridge. Then the Beechnut: two hundred fifty years, half girdled, 'Do I need to drug test you?' 'You can't fire me' – and the boot-camp dictum finished: not without firing your whole damned crew. The tree as organism, its clonal children, a last mast year; Boyd's Creek to the Removal Act; 'It was an accident.' It stands until the dig is done, to protect the maple.

The line worth the page: 'I cannot fire you anymore – not without firing your whole damned crew.' The vows' fine print, delivered over a girdled tree; the book makes the partnership a hostage arrangement in the same breath it makes it a gift. Cody's 'You can't fire me' is the one time he says the corporation's name for himself, and it costs him a Beechnut.

Connected chapters: 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 21, 22, 24, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 40, 41, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 70

The high bench first; four by four; 'Five feet high requires an engineered stamped plan and a permit' (lands in 30, 35, 46, 63, 65, 66, 67)

• 30 'Dig a straight line, Tractor wide'
• 35 'all four benches'; shale tops, blue rock
• 46 'We benched it, and that was a legal wall with nothing on it'
• 63 'eighteen feet down at the highest... never less than a four foot wall'
• 65 'we'll have a ninety-foot bench here at the top of the hill. Remember, it can't be deeper than a four-foot retaining wall can hold.'
• 66 'You're digging the house seat, and you don't even have a permit yet'
• 67 'I'm digging without a permit, and when that goes bad, it goes bad fast and lasts a long time.'

'building a legal retaining wall before I ever have to beg the forgiveness' (lands in 13, 45, 46)

• 13 Cancel the permit
• 45 'Forgiveness doctrine.' 'Fifty cent royalty.'
• 46 'I'm in the dirt, Stef, and I'm not stopping to ask permission'

'the mama duck' / 'It's ducks in a row, Cody. Out of order.' (lands in 11)

• 11 'Come on, little duckies, follow me'

'the any-questions department... over at the shed with the suggestion box' (lands in 9, 19)

• 9 'We can build a suggestion box next'
• 19 'Questions can come over time'

'He said, POV.' / 'Did you just pivot to a porn category from inside of a pay-attention?' (lands in 49)

• 49 'notice I didn't say POV, Rusty'

'Rusty such a pervert that you can't take him to the Granny's house that you stole a car from' – 'that is an image cloud' (lands in 14, 46)

• 14 Granny's car; 'image clouds' coined
• 46 'That's some image clouds.' 'Called mixed metaphors'

'Did we just have a full and complete serious safety conversation?' (lands in 52, 55, 56)

• 52 'Everyone off the dam while I nibble at this'
• 55 'I almost killed you, man.'
• 56 'One man at a time on that plywood'

A bear on the ridge, ambling toward the clearing (lands in 35, 48, 62)

• 35 'It's like he popped right out from behind that old Oak tree'
• 48 'There she is' – the sow lies down
• 62 'For a second I saw a cub'

The Beechnut, two hundred-fifty years, half girdled; 'Do I need to drug test you?' 'You can't fire me...' (lands in 9, 12, 47, 48, 65, 70)

• 9 'it's gonna scar the tree'
• 12 The stayed stone – the test asked, not ordered
• 47 'Cody Norman's the last ring in its history'; Tanglefoot
• 48 'This one might be okay without it, actually'
• 65 'once he gets a hit tree or some other spiteful shit behind him'
• 70 'That man's a coward, won't fire nobody, n now he need that house built.'

'I cannot fire you anymore – not without firing your whole damned crew' – the boot-camp dictum finished (lands in 21, 22, 40, 51)

• 21 'there's no firing possible'
• 22 'You're stuck together'
• 40 'you're his boss, not mine'
• 51 'unlike everyone else that did fire you'

'It stood sentinel here for at least two hundred and fifty years'; squirrel and raccoon rivaled only by the stars (lands in 8, 31)

• 8 'It's as if the family stand sentinel over the entrance'
• 31 'every man and thing that ever sat in this place throughout all time'

'That tree was here at the Battle of Boyd's Creek, Dumplin Creek, Treaty of Holston, Indian Removal Act' (lands in 7, 24, 57)

• 7 Trail of Tears; Boyd's Creek
• 24 'Boyd, like the battle'
• 57 Bernie's Boyd's Creek book crew

'Accidents come with lessons learned' / 'It was an accident' (lands in 41, 55, 58, 65)

• 41 'Accidents happen though. You gotta tell me this stuff'
• 55 'Lessons learned are the bill'
• 58 'Lessons learned are super, but this one isn't a lesson'
• 65 'Lesson one: Learn your lessons.'

'it's an organism'; clonal root sprouts, 'this tree's children, at once part of it and apart' (lands in 28, 31, 48)

• 28 Rose Pink's leaf ball under the snow
• 31 'The whole place is one organism, and I'm walking through the cells of it'
• 48 'I'll use these clonal sprouts here' – the bridge graft

'This spring it will grow a thousand sucker sprouts... and in September it will drop the heaviest mast it ever dropped. It will spend all of its starch in this one year' (lands in 47, 63)

• 47 'I'll make a bridge graft, but we have to wait for the buds'
• 63 Sherry: 'Every new season they spend their starch, and they bloom before anything else can compete'

'We'll cut this tree down, put it out of my misery.' / 'My misery, Rusty. Good question though.' (lands in 46, 48, 50)

• 46 'get the chainsaw, get Rusty and Devin, and get up on that deer trail'
• 48 Mrs. King's rent credit 'we come cut that tree today'
• 50 The saw in the hollow oak

'this tree is protecting the Maple from Cody's accidents. It stands until we're done digging over here.' (lands in 47)

• 47 'I Left it standing for now to protect the Maple.' 'Too bad it wasn't the other way around.'

'stand the machine on the pile and dig up rather than down. Do you see it?' (lands in 34)

• 34 'Cody was shivering like a wet dog until the heater kicked in. I had to pile the dirt up a little for him'

Chapter 33, January 1, 2024 (21 connections)

New Year's Day, Duran Bunch on the phone: the money landed Friday, the forms today. Sixty/forty, eight thousand a month, dollars to dick warts that Michael doubles his return – the Street-Smart-Edge account against the house. The loan ceiling at one-three, fifty percent to stay clear of margin calls, two-fifty already out for machines, six-fifty headroom. A seller's note at five: 'I had a guy. I hedged. I gotta sell that house, Duran. I need her closer to the family.' The shed, not an RV. Stef merges in: he signed a two-million-dollar contract left-handed with a crayon.

The line worth the page: 'I had a guy. I hedged.' / 'You hedged?' / 'I gotta sell that house, Duran. I need her closer to the family.' The only time Michael says the reason aloud to a third party; every negotiation in 23–31 was a hedge against that sentence, and the seller's note at five is the price.

Connected chapters: 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 23, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 41, 44, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 67, 68

Duran Bunch, 'Brotha-man'; working New Year's Day; 'You're working, aren't you?' (lands in 31, 67)

• 31 'signed a two million dollar contract left handed'
• 67 'Well, Charlie, get to it.' 'Charlie?' 'Schwab.'

Sixty/forty; eight thousand a month take home; 'You do whatever you want except lose' (lands in 10, 16, 54, 67)

• 10 'we need fast dividend payments'
• 16 Stef recites the plan
• 54 'I'll probably pay down the tractors and feather the rest back'
• 67 'Leases been a five-cap for twenty years, never more and never less.'

'dollars to dick warts' – salicylic acid; the bet against the house (lands in 14)

• 14 'Here's that twenty I owe you, Tanner'

CRA, Options Agreement, Margin Notification; 'the broke ass needs to borrow money from me to build a house treatment' (lands in 10, 19, 59)

• 10 The LMA
• 19 'Buy money, pay it nearly off'
• 59 'the modern day pawn shop'

'The loan ceiling is like one point three of the two I just deposited... borrow no more than fifty percent' (lands in 10, 16, 54, 67)

• 10 'I'm sick of paying New York State income tax'
• 16 'borrow no more than fifty percent of that'
• 54 'If you really spend one-three on the land, we're screwed'
• 67 'Nope. One account. LMA. How much?'

'I already bought the machines, that's two-fifty paid out of my pocket' (lands in 15, 54, 56)

• 15 'a quarter million machines'
• 54 'The machines were two-fifty'
• 56 Lonnie: 'This Yankee sink a quarter million'

'Six fifty to start... You whittle at that with salary decay' (lands in 54)

• 54 'all my income is outgo – and then some'

'I got a seller's note.' 'Shit, man. That's a good instrument.' / 'Five.' 'Bro! What the hell?' 'I had a guy. I hedged.' (lands in 15, 23, 29, 31, 67)

• 15 'I hedged hard' – the table speech
• 23 'I catch points on the back side'
• 29 'I'll dangle the five and land at six'
• 31 'Four point nine nine it is, then'
• 67 'Friday's the first. Duran and Fatah pay on the first if all goes right.'

'I gotta sell that house, Duran. I need her closer to the family.' (lands in 10, 44, 53)

• 10 'our family is in Sevier County, and that's an hour each way'
• 44 Karen's
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'are you guys getting a short term rental or an RV?' / 'Nope. I'm moving to the shed we built last week' (lands in 29, 30, 34, 68)

• 29 Amy's short-term rental
• 30 'I'm about to move into that shed'
• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael'
• 68 'We were going to build short term rentals.'

'I need like two hundred triple axles worth of dirt for the dam, and I'll get that from the workshop excavation' (lands in 30, 34, 55)

• 30 'fifty dump trucks of dirt'
• 34 'Ten dump trucks is something like three-hundred skidsteer buckets'
• 55 The spoils slide

'Hey, Love of My Life. Hang a sec, I'm on with Duran. I'll merge it' (lands in 19, 54)

• 19 'Honey, you're on speaker phone with Cody and Tanner'
• 54 'Put me on speakerphone. Hi Karen.'

'he just signed a two million dollar contract left handed with a crayon' / 'It's e-sign, Sepia' (lands in 17, 31)

• 17 'Crayola grass green pace car'
• 31 'sign my name right-handed with a Crayola'

'So cute.' 'Shutup, Duran.' (lands in 35, 41, 54)

• 35 'So cute.' 'Shutup, Tanner.'
• 41 'So cute.' 'Shutup, Rusty.'
• 54 'Awe, so sweet.' 'Shutup, Stefanie.'

Chapter 34, January 2, 2024 (40 connections)

January 2, Lowes before dawn: a water cooler and three weeks and five days to make a shed livable. Cody cuts the bench from below. Ten dump trucks over the spill pipe. Tanner wires the shed – two rolls of Romex, the Midea Duo with its spring-loaded damper, outlets for a coffee pot and a TV – singing 'Goodbye yellow brick road' off the yellow wire and chartered as Jeeves: toilet buckets, Uber Eats, the floor. 'I need this job' three times. Robby Giles, laundry-fresh, arrowheads and an old still; septic tomorrow at eight. Stef packs the she-shed for Dupont Baptist. A toilet outside in winter: 'I'll never fit in if I don't.' 'You're not living in a shed, Michael.'

The line worth the page: 'I'll never fit in if I don't.' The outhouse is the Yankee's application to the county, and Lonnie reads it at 38 as exactly the opposite ('roll off his draws and think he fit in now'); the word Mernie used for doors (4) is now a toilet in the mud, and both sides of the road use it to mean the other side can't.

Connected chapters: 3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 59, 61, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71

'I beat you to work. I was checking out at Lowes' – the water cooler; three weeks and five days (lands in 14, 30, 35, 51)

• 14 'I'm a vampire'
• 30 'both of you get here before me again'
• 35 'Five hundred and ninety two hours to go'
• 51 'Make your Marriott reservation yet?'

Cut from below; the rock as big as a four wheeler; 'dirt rains down on me' (lands in 32, 35)

• 32 'stand the machine on the pile and dig up rather than down'
• 35 'He hit some shale tops... blue rock in the back'

Ten dump trucks over the spill pipe; three hundred buckets; four minutes a round trip (lands in 30, 33, 54, 55)

• 30 'fifty dump trucks of dirt'
• 33 'two hundred triple axles'
• 54 'I been watching this pond fill over the top since we started moving dirt in'
• 55 The slide

Two rolls of Romex; 'why plan the runs and math it? Best just buy the aisle' – snarky's the flavor (lands in 18, 35)

• 18 Romex in the load center
• 35 'a mile of extra Romex... Planned to the scrap'

The Midea Duo: reversing valve, exhaust-and-intake in one pipe, the spring-loaded damper (lands in 49, 50, 61)

• 49 'That Duo is almost useless below forty degrees'
• 50 'Thermometer says it's forty-two in here'
• 61 'I get sun today. We should hit float'

'moving to a shed on January thirtieth doesn't seem so disturbed' / 'Oh, it's disturbing' (lands in 29, 50, 51)

• 29 'me and Kitty go to the shed'
• 50 The first night
• 51 The closing

Eight more batteries, three times the solar, insulation 'or there ain't no amount of electricity could keep it warm' (lands in 49, 54, 59)

• 49 Twelve Pytes batteries
• 54 'We don't have the batteries installed'
• 59 Top-balancing

Septic permit in; Robby Giles; flush by the bucket; 'Won't the toilet freeze?' (lands in 13, 24, 35, 41, 69)

• 13 'we can get our septic permit now'
• 24 Two site plans
• 35 'the minute your sewer is in, I'm installing that toilet out there'
• 41 The raccoons beat him to it
• 69 'Robby is coming next week to look deeply at the house septic.'

The plant as coalmine canary; 'If that thing dies before I move in, it's Marriott for me, and some kind of foster for Kitty' (lands in 35, 49, 62)

• 35 'that cactus ain't froze yet'
• 49 'The cactus lived, so I guess there's that'
• 62 'Such a clean plant, and I almost missed it'

'We have a pitbull.' 'Neon sign.' 'Ouch.' / 'Did you see Stef's face the other day when you said, ouch?' 'You started it.' (lands in 9, 31, 42)

• 9 Ouch christened
• 31 'Stop saying ouch every time someone scores a point'
• 42 'You will not ouch God's ears'

'Back to the howling old owl in the woods... Goodbye yellow brick road' – Tanner's earworm; 'You themed it, even.' (lands in 21, 31, 47)

• 21 'It's not Wizard of Oz, Tanner. Every Tin Man gets the straw'
• 31 The owl on the dark walk
• 47 'Get-off-my-Land'

Two circuits a wall; the coffee pot and the microwave; a two-way switch for the bed; USB; the TV and DirecTV (lands in 50, 54, 61)

• 50 'No TV yet. We sold all those'
• 54 'DirecTV comes tomorrow'
• 61 'the TV is on – and DirecTV is coming today'

'I'm going to have a butler.' Jeeves: toilet buckets, water bottles, the floor, food from Ruth's Chris; 'Only if I get food too.' 'Deal.' (lands in 42, 43, 50, 54, 68)

• 42 'Here's the check, Jeeves'
• 43 'I'll order up some Uber Eats'
• 50 'Tanner is my new Uber Eats.' 'He negotiated like a champ'
• 54 'I'm gonna need the butler get me some groceries'
• 68 'now I gotta send the butler for my groceries'

'I ain't living in no shed with a grill right outside the door' – bears crisscrossing daily (lands in 50, 54)

• 50 'a Bobcat running perimeter checks'
• 54 'We ain't leaving this here to draw bears'

'Cody'd too soon get tempted spit in my orange juice' (lands in 14, 54)

• 14 'Orange Juice, Coke, coffee'
• 54 'Here, coffee, Coke, orange juice.' 'Turnabout's the flavor.'

'You in real estate now, renegotiating after the deal's been struck?' / 'you can't call it fine print when your mind was the only page' (lands in 14, 46)

• 14 'the serpentine reverse reveal'
• 46 'That equation's got a line under it you can't erase'

'I need this job. I need this job. I need this job.' (lands in 16, 49, 70)

• 16 'I love this man, I love this man, I love this man.'
• 49 The triple, third
• 70 'Cody, I need this job. We never had it this good.'

'Warmest homeless guy under the bridge. Butler, HVAC with damper.' (lands in 29, 31, 55)

• 29 'You're homeless'
• 31 The tent in Albany
• 55 Karen: 'You paid my homelessness'

'Probly Robly' / 'Can't sing, can't rhyme. Good thing you can run a tape measure.' (lands in 35, 37)

• 35 'Heya, Robbie. Do you always smell like that?'
• 37 Robby walks up with Rusty unheard

Robby Giles: the Marshall Grays reference; a face froze by its happy smile; 'Ever one of his is one he won't work with no more' (lands in 35, 37)

• 35 'This a nice shed – insulation in a tool shed'
• 37 'This man been in the dark before, tried and taught'

'How many arrowheads you find?' – the old still, the copper coil neon green (lands in 7)

• 7 'paleo people... 10,000 years'

'two thousand foot of gravel wedge tween a hill and a stream'; 'Don't leave the check on the dash' (lands in 24, 46)

• 24 'I see that road you got in' (Roy: 'You did a lot of work up here')
• 46 The concrete trucks pass

'That'd cost a fortune if you had me do it.' / the quarter-mile road pays the machines off (lands in 25, 54)

• 25 Lonnie's dozer arithmetic
• 54 'The machines were two-fifty... they pay for themselves'

'I know how to dig, but I don't know septic... I don't know what I don't know. I need a professional' (lands in 63)

• 63 The GC hunt

Stef in the basement with totes; her Bible in the pew; 'I want to go to that Dupont Baptist this Sunday' (lands in 17, 36, 42)

• 17 'I'm going to that Dupont Baptist this Sunday'
• 36 Her first Sunday
• 42 'How do you know I went to Dupont?'

'my shedgri la'; 'the turnip green's own ham hock'; 'so country he's got a special passport' (lands in 16, 35)

• 16 'The Good Yankee'
• 35 'You do ooze Yankee.' 'Good Yankee, she says.' 'Yankee.'

'You're putting a toilet outside?' / 'I have to. It's shared ownership. The whole county has near kin that went in an outhouse. I'll never fit in if I don't.' (lands in 4, 38, 47)

• 4 Fit-in doors
• 38 Lonnie: 'put a toilet down the mud, roll off his draws and think he fit in now'
• 47 'A holler needs a toilet in the yard, Stef.'

'that bag of air time bomb on their lung' / 'We agreed to table that until after the build.' 'No, you agreed.' 'Different difference.' (lands in 3, 17, 31, 61, 71)

• 3 The bleb
• 17 'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle'
• 31 'I promise I'll go back to the doctor when we get the house done'
• 61 Dr. McCormick
• 71 'you're there alone, and that lung. This isn't Amsterdam.'

'You're not living in a shed, Michael.' (twice) (lands in 17, 47, 54, 67)

• 17 'You're not building the house.'
• 47 'I don't know how I let you talk me into this'
• 54 'Good try. You're not building the house.'
• 67 'Thirty-two months. In a shed.'

Chapter 35, January 3, 2024 (34 connections)

January 3. Romex planned to the scrap; Meghan's brother wants hours. The deposit posts same day – Cody's day notes read 'Tanner, kiss ass, 8.' A laptop bought with five hundred cash from the armrest. Robby Giles smells like the laundry basket: twenty-four hours in every day except two, 'I ain't no preacher,' a bowl in the mud hung from his tank. Michael tells the corporation's origin – day five, fog, the ad, the epiphany – and 'Stef's the frontman.' Four benches in, shale and blue rock and springs. 'You're a rolling SARS report.' 'Appearance is reality.' Cinder blocks and bottle jacks; off to Cherokee Group.

The line worth the page: 'Every day of your life got exactly twenty-four hours in it, 'cept two; the day yer born and the day you die.' Robby's sermon denied as a sermon, one day after the toilet goes in the mud; 49 counts Stef's days to the day and 59 puts Michael's 'I never stop thinking about it' beside it. The book keeps the preacher's arithmetic and lets him deny the title.

Connected chapters: 3, 6, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 31, 32, 34, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56, 59, 61, 63, 65, 66, 67, 69

'a mile of extra Romex... Planned to the scrap' (lands in 34, 51)

• 34 'Romex goes fast'
• 51 'Future proofin' wasted waar'; the copper market

'Cody said Meghan's brother wants hours.' / 'We could use a fourth guy.' (lands in 37, 40, 42)

• 37 'Devin text. Say he be here at nine'
• 40 'This Devin.'
• 42 'the good kid, Devin'

The deposit posted; invoice Monday, pay same day; 'I like this system' (lands in 6, 21, 41)

• 6 'the bank handles all the payroll taxes'
• 21 'you pass the books'
• 41 'It's Tuesday, buddy. You gotta get me the invoices'

Cody's day notes: 'Cody, dugg hill. 8. Rusty Dugg hill. 8rh. Tanner, kiss ass, 8.' (lands in 48, 49)

• 48 'I seen that, kiss-ass.' 'It's not kiss-ass, Cody. It's the record.'
• 49 'he's punching in from home'

The computer and printer as first company asset; five hundred cash from the armrest; keep the receipt (lands in 41, 48, 56, 59)

• 41 'Lonnie got it first, and he drop it'
• 48 'So, here's the computer. I got it set up'
• 56 'I got me a laptop now. Thankee, Yankee.'
• 59 'That notebook just earned its keep'

'Do you always smell like that?' – Robby stepped out of the fresh laundry basket; 'It's medicine' / 'All this cigarette smoke' (lands in 34, 69)

• 34 'Probly Robly'
• 69 'Robby is coming next week to look deeply at the house septic.'

'Cody barried us yer rotary laser' / 'you can't layout an inspected sewer with a plumb bob' (lands in 63)

• 63 'Quick run of the rotary laser calls it eighteen feet down'

'Ain'tchoo scared somebody's gonna come up at night and steal it?' / 'some things force the gamble' (lands in 50)

• 50 Dirt bikes; the saw

'Every day of your life got exactly twenty-four hours in it, 'cept two; the day yer born and the day you die.' / 'Marshall told me you're a preacher.' / 'I ain't no preacher.' (lands in 37, 49)

• 37 'This man been in the dark before, tried and taught so when he's sent in to get you all, he knows the way out'
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'

Temp walls in the workshop, a bathroom, 'high cotton'; 'a bowl in the mud, hung from your tank and field' (lands in 34, 41, 47)

• 34 'It's flush by the pond bucket'
• 41 The raccoons in the toilet
• 47 'I'll get a little outhouse around it eventually'

'Five hundred and ninety two hours to go' / 'that cactus ain't froze yet' / 'Maybe get a thermometer today' (lands in 34, 49, 50)

• 34 'coalmine canary'
• 49 'The cactus lived'
• 50 'Thermometer says it's forty-two in here now'

Origin story to Robby: day five, alone, fog so thick, 'All the best stuff come in a machine'; the ad sent to Stef; 'three hours later... he popped right out from behind that old Oak tree' (lands in 6, 18, 24, 31)

• 6 Tanner's call to Cody
• 18 'my draw is informal Facebook leftovers'
• 24 'They found me. I put some bait out on Facebook'
• 31 'my list floods in' – the machine as thinking seat

'She's the shill for that... This time Stef's the frontman' (lands in 25, 42, 59)

• 25 Stef at the confrontation
• 42 'Michael ain't from 'roun here, but I am, and I know how to dial it up too'
• 59 'witness. Shill. Good?'

'You do ooze Yankee.' 'Good Yankee, she says.' 'Yankee.' (lands in 16, 56)

• 16 'You're The Good Yankee now'
• 56 Lonnie: 'Thankee, Yankee'

The epiphany: send him down to the county, remodeler's license, twenty-five thousand limit, Deno; 'clear the brush out of the way' (lands in 6, 21, 22, 69)

• 6 'He sent me up to the county to get a remodeling license'
• 21 'The business is the thing'
• 22 'Epiphany.' 'More like you're undiagnosed'
• 69 'my license cober only two-feefty.' 'But I get the permit.'

'Why not just start your own company?' 'Same desk problem. I got a lot of piles and not enough space.' (lands in 18, 21)

• 18 'It's my job that's hard to hire for'
• 21 'I don't have the strength to start a new one anymore'

'Cigarettes to smoke. Overalls won't smell laundry fresh if I sit in here all day.' 'Good idea. Make sure my shit rolls downhill.' (lands in 34, 54)

• 34 'Don't leave the check on the dash'
• 54 'Put it on the fridge. Here's the hamper.'

'I'm almost vibrating it's so good. Cody's got the wall benches in, top to bottom – all four benches' – shale tops, blue rock, springs seeping, a rock hammer (lands in 32, 46, 63, 65, 66, 69)

• 32 The top bench
• 46 'Under all that topsoil you boys moved is shale, that's class-A soil'
• 63 'Find the springs when the rain comes'
• 65 'Let me know right away if you find springs.'
• 66 'got springs runnin clean across the road down in that easement'
• 69 'We're into the shale tops now. Lots of crumble rock.' / 'The second bench got blue rock in it.'

'this place just keeps giving' – the log at the pond, two machines, the stone mason, Tanner materializing, the trailer of wood, the lamp rubbed (lands in 3, 11, 43, 47)

• 3 'I sat down on that Cedar fell 'cross the way' (5)
• 11 Peter and the bridge
• 43 'Only fear is whether the wishes run out after three'
• 47 'Either that or the lamp ran out of wishes'

'Kingdom, ha?' 'Contextualizing.' (lands in 13)

• 13 'Contextualizing.' (Stef)

'Forty-two and a half, maybe.' / 'Beats forty-three. Of course, you'll be in prison.' (lands in 10, 11, 61)

• 10 'So now it's my fault you're going to jail'
• 11 'Not forty-two. Maybe forty-three.'
• 61 'At least there's heat in jail'

'You're a rolling SARS report.' / 'Appearance is reality.' 'And reality is, nothing is what it appears.' (lands in 41, 46, 59, 67)

• 41 'SARs reports are a real thing'
• 46 'Suspicious Activity Reports are a real thing'
• 59 Six thousand at the counter
• 67 'Appearances, Michael.' 'Not reality.'

'All for one, one for all.' / 'Easy, d'Ar-tag-yer-it' / 'yer all it, Tanner. That's not my rule. It's the reality of partnership.' (lands in 21, 32)

• 21 The vows
• 32 'not without firing your whole damned crew'

Forty-eight cinder blocks, bottle jacks, lift each corner; the thermometer inside the door; 'I gotta go to Cherokee Group and see if they will build me a house' (lands in 40, 46, 63)

• 40 'they lifted it up on the blocks yesterday'
• 46 Michael-the-second, the first GC
• 63 'I'm on the GC hunt again'

Chapter 36, January 7, 2024 (14 connections)

Sunday, January 7. Stef alone in a middle pew at the chapel, in a pretty dress, in the good cook's seat. Emma: 'Why you sittin' alone in the middle?' The cast iron stove, the hour's drive, Mamaw's every other Sunday. Bernice – no ma'am, go dress shopping instead – Larry the Song Leader's awesome hug, and the quiet one in back is Mamaw Mernie. 'My Mamaw is Mernie too, Myrtle!' She passed last year; they still meet at her house. The service opens with an introduction: Stefanie, whose name means the walls around a city.

The line worth the page: 'Bernie tells me her name means the walls around a city to protect the congregation.' Stef is introduced to the county by etymology, from a back pew, by a girl with a phone; the husband who names everything is not in the building. The wall is hers and the Yankee is outside it.

Connected chapters: 3, 4, 7, 10, 16, 17, 20, 29, 39, 45, 53, 60, 63, 64

'Hi. I'm Emma. Why you sittin' alone in the middle?' (lands in 4, 20, 39)

• 4 Emma on the porch
• 20 'Oh, there's a Stefanie too?'
• 39 'She's awesome. I'm telling you. But she's not ready for you yet'

'What a pretty dress!' / the recipe cards in the good cook's seat; 'the midweek meal options' (lands in 60, 63)

• 60 'The cooking skills diluted.' 'She - doesn't - cook'
• 63 'Brenda's getting Olive Garden soup and Janice got cold cuts'

'We bought some land right up the street, and I was drawn here the second I saw it' (lands in 3, 17)

• 3 'There's this gorgeous Community Center down this way, right across from an old timey church'
• 17 'I'm going to that Dupont Baptist this Sunday'

'So you drove an hour just to come meet us'; 'We do Mamaw's every other Sunday, but this is the off week' (lands in 10, 16, 63, 64)

• 10 'that's an hour each way for a coffee clatch'
• 16 Mamaw's Christmas
• 63 'Lunch at Mama's house tomorrow.'
• 64 Sunday at Myrtle's

'She just bought Trail Holler, and she's building her home up there.' (lands in 7, 20, 29)

• 7 Trail Holler named
• 20 'the man bought Old Trail Holler'
• 29 'the new build'

'Welcome, ma'am, I'm Bernice.' / 'I'm more likely go dress shopping with you than earn ma'am' (lands in 7)

• 7 Bernie as Mernie in smooth skin

'Well, hug her neck, Bernice. Don't be formal.' / Larry the Song Leader; 'That's an awesome hug, Larry. No ma'am about it.' (lands in 45, 60)

• 45 Tanner won't let go of the hand
• 60 'I could hug your guts out.'

'The quiet one back there is Mamaw Mernie.' / 'My Mamaw is Mernie too, Myrtle!' (lands in 4, 60, 64)

• 4 Mernie on the 1907 porch
• 60 'Them three never lef the bedroom at Myrtle's'
• 64 Lunch at Myrtle's house; David's blessing

'Mamaw's here now. She passed last year.' / 'And you all still meet every other Sunday at her house for dinner?' 'Yes, ma'am.' (lands in 63, 64)

• 63 Sherry: 'Daffodils live on forever an ever... like family that never dies'
• 64 The flowers thanked at her table

'Bernie tells me her name means the walls around a city to protect the congregation. Welcome, Stefanie.' (lands in 7)

• 7 Bernie's phone

'My Mamaw is Mernie too, Myrtle!' / 'Mamaw's here now. She passed last year.' – Karen, Janice, Brenda motherless; the dead hostess's Sundays kept (lands in 53, 60, 63, 64)

• 53 'same bed I slept half my childhood on' – Stef's mother's house, the one house anyone goes home to
• 60 'Them three never lef the bedroom at Myrtle's'; 'The Henry women. They're a force.'
• 63 'a matrilineal family, daughters all close to mamas' – Sherry, not knowing
• 64 Lunch at Myrtle's; 'Mamaw's sink'; David's blessing thanks the flowers at her table

Chapter 37, January 8, 2024 (30 connections)

January 8. Cody is in before everyone, machine warm, back corner to grade, punched in at 6:15 – 'owners don't get overtime.' Smurfs. Ceiling insulation; Scratchy. A sow on the ridge looks pissed: 'They's gettin' ready birth them cubs.' Devin texted nine. A seventy-two-inch fan in a twelve-foot room; the door handle left to languish. The 1099 test list taught to Tanner – tools, hours, bids, 'Can your 1099 lose money?' – and Robby walks up unheard: the hole in the net, the cat door, the chipmunk. 'This man been in the dark before, tried and taught so when he's sent in to get you all, he knows the way out.'

The line worth the page: 'This man been in the dark before, tried and taught so when he's sent in to get you all, he knows the way out.' Robby's benediction over the 1099 lecture – a preacher who denies it, blessing a man who confesses burglaries to his crew (30). The only time in the book someone reads Michael's past as qualification rather than record.

Connected chapters: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 58, 59, 62, 63, 69, 72

'you're not just here first, the machine is warm, you have the whole back corner down to grade' / 'baby had me up, 'n I juss drive down, git workin'' (lands in 14, 30, 49, 58)

• 14 'I'm a vampire'
• 30 'both of you get here before me again'
• 49 'Bossman, I punch in when I leave my house'
• 58 'No walk up this morning'

'Heck of a walk up in the dark, ain't it?' / 'We used to hunt up here 'n fish. Been dark a lot, but that gravel mask the senses.' (lands in 8, 25, 31, 50)

• 8 'Up this holler, the place where that invisible seam forgets for him'
• 25 'I hear them on the gravel long before they get here'
• 31 'the quarter mile of winding gravel road below the pond is an alarm system'
• 50 'I make a Z... come in the trailers outside that new cam'

'Banker's hours?' 'It's 7:30.' 'We're Smurfs.' (lands in 11, 40)

• 11 'Dude came rolling in at 7:30, two minutes after I parked'
• 40 '7:45, and all four here before me'

'you punched in at 6:15' / 'You gotta be careful – overtime.' / 'owners don't get overtime' (lands in 38, 49)

• 38 Lonnie: 'He can't refuse pay you overtime. That's a new crime right there.'
• 49 'That's stealing, Cody.'

'Cody's got the window open up there letting all the hot air out.' 'Hot air's gettin' in just fine.' 'Ouch.' (lands in 9)

• 9 Ouch christened

'So it's ceiling insulation today.' 'Itch.' 'Get to it, scratchy.' (lands in 17, 34)

• 17 'Don't do it, Scratchy'
• 34 'If you don't blow your nose with the pink side'

'make sure you grease the machine once Rusty gets here. That bucket's squeaking' (lands in 41, 58, 69)

• 41 'Grease the machines. I'll be over in a minute'
• 58 'Changed the oil, changed every filter'
• 69 'Grease the machine and inspect everything.'

'Heads up. That one looks pissed.' / 'They's gettin' ready birth them cubs. Fat, tired, cranky.' 'Good eye.' (lands in 17, 48, 62)

• 17 'She's fat like she's pregnant'
• 48 'She looks different'
• 62 'For a second I saw a cub'

'Devin text. Say he be here at nine.' 'Can't wait to meet him.' (lands in 35, 40)

• 35 'Meghan's brother wants hours'
• 40 'This Devin.' 'Welcome aboard.'

'the ceiling fan is huge, seventy-two inches in a room's twelve feet across' – one-stone doctrine / 'Two birds, one stone. Just say it.' 'Nope.' (lands in 35, 40)

• 35 'rubbing your wire through the rafters to get me a ceiling fan'
• 40 'it'll blow you right out of the room if you turn it on high'

The door handle left faulty 'a chance for me to raise hell'; 'languishing' – 'Got it, Webster' (lands in 9, 11, 24, 41, 72)

• 9 'Obtuse, an adjective'
• 11 'ascribed'
• 24 'forget that door lock for now'
• 41 'pedagogy'
• 72 'I'll have Tanner finish the deadbolt install today.'

The 1099 architecture ditched: 'It's not a trap at all, really. The trap is the morons that abuse the practice' (lands in 17, 28, 40)

• 17 Rusty: 'the ten ninety-nine's a trap'
• 28 'the trap ain't the form, it's the reason the form was chose'
• 40 'Syllabus is, legal. Subject is the 1099 test list'

'Workman's Comp does not cover you for fraud, and they will test you if you submit a claim' (lands in 9)

• 9 'You got Tanner the workman's comp right?'

The test: own tools, own hours, own bids, told where and when, 'Can your 1099 lose money?' / 'then the 1099 is an employee' (lands in 40, 49, 51)

• 40 'does your 1099 have his own tools? The answer right now is no'
• 49 'an owner's point of view and an employee's point of view'
• 51 'plan to lose money' – Cody on the wire

'I walked up with Rusty.' 'Him, I heard. That's the hole in the net. Just like the cat door lets in the chipmunk in the cat's mouth.' (lands in 10, 55, 62)

• 10 'She's had a cat door and eleven acres all her life'
• 55 'Can't put a cat door yet. She doesn't know where she is.'
• 62 'probably got a Chipmunk on the run'

'I hope you boys was listenin'. This kind man's got wisdom.' / 'Ya, I heard you, bossman. Count on that.' (lands in 21, 22, 63)

• 21 'Nice parable'
• 22 'You say threats big.'
• 63 'Wisdom, brother. Next on the list, rain time spring hunts.'

'This man been in the dark before, tried and taught so when he's sent in to get you all, he knows the way out.' (lands in 12, 30)

• 12 'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone'
• 30 'I tell you because I was you'

'Who's paying who here, Robby. You come up here to bring me an invoice, and you drop that in my lap instead.' (lands in 35, 41, 59)

• 35 'I ain't no preacher'
• 41 'Man gets paid on payday'
• 59 'giving is receiving'

Chapter 38, January 8, 2024 (21 connections)

Lonnie's porch, the same January 8. The Yankee thinks he can take a son; 'Hear that, boy, you loyal.' Never live above your raising, pay your due; a toilet in the mud and draws rolled off to fit in; the Wall Street Journal against the Sears Roebuck. Cody fishes a frozen caulk bead with a stick – the Yankee's thrown-out caulk – for the door gap. 'Slick soles tell it all.' Tell me again about the papers, the overtime: 'That's a new crime right there.'

The line worth the page: 'That Yankee think he take my son... and he all sudden that boy's Deddy?' Lonnie's one fear said plain, the same evening the Yankee told Cody 'owners don't get overtime' (37). The book keeps the two men a ridge apart and lets each one describe the other as the thief.

Connected chapters: 2, 14, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 33, 34, 37, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 56, 58, 59, 70

'That Yankee think he take my son, give him mor'n I got to give, and he all sudden that boy's Deddy?' / 'Hear that, boy, you loyal.' (lands in 14, 19, 48, 56)

• 14 'Okay, dad,'
• 19 'If not, will Tanner keep them as employees?'
• 48 'I set here and I listen you talk my boy like that'
• 56 'Got my boy genuflect, bend the knee'

'never live above your raisin' put on airs, I pay my due' (lands in 2)

• 2 'Knoxville's upper middle class'; 'Lonnie hadn't split. He'd stayed.'

'put a toilet down the mud, roll off his draws and think he fit in now' (lands in 23, 34, 47)

• 23 'I don't drop my draws one crack hair at time'
• 34 'I'll never fit in if I don't'
• 47 'A holler needs a toilet in the yard, Stef.'

'Him read the Wall Street Journal though, can't keep true and read the Sears Robuck' (lands in 33, 51)

• 33 Duran; 'I know markets'
• 51 The copper aria

'Got no boy his own, he think he take mine. Not Cody. Cody loyal like I say.' (lands in 17, 59)

• 17 'I never had kids, but my mom owned a daycare center'
• 59 'Papaw, they're not your grandchildren'

'Cody look and listen, and that boy come home tell me all he see' (lands in 28, 48, 50)

• 28 'And now I'm inside'
• 48 'Why you back empty handed, boy?'
• 50 'So you set up on that high ridge, and you overlook him?'

'you go stay with Pedro... take, take, take, gotta make ever accommodation' (lands in 21, 28, 70)

• 21 'Pedro literally fired you'
• 28 'That's how they git Pedro, that ten-ninety-nine'
• 70 'They put Pedro in jail for the same thing.' 'Pedro went to jail for human trafficking.'

Cody fishing the frozen caulk bead; 'That man right. This set out in the freeze too long.' (lands in 28, 53)

• 28 The scrap over the door gap
• 53 'I gave him that caulk – I threw it out, and he took it out and said don't thow this out'

'Don't help you got no gun, squeeze it out with a stick. That man lazy.' (lands in 58)

• 58 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?'

'Slick soles tell it all.' (lands in 2, 25, 56)

• 2 The shoes
• 25 'slick don't mean smooth'
• 56 'Slippers'

'black magic trucks and they big money ways' (lands in 2, 56)

• 2 'that damn thing ain't in keepin' with nothin''
• 56 'Yankee man got him 'fraid, train him'

'He can't refuse pay you overtime. That's a new crime right there.' (lands in 37, 49)

• 37 'owners don't get overtime'
• 49 'That's stealing, Cody.'

Chapter 39, January 8, 2024 (16 connections)

Bill's van at the Community Center; Michael, on the way to the Exxon, pulls in to see it. No key, but if cousin Emma comes back he's on the donations list. Stef on the phone: that lady you met at church is Bill's cousin – 'You're not ready for Emma yet. Gonna take a whole lot more than a pond side pooper.' Bill is texting. 'Don't I hear your mother calling you?' 'His mother is dead.' 'Exactly.' Launch mode; Emma comes out the church door, phone in hand. 'You feral.'

The line worth the page: 'You're not ready for Emma yet. Gonna take a whole lot more than a pond side pooper to earn those kinda credentials.' Stef, from her desk, guards the door to the county she walked through alone two days before (36); Michael is kept in the truck in launch mode while Emma comes out of the church with her phone. The Yankee's introduction to the holler's registrar is still owed in the jar.

Connected chapters: 3, 4, 7, 9, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 34, 36, 44, 47, 57, 58

'I was on my way to the Exxon for cigarettes, and I saw your van. So, this is the community center.' / 'This's where you'll come vote this Fall.' (lands in 3, 4, 57)

• 3 'There's this gorgeous Community Center down this way'
• 4 'where the whole holler files through to be counted as one'
• 57 'I vote here. We all vote here.'

'I don't have a key... if my cousin Emma comes back... she'll have you on the donations list before I can say, bless your heart.' (lands in 7, 20)

• 7 'Bless your heart'
• 20 'I was thinking big honking cameras'; Bill donates

'An avalanche just landed on me.' / 'It's white sand beaches and water so clear I can see your whole Sunday aria. That lady you met at church this Sunday, that's Bill's cousin.' (lands in 36)

• 36 Emma at the chapel

'Get out of there Michael. You're not ready for Emma yet. Gonna take a whole lot more than a pond side pooper to earn those kinda credentials.' (lands in 34, 36)

• 34 'I'll never fit in if I don't'
• 36 'You're a grown woman, Bernice... earn ma'am'

'Bill, who you texting?' / 'Don't I hear your mother calling you?' 'His mother is dead.' 'Exactly.' (lands in 15, 58)

• 15 'Some guys marry a gal like their mother'
• 58 'my mom owned a daycare center' (17)

'she's not ready for you yet, and multiply her by Bill, and that's big math' (lands in 18, 22)

• 18 Bill's match
• 22 Bill stirring

'She's coming out the front door, phone in hand.' 'Oh man. That was so close.' (lands in 16, 47)

• 16 'the kid literally called you at 6:30'
• 47 'I drove by your church just as they were letting you all out'

'I just want to introduce you – in a controlled environment. You feral. You'd be six bits deep in that caricature insult gag of yours, and all the sudden I leave Sunday my dish untouched.' (lands in 9, 44)

• 9 The gag
• 44 'I'm telling Emma.' 'She'd eat you alive.' 'I can be quite beguiling.' 'She would have you beheaded in minutes.'

'His mother is dead.' 'Exactly.' – Michael's mother, two words (lands in 15, 17, 58)

• 15 'Some guys marry a gal like their mother. Me --- I take thee, Stefanie.' – marrying into a matriline
• 17 'my mom owned a daycare center'
• 58 'I watched DCS take kids all my life at that daycare center' – the stayed stone's source

Chapter 40, January 9, 2024 (26 connections)

January 9, 7:45, four vehicles in the slip and all four men up before him. Devin's first day: 'You the boss.' 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses.' The pad, the land bridge, the dam-back; Michael left early yesterday without signing out. The ceiling fan that blows you out of the room. Everybody on the trailer, the 1099 syllabus – buy a tool every trip – Rusty's fart in the closed trailer, switch seats, 'I wanna see Rusty dig.' 'Repeat after me, boys.' Devin: 'Cat's going away. Don't be mice.' A week, then two weeks packing Hardin Valley. 'Backoffice is calling.'

The line worth the page: 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses.' Michael refuses the title the day the fourth man arrives and Devin says 'You the boss' without having been told otherwise; 58 has Michael repeat it and Cody answer 'Not how it looks from here.' The book lets the crew keep calling him bossman for the whole length and never lets him accept it.

Connected chapters: 9, 11, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 51, 54, 55, 56, 58, 66, 69

'7:45, and all four here before me. All we lack is the burn barrel and a three more inches of shoulder. Four vehicles parked in the slip' (lands in 14, 49, 66)

• 14 'You can park in the slip where the road Y's'
• 49 'That's a long walk from the Y.' 'One thousand three hundred feet'
• 66 'All them cars park down the road says different.'

'Rusty, you want a ride up the hill while I'm heading that way?' 'Yeah, right.' (lands in 18)

• 18 'Yeah, right' decoded

'You the boss.' 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses.' (lands in 22, 58, 69)

• 22 'I ain't your bossman, you are'
• 58 'I'm the homeowner, you're the boss.' 'Not how it looks from here.'
• 69 'You ain't the boss of me, I am.'

The pad started, the land bridge level; 'when the pad is cut just above the septic elevation, it'll be level on both sides' (lands in 32, 34, 58)

• 32 Benches
• 34 'We'll have a level land bridge there by tomorrow'
• 58 'That mud hole sort of filled in'

'Probably get all the dirt out and over the dam-back today.' (lands in 30, 55)

• 30 'fifty dump trucks'
• 55 The slide

'Devin helped with that after you left super early yesterday.' / 'I must have forgot to punch out.' 'Sign out at least.' / 'At least tell sweety pie over here I'm leaving.' (lands in 37, 41, 49)

• 37 'you punched in at 6:15'
• 41 'I forgot to sign out, but I'm not the only culprit'
• 49 'you parked eight minutes ago, and I'm sure you punched in'

The ceiling fan 'will blow you right out of the room if you turn it on high' / 'My kinda ceiling fan' (lands in 35, 37)

• 35 The fan brace
• 37 'seventy-two inches in a room's twelve feet across'

'Cleaned up my parking spot a little too, I see.' 'it needed leveled in back so I don't have to go around the Hummer with every load.' (lands in 22)

• 22 '(thirty fewer feet of mud between the truck and the task)'

'I can see from here they lifted it up on the blocks yesterday.' (lands in 35)

• 35 'lift each corner of the shed and place the block underneath'

'No, Devin, this guy's tool enough.' 'Ouch.' (lands in 9, 54)

• 9 Ouch christened
• 54 'Smooth hands says it all, Tanner.' 'Ouch.'

'don't question your whereabouts.' 'Right Tanner, or my whatareyoudoings either. Simply stated, you're his boss, not mine.' / 'I got another round of reminders queued up' (lands in 11, 32)

• 11 'It's a scale. Dumber you get, the more of these I got loaded up'
• 32 'not without firing your whole damned crew'

Everybody works on the trailer; 'This brings up the morning's corporate lesson.' 'Spring cleanup as corporate office speak.' – Devin (lands in 43, 46, 54)

• 43 Thirty red totes; the workshop packed
• 46 'Get all three of them lined up neat and tidy so I can install a camera'
• 54 'We gotta clean up the trailers, sort and organize all three'

'Syllabus is, legal. Subject is the 1099 test list. Heading, does your 1099 have his own tools?' / 'buy a new tool for the company. Soon enough we're not full of shit anymore.' (lands in 37, 41, 51)

• 37 The test list taught
• 41 'I took out cash so Tanner can buy a tool every time he goes to Lowes'
• 51 'all that wire that I had Tanner – not you – pack up'

'Cody ate eggs and bacon this morning, got the cynic fed up and firing on all the senses' / Rusty's fart in the trailer; 'No way I survive this. No way.' (lands in 11, 17, 22, 54)

• 11 'No way I survive this'
• 17 'He can lay a fart though'
• 22 The squeak at Deno's
• 54 'if you fart in my house'

'It's exactly 7:53... switch seats today. I wanna see Rusty dig.' (lands in 45, 56)

• 45 'Rus, walk that excavator down'; 'You do it then.'
• 56 'That's me work'

'Repeat after me, boys. I will not over bill the nice man by fucking around with this throw away project... learning my toolventory' (lands in 19, 49)

• 19 'I'll accrue those for you'
• 49 'That's stealing, Cody.' – the walking-cost lesson

'Cat's going away. Don't be mice.' – Devin / 'Sharp as a tack.' (lands in 43, 55)

• 43 'Devin strikes again. You're onto something though'
• 55 'of the three of you, he's the one I'd want on site' (Cody, not Devin)

'We got a week to get this done. Then it's all hands in Hardin Valley for two weeks packing.' (lands in 42, 43, 44)

• 42 Packing day one
• 43 Day two
• 44 'They have almost the whole house packed up'

'I'm going to the toilet. Backoffice is calling.' (lands in 35, 41)

• 35 'a bowl in the mud'
• 41 'I'm about to visit the throne for the inaugural runs'

Chapter 41, January 9, 2024 (36 connections)

January 9. The raccoons beat him to the throne – Lenny and George – and he forgot the paper towels. The house plans arrive in a tube in the driveway; the cold-call list of contractors; the shotcrete guy. Stef audits a five-hundred-dollar withdrawal: SARs, Phil's desk, 'It's Laddering. Literally.' Lonnie dropped the laptop and Cody told no one; 'You can just pay cash' twice. A new computer for Tanner – life raft and anchor – pedagogy, and the one rule: man gets paid on payday, hock your C-Pap. Devin with the measuring stick, seven inches from grade.

The line worth the page: 'There is one rule in business; don't you ever break it. Man gets paid on payday. I don't care if you have to hock your C-Pap.' The second 'one rule' in the book – 22's was embezzlement – and they are the same rule from two sides: the money must move on Friday, in and out. The chapter is three phone calls about cash and one lesson about a laptop, and the rule is what holds it together.

Connected chapters: 2, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29, 31, 35, 37, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63, 65, 67, 70, 71

'I'm about to visit the throne for the inaugural runs' / 'The raccoons beat me to it' – Lenny and George (lands in 12, 35, 47)

• 12 Grapes of Wrath; Of Mice and Men as whiff
• 35 'a bowl in the mud'
• 47 'this one's a raccoon bath. Been back every night.'

'I need paper towels on the list for sure.' / 'Did you at least get the paper towels?' 'Shit!' (lands in 47)

• 47 'Why don't you just remember the paper towels?' 'Why don't you?' 'I'm in denial.'

'The tube arrived this morning' – the house plans in the driveway; plywood table; the cold call list of contractors (lands in 17, 29, 63)

• 17 Houseplans.net
• 29 'order the house plan online'
• 63 'The foundation is sixty five by thirty five'

'You won't beg Mike Maddron, so I gotta get moving.' / the shotcrete guy for the bench wall (lands in 43, 44, 46, 67)

• 43 'I called the shotcrete guy'
• 44 Matt Ayers, fourteen thousand
• 46 Two trucks, not three
• 67 'you're going to have to call Maddron.' 'He won't do it.'

The dam washed out 'a hole in the back side all the way to the foot'; 'It would have within a few years for sure' (lands in 6, 55)

• 6 'I could see spillway was running the back side out of that dam'
• 55 'If we didn't spend the last couple weeks fixing this thing, the whole dam might have collapsed'

'Why did you take out another five-hundred this morning?' 'Are you auditing me?' / 'SARs reports are a real thing.' / 'Phil's desk, Michael.' (lands in 35, 46, 59)

• 35 'You're a rolling SARS report'
• 46 'Suspicious Activity Reports are a real thing, and you're actually using them for cash pay'
• 59 Six thousand at the counter

'I don't have to. The invoices tell me what happened every day... I cross reference the withdrawals with the day's tasks' (lands in 54, 59)

• 54 'Write what happened. Tell it clean. Leave the equation to the man with the chalk'
• 59 'This has to be accurate'

'I took out cash so Tanner can buy a tool every time he goes to Lowes' / 'That's definitely tax evasion.' 'No, Stef. Tools are not deductible. It's Laddering. Literally.' (lands in 15, 40, 70)

• 15 'Tax evasion, and his lady a tax cop' (28)
• 40 'buy a new tool for the company'
• 70 'Man's a tax evader, and his old lady's a cop. Did you even ask?'

'Lonnie got it first, and he drop it, first thing. Screen's broke.' (lands in 35, 48, 56, 65)

• 35 The laptop bought
• 48 Tanner delivers the replacement
• 56 'I got me a laptop now. Thankee, Yankee.'
• 65 'someone broke a key off his computer'

'It's Tuesday, buddy. You gotta get me the invoices so I can make the deposit, and the bank can pay you Friday.' (lands in 6, 35, 48, 65)

• 6 'upload the data on Tuesday... get paid on Friday'
• 35 'If you get me the invoice on Monday'
• 48 'It's your turn for the next two weeks'
• 65 'It's your turn again already?' 'Keep the check. Ain't worth all that.'

'You can just pay cash. I'm sure nobody'd mind.' (twice) (lands in 28, 48)

• 28 'Make you boys file the paperwork'
• 48 'If I don't get it done, he just pay cash.' 'Cody, you can't sabotage for cash.'

'It's not your responsibility. Company's our'n.' (lands in 18, 22)

• 18 'It's not your responsibility. It's Tanner's name.' 'you're all the way wrong'
• 22 'that makes me the liable one'

'I thought I blocked your number.' 'That's the only account in my name. You need my permission to block my number.' (lands in 15, 49)

• 15 'Title is me, and it is mine'
• 49 'You again?'

'Is that Hummer I hear in the background?' 'It's silent, honey.' 'Not when the smoking window's open.' (lands in 2, 53)

• 2 'that stupid buzz'
• 53 'Smoking window. Yeah, I drove Cody home.'

'Region's on Chapman Highway, together with your voice, and my confusion expecting you to call claiming my office space now that you see it on the plans' (lands in 31, 71)

• 31 'Decided.' – the nook
• 71 'It's that little like side road, the one that like parallels Chapman'

'Michael. You paid cash for yesterday's computer. They have a receipt for a computer.' (lands in 35, 46)

• 35 'Keep the receipt.'
• 46 'Get those withdrawals posted in the invoice'

'Tanner. I forgot to sign out, but I'm not the only culprit in your day's-got-predicaments-pedagogy.' / 'The science of teaching.' / 'wouldn't that be your word, and mine be course or lesson?' (lands in 9, 11, 25, 37)

• 9 'obtuse'
• 11 'ascribed'
• 25 'obviate'
• 37 'languishing'

'I'm struck out over here. Three conversations, and I'm asswhooped in growing waves.' (lands in 13, 45)

• 13 'Who's telling this story'
• 45 'You gotta do better'

'There is one rule in business; don't you ever break it. Man gets paid on payday. I don't care if you have to hock your C-Pap' (lands in 22, 59, 70)

• 22 The one rule (embezzlement)
• 59 'I will give him that money if I have to hock the Hummer' (58)
• 70 'That leak start good on the idler though, ain't it?'

'Old boss, new boss, same as the old boss, don't matter to me.' (lands in 21, 46)

• 21 'Pedro literally fired you'
• 46 'Years, Cody. I learned it just about the way you learned it'

Devin with the measuring stick; 'They got a bead on it?' 'seven inches' – half a foot from grade (lands in 58)

• 58 'That mud hole sort of filled in'

Chapter 42, January 15, 2024 (30 connections)

Monday, January 15, packing day in Hardin Valley. Stef's crew: pancakes with blueberries, boxes to the porch. Cody opens the craft-show jewelry – 'he call me a thief' – and sends Rusty out: 'I'm right behind you.' Stef's loot for seven girls, picked by each other so pride stays out of it; 'I know how to dial it up too.' A hundred rooms, three used; 'A lady never lies. We tease. We torment.' The bunker hunt, the pin, the fingerprint reader. 'Hills got echos.' 'Ears of God.' Michael and Tanner haggle Tom for a trailer; 'Here's the check, Jeeves.' Boxes first, furniture on top; Stef hooks the trailer out from under him.

The line worth the page: 'Yeah, you go out there a sec. I'm right behind you.' Cody alone with the jewelry boxes for one beat the book never shows; 43 reports the plastic jewels put back, 50 repeats the shape with a saw. The sealed interval is the book's doctrine of the indefinite article in one line – the reader cannot know, and the author has said he will not say.

Connected chapters: 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 19, 25, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 50, 52, 54, 57, 59, 62, 63, 65, 71

'Happy Monday, gents. Almost all of you know Stefanie. Stefanie, this is the good kid, Devin.' (lands in 40, 43)

• 40 Devin's first day
• 43 'Stefanie's nicer.'

Pancakes with blueberries; Bisquick; 'Stef's buddy' – the nice one (lands in 43, 44, 45, 54, 62)

• 43 'those pancakes were your Miranda warning, kid'
• 44 'They called you the nice one'
• 45 'I'm gonna need more pancakes.'
• 54 'And pancakes, yes I know, Devin'
• 62 'No pancake batter left.' 'Black magic.'

'Bro, I tol you he rich.' / 'That dock is sick!' / 'I just wanna go fishing.' 'that man ain't gonna let you fish' (lands in 6, 52, 59)

• 6 'he bought the fishin' spot'
• 52 'We used to swim here'
• 59 Rusty's girls would grow gills (42)

The craft-show jewelry in boxes: 'And he call me a thief. His old lady's got boxes of stolen shit.' (lands in 30, 43, 54)

• 30 'You're a thief, twice convicted'
• 43 'put those plastic jewels back in the box'
• 54 'Cody Norman's Greatest Hits'

'Yeah, you go out there a sec. I'm right behind you.' – the sealed interval (lands in 43, 50)

• 43 'This time had enough sense to put those plastic jewels back'
• 50 'I left the saw in that old hollow Oak' – the next sealed interval

'Ain't a damn one of you knows how to get his pride out of its own way, so the plan is Rusty picks Cody's loot, and Cody picks Rusty's loot' – seven girls (lands in 17, 18, 59, 63)

• 17 'I got three little girls'
• 18 'the girls get out at 2:30'
• 59 'Get an apartment for the babies'
• 63 Sherry's daffodils given away

'Michael ain't from 'roun here, but I am, and I know how to dial it up too.' (lands in 25, 35, 45)

• 25 'Born 'n raised in these hills'
• 35 'Stef's the frontman'
• 45 'That's us. It's how we getcha.'

'Must be a hundred rooms in here.' / 'We use three of them' (lands in 1, 10)

• 1 'six bedrooms'
• 10 'a mansion that we don't want'

The bunker hunt: plain-sight shelf, the pin left in, the fingerprint reader; 'HAAAA! He found it!' (lands in 9, 54, 63)

• 9 'a fully functional concrete encased bunker'
• 54 'No banishment to the bunker or the porch'
• 63 'Are you doing another bunker?'

'A lady never lies, Cody. We tease. We torment. But we never lie.' / 'Okay, we lie. Humans lie.' (lands in 14)

• 14 'And you tell lies.' 'Same thing. Image clouds.'

'Cept the po-lice. Neighbor call fer a fight, and you don't point out she lie, you in lock-up before you had a chance get the bondsman number' (lands in 3, 25)

• 3 'They'll come out shooting'
• 25 'let her lock your ass up'

'That's my sister. Cody's right. She lies.' – Devin (lands in 45, 65)

• 45 'You think that one burns, you should hang out with my sister'
• 65 'they got her little Honda spread all over the yard'

'This is the Media room.' 'I knew'd it. You people is famous... Got a whole room just to meet the press.' (lands in 10, 57)

• 10 'I see it every day.' – politics
• 57 Ray Reagan on the news

'that bar is bigger than The Chatterbox on Chapman' / 'Best not let the gang at Dupont see that bar' / 'How do you know I went to Dupont?' 'Hills got echos.' 'Ears of God.' (lands in 31, 34, 36, 71)

• 31 'Ears of god.'
• 34 Dupont Baptist
• 36 Stef's Sunday
• 71 'It's that little like side road, the one that like parallels Chapman'

'You will not ouch God's ears.' (lands in 9, 31)

• 9 Ouch christened
• 31 'Stop saying ouch every time someone scores a point'

Tom and the trailer: 'Crayon pricing don't work for me'; six thousand; a step-down hitch thrown in; 'Here's the check, Jeeves.' (lands in 30, 33, 34, 45)

• 30 Smokey Mountain Trailers
• 33 'left handed with a crayon'
• 34 Jeeves chartered
• 45 'three enclosed trailers for six thousand dollars apiece'

'my wife's a revenuer, and I got enough trouble without being your coconspirator after the fact' (lands in 41)

• 41 'That's definitely tax evasion.'

'Bought four cars this year already.' 'And this is my third trailer here this month.' (lands in 1, 44)

• 1 'You bought four cars in the last year'
• 44 'three enclosed trailers in a week'

'I'm the one bought a shill with me. Tom here's on his own. Dance, Tom.' (lands in 35, 59)

• 35 'She's the shill for that'
• 59 'witness. Shill. Good?'

Load boxes first, furniture on top, 'it's going to be there a year, and I'll need stuff' / 'Guy buys a trailer, and she hooks it right out from under him.' (lands in 43, 50)

• 43 'Rusty and Cody drive it to the storage unit'
• 50 'Two full ten by ten storage units full to the rafters'

'I set some aside for you, plus I picked her out something special as an engagement gift.' (lands in 17, 19)

• 17 Tanner engaged
• 19 The third degree

Chapter 43, January 16, 2024 (34 connections)

Day two of packing, Tuesday January 16. No Stef – 'Chef Chowder's out levying the competition's cash drawer' – so Uber Eats. 'Those pancakes were your Miranda warning, kid'; the plastic jewels went back, the pin got found. Spit cups, no bucket rides; the crew takes Tanner's truck to storage. Tanner and Devin pack thirty red totes and talk Cody: smart, off center, spiteful with no cause, Wiggins all over him senior year. The shotcrete guy pours Monday; a side quest for boulders. Stef's raid is theatre; she texts going in and coming out.

The line worth the page: 'Those pancakes were your Miranda warning, kid.' Stef's breakfast is read by her husband as procedure – the suspect fed before interrogation – and the book agrees: Cody found the bunker and put the jewels back under her eye. Michael can only warn the crew afterward, from the wrong side of the trade.

Connected chapters: 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 34, 35, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 55, 56, 59, 65, 67

'Chef Chowder's out levying the competition's cash drawer as we speak. Compliance at badge-point.' (lands in 3, 10, 49)

• 3 Phil and the warrant
• 10 'Famous last words of every class-a felony I file'
• 49 'How's the Department of Revenue today?'

'I'll order up some Uber Eats.' / 'Icarus, I got this.' (lands in 34, 50)

• 34 Jeeves chartered
• 50 'Tanner is my new Uber Eats'

'Go to the police academy... Interview a hundred thousand liars, and then you can go hang out with her for breakfast.' (lands in 13, 24, 42)

• 13 'I'm the one asking the questions'
• 24 Roy: 'Untangle the truth'
• 42 'A lady never lies'

'those pancakes were your Miranda warning, kid. I hope you had enough sense to invoke properly.' (lands in 42, 45, 54, 65)

• 42 Pancakes; the bunker hunt
• 45 'I'm gonna need more pancakes'
• 54 'And pancakes, yes I know, Devin'
• 65 'this is your dam-Miranda'

'This time had enough sense to put those plastic jewels back in the box, but can't resist finding the pin in the door.' (lands in 42, 50)

• 42 'Yeah, you go out there a sec. I'm right behind you.'
• 50 The saw returned

'don't spit dip out my window again... So bring spit cups.' / 'Boys don't be disrespectful douchebags. No bucket rides the flavor.' (lands in 11, 17, 18)

• 11 'No bucket rides'
• 17 'careful spitting it out the window'
• 18 'bucket lifts'

Thirty red totes; 'pack up every last hand tool in that shop'; label with the sharpie (lands in 34, 45, 54)

• 34 'That's a full trailer down there'
• 45 'a whole tote full of lathe tools and face mask'
• 54 'bring all the extra and later stuff – the lathe tools, for instance – to storage'

'you and I will go buy another trailer.' 'Are you shitting me?' (lands in 42, 44, 45)

• 42 Tom's trailer
• 44 'three enclosed trailers in a week'
• 45 'six thousand dollars apiece'

'He's pretty intense, isn't he?' 'Takes a lot of getting used to.' 'Not how Cody describe him though.' (lands in 6, 22)

• 6 'he's not --- normal'
• 22 'He's smart. Like really smart'

'Do you like Elton John by any chance?' 'Country Comfort?' (lands in 21, 34)

• 21 'Every Tin Man gets the straw'
• 34 'Goodbye yellow brick road' – Tanner's earworm

'I chose to as soon as he left me no other choice.' 'I see that. Intense.' (lands in 17, 19)

• 17 'Everybody got to pick a man'
• 19 'call it my choice right after you left me no other choice'

'Why do Cody and Meghan live with Lonnie?' / 'That place is a dump... It's like Mom is keeping that whole family up.' (lands in 5, 48)

• 5 'I paid Mrs. King rent here since you was no older'n Layla'
• 48 'Mrs. King give us three months rent we come cut that tree'

'He earns a bad rap, but he's smart... He gets stuff, like off center stuff. But he gears it toward provocation.' (lands in 55)

• 55 'he's the one I'd want on site in the moment'

'Senior year. Wiggins was all over him... like he was sabotaging his own graduation.' / 'He's spiteful – but no cause for it. Just because spite is, that's why.' (lands in 6, 7, 45, 48)

• 6 'put spite in that stupid war you got with your dad'
• 7 'collects them like prizes'
• 45 Betty from the screen
• 48 'your spite engine'

'I met Emily Senior year, so I was – in another world.' / 'You two just got engaged, didn't you?' (lands in 17, 59)

• 17 Zales
• 59 'That ring you bought for Emily'

'Only fear is whether the wishes run out after three.' (lands in 35, 47)

• 35 'rubbed the lamp'
• 47 'Either that or the lamp ran out of wishes.' 'Rub harder.'

The shotcrete guy comes tomorrow, pours Monday; two and a half trucks; boulders as side quest (lands in 41, 44, 45, 46)

• 41 'I called the shotcrete guy'
• 44 Ayers: fourteen thousand
• 45 Boulders at Alcoa
• 46 Two trucks

'What's it like in the Reading?' 'It's rough, but I get through' / Devin's flare under the bumper; 'Get that fixed and give me the bill' (lands in 9, 49)

• 9 'Tanner's got an old beat down Reading'
• 49 'Devin, your car couldn't get up here'

'He's spiteful, and he lives on plausible deniability, but I think he needs motivation to think that hard, and he doesn't dislike you.' (lands in 14, 48)

• 14 'Play just dumb enough, render the info too costly'
• 48 Stef: 'clocking the guard's schedule'

'Not a raid. A tax man's boot to the neck reminder. Pay up, or we'll rob you every day.' (lands in 28, 56, 67)

• 28 'they line you up one tax bill atter the other'
• 56 'Shame me again, granish the wage'
• 67 'Walk in during business hours, Warrant held high, step away from the register, Ma'am'

'She lets me know when she's going in a thing and coming out. And no was whether I can keep you boys in here.' (lands in 27)

• 27 'I don't talk to Stef first'

'she'll probably take credit for my eggs too' (lands in 42, 44)

• 42 'Guy buys a trailer, and she hooks it right out from under him'
• 44 'They called you the nice one'

Chapter 44, January 17, 2024 (26 connections)

January 17. Matt Ayers in a working rig: 'Let the man smooth shoes and pressed shirts play the price game.' Fourteen thousand, six turns, guaranteed Monday; front discharge and three hundred feet of hose. Stef by phone: the dodgeball team are perfect gentlemen for her – chicken biscuits, whistling, washed hands – 'Leadership change.' The castle's ramparts in the garage; the douche canoe parks outside. Three loads to storage, the workshop packed. The dam drools like a St. Bernard. Karen's, not the apartment: 'I decided that other thing too.' A told-ya-so, no Bill shit stir.

The line worth the page: 'Boys are on their bess behavior is all.' 'Nope. Leadership change.' Michael quotes Cody's line from 6 ('On his bess behavior 's all') about the crew under Stef, and Stef answers with the only two-word verdict on his management the book allows. Chicken biscuits, whistling, washed hands; the tyrant is at the Drip.

Connected chapters: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 16, 18, 22, 29, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 50, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59

'Matt Ayers.' 'that's a lot smaller than it looked in the picture' / 'You minimized it. That's a new approach.' (lands in 46)

• 46 'Hey, Matt.' 'That driveway looks awesome!'

'Nah, that's no shiny vinyl wrap truck. Let the man smooth shoes and pressed shirts play the price game.' (lands in 2, 5, 46)

• 2 'pressed shirt... shiny smooth bottom shoes'
• 5 'made fer office carpet'
• 46 'the aforementioned vinyl wrapped truck'

'Fourteen thousand dollars.' 'Deal.' / 'Absolutely guaranteed.' (lands in 46)

• 46 'Thirty-three percent looks more like renegotiating'

Front discharge, three hundred foot of line, USA Concrete's drivers; 'toe to toe with one of their drivers' (lands in 46)

• 46 'Did you spot for the concrete truck?'

'Any spidey senses?' 'Nopers. No shill required. Six turns taken, and the deal's fourteen thousand.' (lands in 35, 42, 59)

• 35 'Stef's the frontman'
• 42 'Dance, Tom.'
• 59 'witness. Shill.'

'Two and a half trucks retails around seven grand, so that's seven and seven.' 'Mixed drinks.' (lands in 33, 46)

• 33 Sixty/forty
• 46 'They came in light closer to eight yards'

'I'm telling Emma.' 'She'd eat you alive.' 'I can be quite beguiling.' 'She would have you beheaded in minutes.' (lands in 7, 39, 57)

• 7 Emma sets the hook
• 39 'You're not ready for Emma yet'
• 57 Emma's recruit list

'How about that dodgeball team you're renting?' 'They all perfect gentlemen. I haven't the fish film thin first foggy eye idea what you're so exhausted about' (lands in 16, 45)

• 16 'guys went un-picked for dodgeball'
• 45 'the dodgeball coach. She's our neighbor'

'They bought me a chicken biscuit from Chik Fil a and they whistle while they work.' (lands in 42, 45)

• 42 Pancakes
• 45 'Stefanie said you were awesome and awesome to her'

'It looks like the castle's ramparts out in the garage... your douche canoe is parking outside tonight.' (lands in 1, 50)

• 1 'your douche canoe Hummer is literally pressed flat up against the wall'
• 50 'Everyone's camping tonight'

'Boys are on their bess behavior is all.' 'Nope. Leadership change.' (lands in 6, 40, 45)

• 6 'On his bess behavior 's all'
• 40 'You's the bosses'
• 45 'You obliterated my authority with your pancakes'

'They wash their hands for breakfast, and I don't freeze them half to death like you do, tyrant.' (lands in 9, 34)

• 9 'We're freezing our little asses off'
• 34 The shed retrofit

'Three loads went to storage today, and they got your whole workshop packed in the trailer' (lands in 43, 50)

• 43 Thirty red totes
• 50 'Two full ten by ten storage units'

'So one more day?' 'Two to be safe.' / 'We got safety issues here too. I promised Monday.' (lands in 45, 46)

• 45 'Who can work tomorrow?'
• 46 'I promised Monday' – the concrete trucks

'The dam's got more drool than a St. Bernard.' (lands in 50, 55)

• 50 'Right now it's just drooling over the top, diffused – slobber'
• 55 'The dam drooled for a month. It mattered.'

'I decided that other thing too.' 'The apartment?' 'I don't feel safe there... Karen keeps telling me to move home.' (lands in 29, 47, 53)

• 29 'You and Clover go to the apartment idea'
• 47 'Karen's pretty excited me and Clover are coming'
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'Don't you dare pull a full Bill shit stir with his Oh boy leading the way.' 'It's just – it's a told ya so, honey' (lands in 18, 22, 54)

• 18 'Oh boy!' – Bill
• 22 'the cauldron'
• 54 'two told-ya-so's in the same paragraph'

Chapter 45, January 19, 2024 (43 connections)

Friday, January 19, 'Welcome home.' The crew wants Stef back; 'You're family.' Tanner made to hold hands – and won't let go – when Betty Wiggins speaks from behind her screen: 'We're not sleeping.' Charlie and Bobbie, Bobbie paints; 'Tanner Haggard, you let that man go'; Miss Betty heard the mailbox go in from her porch; a new-neighbor visit owed. 'This creeper' owns the easement; forgiveness doctrine, fifty-cent royalty. Boulders from Alcoa, man-size, for fifty-one feet of someone else's hillside. 'That's us. It's how we getcha.' Rusty places the stones; 'Who can work tomorrow?'

The line worth the page: 'We're not sleeping.' Betty Wiggins from behind her screen, into the middle of Michael telling the crew to keep it down. The woman who has watched Cody climb above her every day since 8 speaks for the first time, and the thing she interrupts is two grown men holding hands. The book's most-seeded witness arrives as a voice from a bluebird box.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69

'Mornin' boys! Welcome home.' (lands in 47, 62)

• 47 'Wel-come-home-guys' – the owl
• 62 'Welcome home.' twice

'Home is a warm bed – or at least a warm blueberry pancake.' 'Ya. We want Stef back.' (lands in 42, 44, 62)

• 42 Pancakes
• 44 'They called you the nice one'
• 62 'No pancake batter left.' 'Black magic.'

'Make sure the benches shed water – that means shovels, Cody. Just like I promised.' (lands in 11, 35, 56)

• 11 'You run a shovel?'
• 35 Springs seeping
• 56 'shovels'

'It's 7:57. We got three minutes.' 'Do you want a priest? Last requests?' 'A moment of silence.' (lands in 14, 37, 40)

• 14 'I'm a vampire'
• 37 'It's 7:30.' 'We're Smurfs.'
• 40 'It's exactly 7:53'

'Stefanie said you were awesome and awesome to her. Let's get at this day.' (lands in 42, 44)

• 42 Stef's crew
• 44 'They all perfect gentlemen'

The tape reel and the laser; 'Devin, keep notes'; saplings, the briar patch – 'cultivate': knock down the brown ones (lands in 3, 5, 28, 59)

• 3 'Left side, briar patch'
• 5 'Ever Fall he run up there knock all them briars down'
• 28 'Wiggin's blackberry come back'
• 59 Tanner's notebook (58)

'On Monday there will be concrete trucks and workers and this site's first commercial project.' / places to park for hired crews / 'We're hired crew, you know?' 'You're family.' (lands in 21, 44, 46)

• 21 'I want them to be you'
• 44 'I promised Monday'
• 46 The trucks pass

'I ain't holdin hands again, Michael.' 'Yes you are, buddy. Come on, give me your hand.' / 'Tanner, your hand is so soft.' 'I'm gonna need more pancakes.' 'I'm telling your wife.' (lands in 21, 22, 54)

• 21 The vows
• 22 'We ain't holdin hands again, bossman'
• 54 'Smooth hands says it all, Tanner.'

'keep it down in case the neighbors are sleeping.' 'We're not sleeping.' 'Oh, hi!' – Betty from the screen; 'such a tender moment' (lands in 3, 8, 11)

• 3 'they'll come out shooting'
• 8 'behind all those window shades and shadows – watching him'
• 11 'She lives right there'

'only Charlie and Bobbie come up see they place, Bobbie paints you know... hung all over the school of nursing at UT' (lands in 47, 57)

• 47 'Charlie loves Bobbie, 8/11/89'
• 57 'Charlie and Bobbie Lovell... 1989'

'Tanner Haggard, you let that man go.' 'Yes, Ma'am. I don't want to though.' / 'Still one of my favorite boys... I knew you make something of your self. Got your own business.' (lands in 7, 43, 59)

• 7 Wiggins 'poured it into that boy' – Cody, not Tanner
• 43 'Wiggins was all over him'
• 59 Tanner's ring

'You and Cody Norman was down the roadside, put in that mailbox, and I hear all about it from my porch here.' / 'Plain sight, Tanner. Open door policy just like always.' (lands in 11, 42, 62)

• 11 The mailbox
• 42 'It's a good hide. Plain sight shelf works.'
• 62 Daffodils at her roadside

'someday soon, Michael. You and Stefanie owes a new-neighbor visit.' 'we'll come down and introduce ourselves properly.' (lands in 50)

• 50 'I'll have to stop in down there tomorrow and exchange phone numbers'

'Wiggins. She prefers Miss Betty.' / 'Miss Betty deserves a more natural view from her porch.' (lands in 46, 62)

• 46 'Do you see why I did boulders on the easement?' (47)
• 62 'Mrs. Wiggins' roadside'

'Is this easement her land – you said it belongs to this creeper.' 'It's his.' 'No. I've never met him. It's a long story.' (lands in 2, 24, 63, 68, 69)

• 2 Boyd's file
• 24 'Boyd, like the battle'
• 63 'We don't know the man'
• 68 'I own this land.' – the neighbor, at the equipment yard
• 69 'You said, the creeper, back when we were doing the boulders.'

Landscape boulders, man size or bigger; rip rap, two-inch, one-inch, three-quarter; 'a road sixty-thousand pound concrete trucks can pass' (lands in 44, 46, 67, 68)

• 44 Front discharge
• 46 'a hundred man size boulders, a whole truck worth of graded stone'
• 67 'You owe the credit card sixty-three thousand dollars, Michael.'
• 68 'I trapped him in the pinch between the high hill on the right – his land, and the drop off boulders'

'Newport where Peter and I got the bridge stone pallets' / 'that rock yard out in Alcoa near the airport.' 'Good eye, Devin.' (lands in 11, 24)

• 11 Peter and the bridge
• 24 The voussoir arch

'this isn't my land. I showed up here one day with a deed in hand as it were, and I never said hi to a soul... Forgiveness doctrine.' 'Fifty cent royalty.' (lands in 12, 32, 46)

• 12 'forgiveness was the dog that could never be petted all the way up'
• 32 'before I ever have to beg the forgiveness'
• 46 'I'm in the dirt, Stef, and I'm not stopping to ask permission'

'that dump trailer's been sitting in the sales lot since New Year's day' / the garden trailer from the shed-lumber day; two trips vs Lenoir City (lands in 30, 46)

• 30 Smokey Mountain Trailers
• 46 'it bent the axel on that trailer we bought for the shed lumber'

'the nurse's bed sheets thing.' 'You mean the Michael doubles the work thing.' 'Sheesh, I thought we were family.' 'You think that one burns, you should hang out with my sister.' (lands in 42, 63)

• 42 'That's my sister. Cody's right. She lies.'
• 63 'And we was callin' you sister.'

'Seriously, did you really buy three enclosed trailers for six thousand dollars apiece... that ain't normal here.' / 'Poverty everywhere because they waste and don't plan.' 'That's a little harsh.' 'dickish.' 'Straight dick.' 'Bent dick.' (lands in 44, 51)

• 44 'three enclosed trailers in a week'
• 51 'I'm a long-game man'

'a whole tote full of lathe tools and face mask. I don't see a lathe up here.' (lands in 43, 54, 61)

• 43 Thirty totes
• 54 'the lathe tools, for instance – to storage'
• 61 'the later stuff like the lathe tools'

Fifty-one feet; eighteen, then thirteen feet nine inches (lands in 63)

• 63 'eighteen feet down at the highest, taper to zero'

'Hey.' 'Hey.' 'This is getting familiar.' 'Yep, next you'll tell me something new and absurd' / 'Jealous.' (lands in 9, 54)

• 9 'So glad you asked.' 'That bad?'
• 54 'Wanna hear about my morning instead?'

'I was anchoring.' 'Down with the ship. Start over.' / 'Stops and interruptions.' 'Parables.' (lands in 13, 41, 49)

• 13 'I speak in interruptions and restarts'
• 41 'my life raft and your anchor'
• 49 'Parables.' 'Name's Slippers.'

'I think she's their English teacher or something' / 'the dodgeball coach' (lands in 7, 16)

• 7 Mrs. Wiggins the counselor
• 16 'un-picked for dodgeball'

'You obliterated my authority with your pancakes – blueberries, that's ridiculous – and they let me know it. They called you the nice one.' (lands in 43, 44)

• 43 'Stefanie's nicer.'
• 44 'Leadership change'

'I was right about the blackberries sign that first day. There's this screen around the porch' (lands in 3, 28)

• 3 'this Blackberries for sale sign'
• 28 'You see that sign down there lean 'gainst the house?'

'This lady's so sweet I can't imagine she curls her hair for fear of hurting its feelings.' 'That's us. It's how we getcha.' 'Us?' 'What?' 'Nevermind.' (lands in 25, 42, 60)

• 25 'Born 'n raised in these hills'
• 42 'I know how to dial it up too'
• 60 'The Henry women. They're a force.'

'Death grip, fingers intertwined... this is just between classes fuck all for this kid.' / 'Give that boy a raise. That's an order.' (lands in 19, 59)

• 19 'you need me to trust you'
• 59 Tanner's two thousand

'They charged like twenty-two hundred dollars. How many loads are there?' 'You're watching..?' (lands in 41, 46)

• 41 'Are you auditing me?'
• 46 'A hundred boulders... bent the axel'

'be careful you don't get sideways on those rocks, you'll throw a track for sure' (lands in 56)

• 56 The skid in the mud

'Two pallets there, like ten boulders.' 'Can't get more than that at once. It'll crush the trailer.' (lands in 13, 46)

• 13 Cody on the forks
• 46 'the last load was three pallets, and it bent the axel'

'Rusty hop out of there. That's me work.' / 'Can't block off this waterway, or the water backup will flood Betty's yard.' / 'Even if it popped all at once... two, maybe three feet deep.' (lands in 56, 57)

• 56 'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide'
• 57 Mernie: 'it wipe out the house where your friend Betty lives'

'Dig creek side. Place boulders. Dig out patch material. Stack it here. Rip rap, patch material, Two-inch, Road top.' 'You got the eye for it. Do you have the hand?' 'Absolutely.' 'Okay, Change. You do it then.' (lands in 40, 56)

• 40 'switch seats today. I wanna see Rusty dig'
• 56 Rusty in the skid

'Who can work tomorrow?' '---' 'No takers. It's a sweet pot. I'll go cash-pay and forty an hour.' 'Me.' 'Me.' / 'That boy don't work weekends.' (lands in 6, 25, 46)

• 6 'I can't work the weekends'
• 25 Saturday at the dam
• 46 'This weekend was nuts!'

Chapter 46, January 22, 2024 (41 connections)

Monday, January 22. Stef to Chattanooga; Michael to the driveway test – a hundred boulders, the bent axle, twenty thousand on the neighbor's land for the other neighbor's view. 'Suspicious Activity Reports are a real thing.' The concrete trucks pass. A vinyl-wrapped GC bounces off the dig. Ayers comes in light – two trucks, not three – asks the two-step question, gets his check and 'get lost'; 'You don't pay for the service. You pay her to leave.' The toilet lid set in concrete; seven seats for a mismatched life. Cody's tirade – high-and-mighty, 'All the same' – 'I won't be the person to punish you for your feelings.' 'Coward.' 'Play it back with your recording.'

The line worth the page: 'I won't be the person to punish you for your feelings – I'll leave that to you.' Michael's one explicit statement of the punishment thesis in his own mouth, said to Cody after the toilet-seat tirade; 54 is the gentler form ('you're not being punished here by it') and the banked doctrine ('punishment punishes the punisher') is its gloss. He refuses the stone and hands it to the boy, and the boy calls him a coward for it.

Connected chapters: 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35, 41, 44, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70

Stef to Chattanooga with Phil; 'Who's taking Clover out?' (lands in 3, 49, 50)

• 3 Phil and the warrant
• 49 'Department of Revenue'
• 50 'I'm taking Clover out'

'Today's the big test on the driveway repair.' – a hundred boulders at a hundred-sixty-five, three trucks of rock, the bent axle (lands in 45, 47, 63, 68)

• 45 'Two pallets there, like ten boulders'
• 47 'Do you see why I did boulders on the easement?'
• 63 'the roads are connected'
• 68 'I trapped him in the pinch between the high hill on the right – his land, and the drop off boulders'

'You cannot keep taking out five-hundred-dollar withdrawals like that. Suspicious Activity Reports are a real thing, and you're actually using them for cash pay. That's not legal.' (lands in 35, 41, 59)

• 35 'You're a rolling SARS report'
• 41 'Phil's desk, Michael'
• 59 Six thousand at the counter

'Yeah, crime of the century.' 'Michael. It's not the value of the crime. It's just that it's a crime.' (lands in 10, 30, 67)

• 10 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in'
• 30 'I'm not a criminal anymore'
• 67 'A Thirteen-thousand dollar bounced check is a crime.'

'The whole economy up there is cash.' 'Poor communities are the only places left in America where cash even moves anymore.' / 'run for Congress... you're the poster child' (lands in 25, 28, 56, 70)

• 25 'Can't granish cash' (56)
• 28 'this valley git along just fine a hundred years' (48)
• 56 'I work with Blalock. Can't granish cash.'
• 70 'play with our ways work all these hundred years ain't nobody never complain how we get by'

'So you spent twenty-thousand dollars on the neighbor's land to make a pretty view from the other neighbor's porch?' 'More or less. I'm in the dirt, Stef, and I'm not stopping to ask permission.' / 'I think you could have just handed them ten-thousand' (lands in 21, 45, 63, 67)

• 21 'the want'
• 45 'Forgiveness doctrine'
• 63 'We don't know the man'
• 67 'You owe the credit card sixty-three thousand dollars, Michael.'

'If we put in construction gravel, that whole span looks – humanized.' 'We're humans.' / 'the responsibility that comes with being human is to do things the best you can' (lands in 8)

• 8 'It's the responsibility comes with being human, Cody'

'Greenpeace, easy.' / 'These aren't progressive ideas. They're carry-on ideas... no more conservative notion than to take care of what you have' (lands in 6, 21)

• 6 'super protective of the hardwoods'
• 21 'one bucket at a time'

'Don't spend it all hoping that I'll let you build the house because we don't have the money for a contractor.' 'That'd be some long game shit, right there.' (lands in 17, 51, 54)

• 17 'You're not building the house'
• 51 'I'm a long-game man'
• 54 'I told you not to spend boulder money and cry poor.'

'Hey, Matt.' 'That driveway looks awesome!' 'I thought sure I'd be getting another spray contract over there.' 'No chance. I went with the natural fix.' (lands in 44, 45)

• 44 Ayers hired
• 45 The boulders

'the aforementioned vinyl wrapped truck is a contractor come up try and talk me into the GC build includes the dog washing station and the built in cotton candy maker' / 'I'm Michael.' 'I'm Michael too.' (lands in 44, 62, 63, 65)

• 44 'that's no shiny vinyl wrap truck'
• 62 Three GC appointments
• 63 'I'm on the GC hunt again'
• 65 'the I dare you price... a built in cotton candy maker'

'Our subs won't like fitting in someone else's dig.' / 'Hole's either big enough, or it's not.' / 'That was easy. Sorry I took your time.' (lands in 63, 66)

• 63 'That one fella got a point. Hard time find someone let you dig the hole.'
• 66 'My men dig the house seat. And that ain't the place fer it.'

'Hey, bossman, Trucks came up fine. You guys did a good job there.' (lands in 44, 45)

• 44 'USA Concrete's got the best drivers up here'
• 45 Rip rap, two-inch, top course

'Do you want me to taper and swale this bottom?' / 'a clean-up load would take an hour' / 'They came in light closer to eight yards... and they planned for a third truck.' 'Thirty-three percent looks more like renegotiating.' (lands in 44, 47)

• 44 'Two and a half trucks'
• 47 'Two concrete trucks actually.' 'You said there'd be three.'

'That equation's got a line under it you can't erase with the other end of the pencil. You know what you did, and I know what you did. And best you can do now is finish up. Here's your check. Finish the job and get lost.' (lands in 9, 41, 47)

• 9 'Sometimes the question answers itself'
• 41 'I bark, you deliver the package'
• 47 'I gave him the check and told him to get lost.' 'Paid and ugly.'

'What just happened?' 'No two-step required, Cody. That man knew what he was doing' (lands in 15, 30)

• 15 'Some dance is manners. Just a little two step'
• 30 'The biggest lie of all is the South has manners'

'He bid for twenty-five yards... thirteen-hundred square feet at six-inches – a proper wall.' 'Yeah right, I see it.' – Rusty (lands in 63)

• 63 'Quick run of the rotary laser'

'It's step one of the two-step; ask if I want him to do his actual job, or is it my decision that he skip it.' / 'I saw a differnt thing.' 'I know you did, Cody. You saw me cut to the chase, and you saw you on the other end.' (lands in 14, 25, 51)

• 14 The table speech
• 25 'I come at it straight – bit more like a Rook'
• 51 'I'm the first of the kind'

'Yeah, but why you pay him?' / 'all I did was lose. Ayers still walks the community got my shit kiss on his mouth... I don't have to chase the cheater across three counties getting levies on his bank accounts... I got rid of him cheap.' / 'You don't pay for the service. You pay her to leave.' 'Exactly, Rusty.' (lands in 20, 47)

• 20 'don't make an asshole outa me' (Bill on Michael's move)
• 47 'you'll run into him at the grocery store'

'the benching was the job. The shotcrete was just the finish... shale, that's class-A soil, and a fifty-up-fifty-back cut qualifies as supported' (lands in 32, 35, 67, 69)

• 32 'a legal retaining wall before I ever have to beg the forgiveness'
• 35 'He hit some shale tops'
• 67 'one huge wall with an engineering bill... or it's terraced benches with short walls'
• 69 'We're into the shale tops now. Lots of crumble rock.' / 'The second bench got blue rock in it.'

'How you know all this shit?' 'Years, Cody. I learned it just about the way you learned it and just about at the same age. One day you'll be the old hand.' (lands in 22, 59)

• 22 'I have forgotten more about making and backing up and paying for my threats'
• 59 'Baptism without the fire. Just like you.'

'So, he's paid, and he don't come back to break the windows.' / 'guys run the gag, ask if you want the wheels back on the car after the rotation' (lands in 26, 27)

• 26 'so they come back and break the windows'
• 27 The window trim gag

'That's some image clouds.' 'Called mixed metaphors, and sometimes they show the storm's brewing.' (lands in 14, 55, 57)

• 14 'image clouds' coined
• 55 'Image clouds.' (Tanner)
• 57 Mernie's storm

'Toilet lid's stuck shut with concrete.' 'It's the windows, then.' / seven toilet seats; 'When one breaks, money will have discontinued the one I like, and I'll have a mismatched life.' (lands in 4, 41, 47)

• 4 'two completely different doors' – the mismatched pair
• 41 The raccoons in the toilet
• 47 'That thing is – special.'

'All the same.' 'What's that, Cody?' 'Now you act can't afford ears?' / 'Them seats, they's expensive... You throwin' out a toilet seat cost two hours my work... make ever body watch you waste money we ain't got.' (lands in 30, 51, 54)

• 30 'All you the same'
• 51 'All the same. Think they know ever thing.'
• 54 'All the same.' 'Aw, come on Cody, don't get mad.'

'Cody, friend, bought and paid for, you ain't wrong, but you're not even close to right.' / 'I ain't your friend, paid or otherwise. I'm here to work' (lands in 15, 22, 30)

• 15 'We're all bought and paid for'
• 22 'That's what friends are for'
• 30 'pay them to be your friend'

'And why do you work, Cody? You got thirty years coming of this shit' / 'I do it feed my family.' / 'you could feed your family with berries and roots. Why work with someone gives you such bile?' (lands in 8, 21, 25)

• 8 'walnuts... ginseng. And that's all me.'
• 21 'your belly won't wait for your wisdom'
• 25 'all my income combined'

'You judge all you like. That man just work, and you tell him leave off... you git yer wall, and you git yer high-and-mighty too.' (lands in 12, 54)

• 12 'stay his hand the stone'
• 54 'You're not being punished here by it. You're just being asked to keep accurate books.'

'I won't be the person to punish you for your feelings – I'll leave that to you. But you gotta understand I meant it when I said that I will protect these men. This tyrade has a best-before-date on it, and you've run past fresh.' (lands in 22, 32)

• 22 'I will make the victim whole with your ass'
• 32 'not without firing your whole damned crew'

'Coward.' / 'Run that one back, Cody. See what it gets you. Play it back with your recording from the grill. Tell me what it tells you.' (lands in 14, 28, 50, 54)

• 14 The recording made
• 28 'Coward, slave to they money'
• 50 'Coward piss in a cup'
• 54 'It's my lullaby'

'get the chainsaw, get Rusty and Devin, and get up on that deer trail and start cutting trees for the road to come.' / 'Get all three of them lined up neat and tidy so I can install a camera that catches all three doors.' (lands in 32, 50, 54, 61)

• 32 'this tree is protecting the Maple'
• 50 The saw
• 54 'the back driveway and the switchback'
• 61 'clean up the trailers'

Chapter 47, January 28, 2024 (39 connections)

Sunday, January 28, a gorgeous day. Michael drove past the church as they let out; 'We need a golf cart.' The four-hooter: 'Get-off-my-Land' / 'Wel-come-home-guys'; hoot and shoot, Google sending the article. The shotcrete wall is bright – two trucks, not three, the lamp out of wishes, paid and ugly. The dam sheeting like a weir, the skid tracks as relief valve, still a guess to her. The bridge like it was never not here. Cody's signed Beechnut left to protect the maple; the raccoon toilet 'not clean, but cleaned'; paper towels, denial. Karen's, showers. The back driveway. Then the other Beechnut: 'Charlie loves Bobbie, 8/11/89' – the closing date in the title. 'You should love me like that.' Tanglefoot from the Co-op.

The line worth the page: 'Charlie loves Bobbie, 8/11/89.' / 'That's the day they bought this land. It's in the Title paperwork.' The county's record and the state's record agree for once, on a tree, and the only reason the couple knows is that Cody scalped the tree next to it. 'You should love me like that' is Stef's, and the book answers her at 63 with an anniversary and ten daffodils.

Connected chapters: 3, 6, 8, 11, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68

'What a gorgeous day!' / 'We need a golf cart.' / 'I'm gonna get one of those electric golf carts this week that we saw at Lowes' (lands in 48, 55, 56, 64)

• 48 'talk about get a golf cart'
• 55 'Let's go buy a golf cart.'
• 56 'What happened to the golf cart idea?'
• 64 'Did you get the golf cart?'

'I drove by your church just as they were letting you all out... three different puddles of people all taking pictures.' (lands in 36, 39, 64)

• 36 Stef's first Sunday
• 39 Emma out the church door
• 64 'How was church?'

'I love the weekends.' 'It's so peaceful.' / 'Hear that owl? They call him a four-hooter... Get-off-my-Land, Get-off-my-land.' 'Nope, we got a deal. We'll share. Wel-come-home-guys.' (lands in 6, 25, 31, 45, 62)

• 6 'four-hooter rat'
• 25 Owl calls parsed
• 31 'mine-mine, mine, mine. We'll share'
• 45 'Welcome home'
• 62 'Welcome home.'

'My phone's been up here with me two months now. Google heard those owls, and it sent me the article' (lands in 26, 31)

• 26 'live by the network, die by the network'
• 31 'the accompaniment... transcribing my breath'

'Spoken by the lady on the government dole.' 'Paycheck, Michael.' (lands in 43)

• 43 'Compliance at badge-point'

'You're still a little out of breath.' 'I don't know how you do it all day, up and down that hill.' / 'I can't imagine a little exercise is bad for me' (lands in 3, 31, 62)

• 3 'Sounds like you're struggling'
• 31 'The hardest thing I do is walk up and down that hill'
• 62 'You're literally replying two words at time'

'Wow. That's pretty bright.' 'It's like a concrete truck crashed and smeared concrete down the face of the hill.' 'Two concrete trucks actually.' 'You said there'd be three.' / 'It's bright.' 'You said that.' 'It repeats all by itself.' (lands in 46, 59)

• 46 Two trucks; 'Thirty-three percent'
• 59 'the concrete pad for the workshop' – the advance pay

'the curse is here finally... Either that or the lamp ran out of wishes.' 'Rub harder.' (lands in 35, 43)

• 35 'I rubbed the lamp'
• 43 'whether the wishes run out after three'

'The problem with conflict up here, you'll run into him at the grocery store.' 'I'll look him in the eye and nod.' / 'Paid and ugly.' 'Yup, both ways.' (lands in 20, 46)

• 20 'I see you more at the grocery store'
• 46 'Here's your check. Finish the job and get lost.'

'When the workshop comes though, it'll cover almost all the whole wall' / 'A thousand square foot building... fifty bucks a foot... we can't build a blight to hide the blight. Needs windows and doors – garage bay doors like the shop in Hardin Valley. Cedar shake' (lands in 27, 54, 59, 65)

• 27 'It's my wildest dream.'
• 54 'We still have... the workshop'
• 59 'the workshop pad'
• 65 'When are we building the workshop?'

'Do you see why I did boulders on the easement?' 'I see it. You can't shine this at the neighbor's front porch.' (lands in 45, 46, 68)

• 45 'Miss Betty deserves a more natural view'
• 46 'twenty-thousand dollars on the neighbor's land'
• 68 'I trapped him in the pinch between the high hill on the right – his land, and the drop off boulders'

'When we plugged the spill pipe – the water. It rained a half inch three times this week, and it overflowed.' / freeboard; skid steer tracks as relief valve; 'the dam's old. Way old.' (lands in 34, 50, 55, 65)

• 34 'I want ten dump trucks worth on there at least to keep it plugged'
• 50 'The pond is fuller than a tick right now'
• 55 'The dam drooled for a month. It mattered.'
• 65 'Free board is right too. Two feet.'

'Jury's still out on that mudslide guess.' 'Not a guess.' 'Guess.' / 'This sheeting supports my thesis... like any one of those old timey ladder dams' 'A weir.' 'My English teacher was Alan Weir.' (lands in 11, 24, 62, 65)

• 11 'So you're guessing?'
• 24 'a ten thousand year arch that starts a million years into the holler's history'
• 62 'You accused me of making up the million year old dam' – the young-tree swath
• 65 'Those are pioneer species... Don't build this higher. Ever. It already collapsed once.'

'That bridge fits in, though. It's like it was never not here.' (lands in 11, 34, 65)

• 11 Peter
• 34 'This bridge sets us up on the septic side'
• 65 'Now tell me about that bridge. That thing is gorgeous!'

'I see Cody was here.' 'Yeah, we'll have to take that one. Two-hundred-fifty years, and Cody Norman's the last ring in its history.' 'Cody's probably got a couple rings in there with all his years up here.' 'Probably shot dinner out of it a dozen times' (lands in 8, 32, 48, 65)

• 8 'It's me gets the buck ever' year'
• 32 The Beechnut girdled
• 48 Mrs. King's rent credit to cut 'that tree'
• 65 'once he gets a hit tree or some other spiteful shit behind him'

'I Left it standing for now to protect the Maple.' 'Too bad it wasn't the other way around.' (lands in 32)

• 32 'this tree is protecting the Maple from Cody's accidents'

'Wish in a bucket would never fill up for a toilet flush.' / 'That thing is – special.' 'A holler needs a toilet in the yard, Stef. Dontchoo know nothin.' / 'Supposed to have flowers in it.' 'Well, this one's a raccoon bath. Been back every night.' 'Not clean, but cleaned.' (lands in 34, 38, 41, 63)

• 34 'I have to. It's shared ownership'
• 38 'a shitter in the sun'
• 41 Lenny and George
• 63 Daffodils – the flowers the toilet was supposed to have

'Why don't you just remember the paper towels?' 'Why don't you?' 'I'm in denial.' (lands in 41, 48)

• 41 'I need paper towels on the list for sure'
• 48 'wrap them in moistened and wrung dry paper towels'

'Karen's pretty excited me and Clover are coming to stay there.' 'I bet she is. I am too.' 'You get to play homeless camping boy in the woods again.' 'I wasn't playing then' (lands in 31, 44, 53)

• 31 The tent in Albany
• 44 'I decided that other thing too'
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'where are you going to shower?' 'I guess I'll come up to Karen's every couple days.' (lands in 55, 56, 67)

• 55 'I didn't get to shower, so I'll probably stop in tomorrow'
• 56 'the longest hottest shower that modern life has to offer'
• 67 'I can't fit a shower in that shed anyway, but coming up here every two days…'

'in order to put in the spill pipe, we have to lower the water like a foot and a half. We can't do that in the rain.' 'So, Monday, then?' (lands in 52, 54)

• 52 The spillway set Tuesday
• 54 'Six hours, ten inches down' (52)

'I started them on the back driveway.' 'What's a back driveway?' – the switchback to a basement garage (lands in 54, 61, 62, 66)

• 54 'you two get back to the back driveway and the switchback'
• 61 'The road needs drainage to the gully'
• 62 'see how we took those trees up – the switchback?'
• 66 'they better put a drain tile cross that switchback or it won't be a road no more come June'

'Looks like Cody signed this one too.' 'Christ, that kid's a menace.' 'Oh my god.' 'Charlie loves Bobbie, 8/11/89.' 'That's the day they bought this land. It's in the Title paperwork.' (lands in 45, 50, 57)

• 45 'only Charlie and Bobbie come up see they place'
• 50 'The Charlie tree?' 'Yes, the Bobbie tree.'
• 57 'Charlie and Bobbie Lovell... tax forfeiture auction in 1989'

'So they came up here after their closing just like we did, and they signed a tree to mark the occasion.' 'You should love me like that.' (lands in 51, 63)

• 51 'So, that's it. We sold our home.' – their own closing
• 63 Ten years; 'Happy Anniversary!'

'And it's a Beechnut too. I'm having visions of The Jerk, he hates these cans.' / 'We have to repair this tree while it's still wet. Run up to the Farmer's Co-op and get a can of Tanglefoot.' (lands in 32, 48)

• 32 'that tree is dead as sure as you stand here'
• 48 'Awesome, they had it.' The bridge graft

Chapter 48, January 28, 2024 (40 connections)

Sunday, January 28, the other side of the ridge. Cody came back without the saw – the couple was up there, talking about a golf cart. Mrs. King will give three months' rent to cut that tree. Tanner delivers the laptop to the porch: the record, the reference, 'It's your turn for the next two weeks.' Lonnie: 'That ain't your land.' 'Been our land all my life.' Bid jobs on the weekends, borrow the machines; 'He's sick. That's plain.' Autopopulate ain't no word; 'I don't want no withholding' – and the levy: one-fifty this week. Back at the Drip: Tanglefoot, the bridge graft; 'jail junkie... the jail is of his own making'; 'the cell is mind forged.' A bear lies down on the ridge. 'She looks different.'

The line worth the page: 'They's levy my bank account, and this week I only get one-fifty.' Cody's levy, said on his father's porch to Tanner, retroactively explains five weeks of cash-pay pressure and every sabotage of the invoice system; 46 had Michael threaten 'levies' as a hypothetical against Ayers the week before, and 56 gives Lonnie the same garnishment from the lumber-yard years. Three generations of the same word, and only Cody says the number.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 69, 70

'Why you back empty handed, boy?' 'His old lady's up thar with him.' / 'talk about get a golf cart' (lands in 47, 50, 56)

• 47 'We need a golf cart.' – the walk Cody overheard
• 50 'So you set up on that high ridge, and you overlook him?'
• 56 'What happened to the golf cart idea?'

'This needa stay shirt pocket close. We need that saw cut that tree, but you need stay on the crew too.' (lands in 28, 47, 50)

• 28 'And now I'm inside'
• 47 'Two-hundred-fifty years, and Cody Norman's the last ring'
• 50 The saw in the hollow oak

'Mrs. King give us three months rent we come cut that tree today.' / 'Don't do no good. Meghan's mama pay the rent.' (lands in 5, 43, 65, 70)

• 5 'I paid Mrs. King rent here since you was no older'n Layla'
• 43 'It's like Mom is keeping that whole family up'
• 65 'Jed move out, and I'm move in. That's the plan. Red one's to rent.'
• 70 'don't want Mrs. King come over, and we got the hood up'

'Keep quiet. Let me do the talkin.' / 'It's Merica, ain't it? Free country on a man's own free porch.' (lands in 5, 25, 46)

• 5 'he think he 'Merican'
• 25 'Deddy, I told you let me do the talkin' (inverted)
• 46 'Devin, you mind your business'

'Your notes.' 'I don't spell good.' / 'I seen that, kiss-ass.' 'It's not kiss-ass, Cody. It's the record. It's the reference.' / 'It's his record, his reference. It's his job, put on us.' (lands in 35, 54, 59, 65, 70)

• 35 'Tanner, kiss ass, 8'
• 54 'keep accurate books'
• 59 'What you need is to keep records'
• 65 'Me work is teaching you to right work, Cody.' 'Right to who?'
• 70 'he give away a company, brag all his friends how smart he is teach monkeys keep the books'

'that shit might work up there with Lonnie, but I ain't gonna let you railroad me in your spite engine' (lands in 6, 43, 65)

• 6 'put spite in that stupid war'
• 43 'He's spiteful – but no cause for it'
• 65 'once he gets a hit tree or some other spiteful shit behind him'

'forty hours a week for the last five weeks, and the money's good. The work's easy. The man's hard, but he's honest – too honest.' / 'That man ain't honest, Tanner... you ain't come up here say he honest on my porch.' (lands in 56, 70)

• 56 'Tell me that man honest. Ain't no good.'
• 70 'The money is good, and he says it's a two year build.'

'Howdy to you too, Lonnie. Long time since I seen you.' 'Now he got the two step, Deddy.' (lands in 7, 30, 46)

• 7 'Lonnie. It's a long time since I seen you.' (Mernie)
• 30 'the two-step'
• 46 'No two-step required'

'You took the job, Cody. You took it. The man told you the terms, and you said, I do.' (lands in 21, 22, 32)

• 21 The vows
• 22 'Imagine Cody Norman, Vice President'
• 32 'You can't fire me'

'I come up here to give you the computer so you can do your part... print the invoice, and hand it over.' (lands in 35, 41, 56)

• 35 'a computer and a printer'
• 41 Lonnie dropped the first one
• 56 'I got me a laptop now. Thankee, Yankee.'

'All that man want cheap labor, build a palace keep me off my land.' 'What the hell are you talking about, Lonnie? That ain't your land. It never was.' / 'Been our land all my life... we hunt and fish up thar, near ever meal' (lands in 2, 8, 28, 70)

• 2 'Lonnie hadn't split. He'd stayed.'
• 8 'Think he get the deer feeds us a month'
• 28 'we git our holler back'
• 70 'Other night we sneak in the holler instead, Lonnie got a Bullhead, and that shed light go off we gotta split.'

'Why we can't take our business somewhere else?' / 'We could bid jobs somewhere else, like on the weekends.' / 'We borrow them machines on the weekend when he ain't thar.' (lands in 6, 25, 47)

• 6 'I can't work the weekends'
• 25 Saturday at the dam
• 47 'He works the machines all weekend' – Michael's Sundays

'he's moving into that shed on Tuesday... every time we come in on Monday, he's got some pile of dirt or some hole' (lands in 47, 49, 50)

• 47 The back driveway started on a weekend
• 49 'Tonight's my last night sleeping in a home'
• 50 He comes a night early

'That soff Yankee ain't stay livin' in no shed middle a Winter.' / 'You're both wrong. He's sick. That's plain, but I wouldn't call him soft... if something gets hard, he'll just buy the fix for it.' (lands in 3, 34, 54, 59)

• 3 The bleb
• 34 'bag of air time bomb'
• 54 'you've been sleeping in there without heat?'
• 59 'The confidence of disposable income'

'I ain't get beholdin to that Yankee.' / 'You got a no for every could be, Cody... You'd fight the water hose if you were on fire.' (lands in 21, 46, 59)

• 21 'You won't be won, Cody'
• 46 'I ain't your friend, paid or otherwise'
• 59 'I won't take it.' 'Then Rusty can't have it.'

'I got twisted in a knot here... we from kiss ass to bright idea to can't do that with more bumps and turns in it than that easement up there.' / 'Twistin words.' (lands in 3, 21, 45)

• 3 The easement washout
• 21 'Twisting words.' 'No, Cody, twisting the clock.'
• 45 The boulders

'Here's the last four invoices. Use them to make this week's invoice... the total autopopulates.' 'Autopopulate ain't no word.' / 'It's your turn for the next two weeks.' (lands in 21, 41, 58, 65)

• 21 'you pass the books'
• 41 'It's Tuesday, buddy'
• 58 'remember all of that detail in your invoice this week, Cody'
• 65 'It's your turn again already?' 'Keep the check. Ain't worth all that.'

'If I don't get it done, he just pay cash.' 'Cody, you can't sabotage for cash. That man won't fall for it.' 'I don't want no withholding.' 'The IRS says you pay taxes, not him.' (lands in 6, 28, 41, 70)

• 6 'I don't pay no taxes'
• 28 'Make you boys file the paperwork'
• 41 'You can just pay cash' (twice)
• 70 'We live on that 1099 money all our lives, and we ain't file taxes.'

'them laptop computers got they little knee-bow programs in em so a man can't even work a little trade make a couple bucks tie the one end to the other'n' (lands in 7, 56, 57)

• 7 'Who needs college? Our little girl has a Samsung.'
• 56 Lonnie at the cracked screen all night
• 57 Bernie to the end of the internet

'You worked for me at my grandma's for fifteen an hour. This is twenty... six hundred... six-fifty – plus here you got Workman's Comp and Disability insurance' (lands in 6, 9, 15)

• 6 'you did good work with me at my Grandma's'
• 9 Twenty an hour
• 15 'twenty an hour is more than I've made anywhere else'

'Pay's not the same. They's levy my bank account, and this week I only get one-fifty.' / 'I owes money on the fines, and soon enough the judgement start collectin'' (lands in 14, 51, 56, 59)

• 14 '$79 for the last payment on the tickets'
• 51 'restitution is ten thousand dollars. Unpaid to date'
• 56 'Shame me again, granish the wage' – Lonnie's own
• 59 'the court has been garnishing his wages'

'I won't let your unpaid debts mess up my life too.' 'Don't mess up my life.' / 'Are you deliberately skipping it so the bill collectors can't find you?' / 'If you get it behind you, you won't be held prisoner by it anymore.' (lands in 14, 15, 51, 69)

• 14 No license
• 15 Ten days
• 51 'I gave you money for a driver's license almost forty days ago'
• 69 'did you get your license when it was my money?'

'Awesome, they had it.' 'I never heard of Tanglefoot in my life.' – the bridge graft from the apple orchard website; clonal sprouts in the refrigerator till March (lands in 32, 47)

• 32 'clonal root sprouts'
• 47 'a can of Tanglefoot'

'This one only goes around about a third of the way. It won't like it, but it might survive. There's no track treads on the root bed here, so I think he hit it from a distance' (lands in 47)

• 47 'Cody Norman's the last ring'

'I try to believe he's just a human like the rest of us, and that he'll rise to the occasion if he just has a different point of view... I've never had a guy try so hard to prove I'm wrong before.' 'Menace.' (lands in 49, 51)

• 49 'point of view'
• 51 'I have every reason to hold out hope for you'

'I did choose to have three members so that if one person becomes a problem, the other two can vote him off the island, but I don't want to introduce that technology to the guys so early.' (lands in 15, 21, 59)

• 15 'We need three'
• 21 'I guess we'll vote on that'
• 59 'Cody voted to take the full twenty'

'I've lived here all my life, and the Codys of the world aren't hard to find.' 'You just don't like the drugs history.' 'I locked up a lot of people for drugs... It's like he's looking out from behind the bars clocking the guard's schedule.' 'But the cell is mind forged.' 'He's like a jail junkie, but the jail is of his own making.' (lands in 7, 14, 16, 43)

• 7 'Cody's the monster under his own bed'
• 14 'Play just dumb enough'
• 16 'He's you.' – revised
• 43 'plausible deniability'

'I can't really fire the kid, so I'm forced to create work-arounds and build my tolerance.' 'Don't fall too far the other way though.' 'I can't make everyone the tree guy either.' / 'It was ten years ago, honey. I literally hired the man to cut the tree so that the other tree would not be injured.' / 'You're a hot-head sometimes.' 'It's situational.' (lands in 16, 32, 47)

• 16 'Self provoked'
• 32 'not without firing your whole damned crew'
• 47 'I Left it standing for now to protect the Maple'

'Did you hear that?' 'That stick. There she is.' – the bear on the ridge where the light is; 'They watch us.' 'Like audience?' 'No, more like they cast an eye between footfalls.' 'Is she laying down?' 'Must like you.' 'I could pet her little ears.' 'I asked the Raccoons' (lands in 17, 19, 31, 37, 62)

• 17 'She's fat like she's pregnant'
• 19 'I just want to pet their little ears'
• 31 'a stick breaks up on the hill'
• 37 'They's gettin' ready birth them cubs'
• 62 'For a second I saw a cub'

'I think she's the pregnant one, but she's too far for sure. She looks different.' (lands in 61)

• 61 'two different bears'

Chapter 49, January 29, 2024 (34 connections)

Monday, January 29, the last night in a home. The walking-cost lesson: thirteen hundred feet, $2.67 a man; Cody punches in from his house – 'That's stealing' – 'Ten bucks. Bill it.' An owner's point of view versus an employee's; 'I don't think I learned anything there.' Stef packs for Karen's; the batteries need a loading dock, which is the skid steer's front seat; coyotes and an AR. 'Name's Slippers.' Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days. FedEx crests the dam with the futon. Twelve Pytes batteries, a triage lesson, Unistrut, the shopping list in full. Thirty-three hundred at Home Depot: 'I need a place for the cocaine and hookers.' 'I love this man' three times.

The line worth the page: 'I'm not just giving away a company, I'm giving away the knowledge how to run a company – and that, more than any single other thing on all green Earth is a point of view.' The walking-cost lesson ends in the book's one definition of its own gift: not the corporation, not the tools, but the seat to see from. Cody's 'Started cuz you cheap' is an employee's reading of an owner's sentence, and the chapter is built to show him that.

Connected chapters: 9, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 63, 65, 66, 72

'That's a long walk from the Y.' 'One thousand three hundred feet, Cody.' / 'It's about six-hundred steps.' 'Are you seriously counting?' (lands in 9, 31, 40)

• 9 'You guys walked it six times.' 'Of course you counted.'
• 31 'Six times.' 'Camera, got it. You count too.'
• 40 'Four vehicles parked in the slip'

'it cost me two-dollars and sixty-seven cents to get each one of you up the hill. That's ten-dollars and sixty-eight cents to get my whole crew' (lands in 21, 54)

• 21 'the answer to this morning's word problem'
• 54 'cost about three bucks for us to carry it from the dam'

'Bossman, I punch in when I leave my house.' 'So, that's stealing, Cody.' / 'All them service call companies does it... dispatch from they house.' (lands in 37, 38, 51)

• 37 'you punched in at 6:15'
• 38 'That's a new crime right there'
• 51 'You steal from me by punching in from your house'

'That's a disclosure item though, Cody. It's upfront pricing requirements... there's a camera right at the property line, and the Ring cloud records your arrival time; today, seven fifty-three.' (lands in 18, 30, 45)

• 18 'early warning'
• 30 'Stef got by yesterday'
• 45 'It's 7:57'

'Look at the arc of the conversation... you're not a dispatched company, you're a contracted company. I'm willing to pay you ten bucks to come to work... Ten bucks. Bill it.' 'Started cuz you cheap.' (lands in 46)

• 46 'make ever body watch you waste money we ain't got'

'I'm not just giving away a company, I'm giving away the knowledge how to run a company – and that, more than any single other thing on all green Earth is a point of view... an owner's point of view and an employee's point of view – notice I didn't say POV, Rusty.' (lands in 32, 37, 48, 65)

• 32 'He said, POV.'
• 37 'owners don't get overtime'
• 48 'a different point of view to look at his future through'
• 65 'It's a job.' 'Then quit.' 'I mean the company is the job.'

'I couldn't have designed this lesson better with a whole human resources training packet.' 'So, um. I don't think I learned anything there.' (lands in 21, 55)

• 21 'I sure can't work the human resources office'
• 55 'I couldn't have designed a lesson better with a textbook' – Tanner

'Tonight's my last night sleeping in a home' (lands in 48, 50)

• 48 'he's moving into that shed on Tuesday'
• 50 He goes a night early

'How's the Department of Revenue today?' 'Packing up the last couple things to take to Karen's tomorrow morning. I'm taking the day off' (lands in 43, 53)

• 43 'Chef Chowder'
• 53 'It was awesome! I forgot how much I love it here'

'Did your batteries come?' 'out for delivery. The freight company called to confirm that we have a loading dock.' 'Where's that located?' 'The front seat of that skid steer.' (lands in 13, 34, 59)

• 13 Cody on the forks
• 34 'eight more batteries'
• 59 'the pallet comes rattling up the road on the skid steer'

'the thing that saves us from prying eyes and curious lookie-loos is the thing that makes a truck driver assume it's impassable... They're like Coyotes, if they can't see a way out, they're scared to come in.' 'Coyotes do okay with an AR though.' (lands in 19, 31, 55, 66, 72)

• 19 '(Raccoon, Coyote – Stef opens a case on the wildlife)'
• 31 'the quarter mile of winding gravel road below the pond is an alarm system'
• 55 'I don't worry about the coyotes, they can't climb trees'
• 66 'Nobody ever drove all the way up before.'
• 72 'Coming in hot.' 'Scared of the hill.'

'It's your own fault, Parables.' 'Name's Slippers.' 'Mikey Slippas.' (lands in 13, 18, 45, 56)

• 13 'Parables.'
• 18 'Slippers'
• 45 'Parables.'
• 56 'Don't lose your slippers'

'It's gonna be a year of this love by phone call crap, and she's got a comfy office with a ball-bust rolodex.' (lands in 29, 53)

• 29 'I work the build onsite, and you work the felons from a desk'
• 53 Ten-thirty smoking window

'my forty-two year old wife is sleeping in her childhood twin bed with her seventy-pound love-doodle.' 'How old am I?' 'April 27, 1982, Ma'am... Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days.' (lands in 16, 35, 53, 63)

• 16 'April 27, 1982, ma'am'
• 35 'Every day of your life got exactly twenty-four hours in it'
• 53 'same bed Tommy had as a boy'
• 63 'I was twenty-four when she graduated grade school'

'FedEx just crested the dam. He's up the driveway.' – the futon; 'This thing's heavy, bossman.' 'Delivery's free though.' 'Nope, cost about three bucks for us to carry it from the dam.' (lands in 34, 50, 54)

• 34 'Futon. But we won't put that in until a day or two before'
• 50 'The futon is set up'
• 54 'four heads popping up over the dam top'

'I love this country fried steak.' 'That's one thing we can agree on, Cody.' (lands in 54)

• 54 'a kid got something to prove and a country fried steak'

'I move in here tomorrow after the closing, and we're not ready yet. The cactus lived, so I guess there's that, but the weather report calls tomorrow night's low at twenty-seven.' 'You're gonna freeze your begonias off.' (lands in 34, 50)

• 34 'coalmine canary'
• 50 'The app says low of twenty-seven tonight'

Twelve Pytes batteries – the heater ran all night at sixty and drained them to twenty percent; sixteen would be eighty kilowatts but 'we can't charge that much' (lands in 54, 59)

• 54 'We don't have the batteries installed'
• 59 Top-balancing; 'Pytes batteries come with these purpose-built insulated copper straps'

'guess what takes a back seat.' 'Not the dam again.' 'That's it, Cody. The dam's gotta go on the back burner again' (lands in 52, 55, 65)

• 52 The spillway, finally
• 55 'That was the schedule. Priorities put it off.'
• 65 'Are we still on the dam?'

'this is a triage lesson. We have twenty-four hours to get these batteries installed, and we can't uninstall these four because they're nowhere near balanced' (lands in 35, 59)

• 35 'twenty-four hours... 'cept two'
• 59 'If they were not balanced... would crash amps into the under-charged one'

'Nope. Unistrut.' / 'Unistrut is like Erector Set for grown ups.' 'We were all girls in my family, Michael.' 'Yeah, but you knew what it was, or you wouldn't have gender rolled it.' (lands in 24, 52)

• 24 'Test the sun, stick the Unistrut'
• 52 Three racks of eight

'Get a Dr. Infrared DR-968 heater... That Duo is almost useless below forty degrees' (lands in 34, 50)

• 34 The Midea Duo
• 50 'Means no heat.'

The shopping list in full: sixty sticks of Superstrut, 192 spring nuts, the post hammer, the heater 'NOT the one with the humidifier' (lands in 35, 51)

• 35 'I'll text the supply list'
• 51 'Home Depot's got eight gauge wire on sale'

'What did you just spend thirty-three hundred dollars on at Home depot?' 'I need a place for the cocaine and hookers.' 'Maybe get Meth instead. We can't afford the good stuff.' 'The meth hookers are way cheaper.' 'I'm gonna revoke your hall pass.' (lands in 9, 41, 50)

• 9 'Meth capital'
• 41 'Are you auditing me?'
• 50 'Why not just have them bring dinner with the cocaine?'

'You know. I think the time apart will be good for us.' 'I'm feeling fonder already.' (lands in 29, 53)

• 29 'Where-are-we-going-to-live?'
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'I love this man, I love this man, I love this man.' – at the shopping list (lands in 16, 26, 34)

• 16 First
• 26 Second
• 34 'I need this job' ×3

Chapter 50, January 29, 2024 (37 connections)

Monday night, January 29, Pizza Hut last supper in an emptied house. Dirt bikes on the critter cam; Michael leaves a night early at a hundred on Pellissippi with Kitty screaming. The bikes go back to the pond twice and over the Charlie tree trail. A dark shed at forty-two degrees, no heat, the owl 'Real,' a bobcat on the eyeball cam, the pond fuller than a tick and drooling; pee in McDonald's cups, puzzle-pieced out of a home, Davey Crockett. On the ridge: Cody with the saw, the Z route around the new cam, 'Coward piss in a cup,' the moon big and southeast, the saw in the hollow oak by the tree stand.

The line worth the page: 'Coward piss in a cup, put it on the shelf he so scared go out in the dark.' Cody on the ridge describing the first night in the shed – and he is reporting exactly what the reader just watched ('I had three cups in the car'). The book gives the Norman side a true account of Michael for once and lets them draw the wrong conclusion from every detail.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 10, 14, 16, 18, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 37, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 67, 68, 70, 72

'Pizza Hut last supper.' / 'Two full ten by ten storage units full to the rafters, and a third about half.' 'And three trailers.' 'And the pool table.' (lands in 29, 42, 45, 68)

• 29 'Chattel'
• 42 'it's going to be there a year'
• 45 'three enclosed trailers'
• 68 'The storage bill. That whole place is ten garages.'

'Eats says it's a girl delivery.' 'Who are you going to shill for the girl deliveries at the shed?' 'The ho's, of course.' 'Why not just have them bring dinner with the cocaine?' 'Cocaine dulls the appetite. Tanner is my new Uber Eats.' 'He negotiated like a champ.' (lands in 34, 43, 49)

• 34 Jeeves: 'Only if I get food too.' 'Deal.'
• 43 'I'll order up some Uber Eats'
• 49 'the cocaine and hookers'

'You better check that Ring.' 'It's just the guys.' / 'two guys on dirt bikes.' 'At the critter cam.' (lands in 18, 30, 31)

• 18 'This one is more like a critter cam'
• 30 The camera that didn't ping
• 31 'I know it knows my conscious state'

'I gotta head up there. You watch the cameras and call me if they get into the trailers or the shed.' 'You're not...' 'I am, Stefanie.' / 'I gotta get Kitty.' (lands in 29, 49, 55)

• 29 'me and Kitty go to the shed at The Drip'
• 49 'Tonight's my last night sleeping in a home'
• 55 'She doesn't know where she is'

'The Equipment Yard never saw them. You saw the Critter Cam one. They stopped at the shed, but they didn't get off.' / 'They drove back to the pond twice and back up over that trail with the tree.' 'The Charlie tree?' 'Yes, the Bobbie tree.' (lands in 31, 47)

• 31 'the equipment yard, that's what we're calling it now'
• 47 'Charlie loves Bobbie'

'I hit a hundred on Pellissippi.' / 'I went around two cars on 411... Their engine roaring, and mine leaving wind burn on their driver door.' (lands in 2, 3, 39, 67)

• 2 'that stupid buzz'
• 3 'this Super Cruise is cool stuff'
• 39 'Launch mode on'
• 67 'You drive like a video game.'

'Kitty's in the car, five minutes of suffering and it's over.' 'I mean, you left with that intent.' 'Yeah, but it was quick-act. I didn't think of this moment.' (lands in 10, 55, 62)

• 10 'Kitty's too old to live in an apartment'
• 55 'She's a nervous wreck up here'
• 62 'My biggest fear isn't that she gets eaten, but that she runs away in a panic'

'I hope there's a house-call vet up there. No way Dr. Barry is going that far.' / 'those vets usually treat the whole farm when they get there.' 'I need a vet for Clover.' 'Same vet.' 'No vet yet.' 'Logistics.' (lands in 54, 60)

• 54 'Kitty only tolerates Clover because she's five times her size'
• 60 Clover's spins

'Have you got everything you need up there?' 'I think so. Live it and list it if I don't.' / 'I have a couple McDonald's drink cups in the back seat.' 'I cupped my hands under the sink.' 'Everyone's camping tonight.' (lands in 34, 54, 56)

• 34 'I'm going to have a butler'
• 54 'I'm gonna need the butler get me some groceries'
• 56 'the longest hottest shower'

'Those poor neighbors. All those years, and nothing but passers-by, and now nighttime traffic galore.' 'I'll have to stop in down there tomorrow and exchange phone numbers' (lands in 45, 68)

• 45 'You and Stefanie owes a new-neighbor visit'
• 68 'I'll move. But let me get your phone number.'

'This place is so dark.' / 'Sheesh, don't you have any other friends?' 'Just calling for a night-cap.' (lands in 30, 31, 55)

• 30 'you the lonely one'
• 31 'It's noon daylight here compared to the Drip. Dark.'
• 55 'Sheesh, don't you have any other friends?' again (Tanner comes back)

'Did you see the bobcat on the Critter cam?' 'I saw the Bobcat on the eyeball cam.' 'Does she know the sharing deal?' 'Welcoming committee.' 'Kitty feel welcome?' 'She's in the corner, paws tucked under. Eyes wide. Do you hear that owl?' / 'It's loud.' 'Real.' 'Real loud. Chilling.' (lands in 31, 47, 55, 58)

• 31 'mine-mine, mine, mine. We'll share'
• 47 'Nope, we got a deal. We'll share.'
• 55 'If there weren't so many Bobcats'
• 58 'Cub and mama, I think'

'The app says low of twenty-seven tonight. Thermometer says it's forty-two in here now. Forty-one when I got here.' / 'We didn't have time to build and balance the new batteries... Means no heat.' / 'the down comforter ought to handle it, and if it don't I can get in the truck and turn on the heat.' (lands in 35, 49, 54, 56, 68)

• 35 'Maybe get a thermometer today'
• 49 'the weather report calls tomorrow night's low at twenty-seven'
• 54 'I'm not so sure I can take much more than the two heatless nights'
• 56 'I had to get in the truck with the heater on'
• 68 'It was a hard night. We slept in the truck again'

'The boys got the red recliner from my Florida days in here. The futon is set up... I needed to get all the stuff out of the truck.' (lands in 49, 54, 58)

• 49 FedEx and the futon
• 54 'The lawn chairs are behind the recliner'
• 58 'I don't think you fit behind the chair to hide'

'The pond is fuller than a tick right now... get an emergency spillway slipped in, or it will overtop.' / 'Right now it's just drooling over the top, diffused – slobber. If we get one more drop of rain, it will find the lowest spot, and it will start to dig a trench... deeper trench, more water, deeper trench, and it just empties out.' (lands in 44, 47, 52, 55)

• 44 'more drool than a St. Bernard'
• 47 'It's been raining. We ran out of soil for it'
• 52 The spillway set
• 55 The slide

'Oh, hell no. I open that door, and Kitty's outa here. I had three cups in the car. Got a place cleared on the shelf, and I'll toss the water in the morning.' 'You're gross.' 'You wouldn't go out there either.' (lands in 34, 55)

• 34 'every flush will be poured from a bucket'
• 55 'She won't go if I don't sit on the steps'

'I wouldn't have puzzle pieced myself out of a home.' 'Then you wouldn't have the funds to build this one. Speaking of which, add soffit lights to the shed building schedule.' (lands in 10, 16, 55)

• 10 'that puzzle piece mind'
• 16 'some puzzle piece tromps in'
• 55 'I missed a puzzle piece'

'Well, Davey, I'm taking Clover out, and we're going to bed.' 'Davey –' 'Crocket. Beat you there. This ain't Kentucky though.' 'Greenest state in the land of Tennessee, smarty pants.' (lands in 47)

• 47 'homeless camping boy in the woods'

'Call me when you wake up so I know you survived.' (lands in 51, 61)

• 51 'You slept here last night.'
• 61 'If something happens at night, I won't even know till the next morning'

'It's like he know'd I's comin, Deddy.' 'Why you bring that saw back there no-how?' 'he gonna notice that saw missin' minute he order a tree cut.' / 'We'd get big trade off'a that saw.' 'I'm bringing it back.' (lands in 46, 48, 52)

• 46 'get the chainsaw, get Rusty and Devin'
• 48 'We need that saw cut that tree'
• 52 'You walked off into the woods and didn't come back for twenty minutes'

'I make a Z. Go in the one side at the Y, and I double back to the X.' 'The hell you talkin', the X?' 'I cross the holler on the angle, and I come in the trailers outside that new cam he put in thar. Put the saw in the side door.' (lands in 14, 37, 46, 56)

• 14 'the slip where the road Y's'
• 37 'that gravel mask the senses'
• 46 'a camera that catches all three doors'
• 56 'I'm a sneaky some bitch.'

'Why you think he come a day early?' 'Prolly had a fight with his old lady. All they do on that phone, bicker.' (lands in 25, 49)

• 25 Lonnie on the pond cam
• 49 'love by phone call crap'

'you set up on that high ridge, and you overlook him?' 'Yeah, he park nex' the shed, and he carry that cat in, n make a few trips back n forth. Coward piss in a cup, put it on the shelf he so scared go out in the dark.' 'Ever one, a coward.' (lands in 28, 46, 56, 70, 72)

• 28 'Coward, slave to they money'
• 46 'Coward.' 'Run that one back, Cody.'
• 56 Lonnie on the same ridge: 'Dig, Yankee'
• 70 'That man's a coward, won't fire nobody, n now he need that house built.'
• 72 'she's staring up the ridge, turns around wants in the shed'

'I left the saw in that old hollow Oak just by the tree stan'.' 'We gotta get on that; now he live there, that's our only stand.' 'That stand steps rot off.' 'Get you some that scrap wood from the site, and we build new steps.' (lands in 28, 35, 70)

• 28 The scrap for the door
• 35 'the old Oak tree'
• 70 'Them dogs smell me up on that ridge, and I had all I could do git over the hill and up the tree stand.'

'I go back up, go in the right way, drop that saw off, n I come home.' (lands in 53)

• 53 Cedar on the door in the headlights

Chapter 51, January 30, 2024 (33 connections)

Tuesday, January 30, closing day. Michael slept at the Drip; seven sticks of culvert coming. Cody counts his money on the future-proofed wire – 'plan to lose money' – and gets the copper aria: long game, highest best use, data centers, six dollars a pound, the wire he stole at the plier point of desperation. The full indictment – trees, laptop, punching in, the recording, a theft record in bold ink – and 'I have every reason to hold out hope for you. Now go work. Closing time.' Lunch downtown: 'We sold our home.' The old valley, the good valley, our own valley; first real home, second real home. 'Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.'

The line worth the page: 'Not all the same, Cody. I'm the first of the kind.' The one time Michael answers 'All the same' with a claim instead of a lesson, on the morning he sells the house that made him a first of anything. The indictment that follows is the book's complete charge sheet against Cody, and the last line is 'I have every reason to hold out hope for you. Now go work. Closing time' – the stone stayed in the same sentence it is lifted.

Connected chapters: 7, 8, 10, 14, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 41, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71

'You slept here last night.' 'We saw some dirtbike riders on the camera, and I started back just in case they needed to barry something.' / 'Make your Marriott reservation yet?' 'A little cold won't kill nobody.' (lands in 34, 50, 61, 67)

• 34 'it's Marriott for me'
• 50 The first night
• 61 'A little cold never killed anyone.' 'That's exactly untrue, one hundred percent.'
• 67 'a little cold won't kill anyone.' 'Not this again.'

'I do. 10:30 downtown.' / Southeast Drainage, seven sticks of fifteen-inch culvert, a hundred and forty feet (lands in 47, 52, 54, 65)

• 47 'culvert pipes for the spillway'
• 52 'You got both frames built... and you took the pipe delivery to boot'
• 54 'Hundred-forty feet in one day?'
• 65 'Five and flexed... See how the Gum is right in the middle of the pipe?'

'She's driving all the way downtown from Wear's Valley?' 'Wears? No... she's toting her things up to Karen's in Wear's Valley after the closing.' (lands in 44, 53, 54, 71)

• 44 Karen's decided
• 53 'How was the first night home?'
• 54 'Wears Valley' / 59 'Wares Valley' – the sweep (small true)
• 71 'Don't you use the brakes at all?' 'Only as a last resort.'

'It's not the exact same architecture as the four-battery bank. We need a combiner bus' (lands in 49, 59)

• 49 Twelve Pytes batteries
• 59 'It's a battery combiner box'

'Cut each roll in half. That will be four runs... we future proof it now.' 'Future proofin' wasted waar.' 'Are you counting my money again?' (lands in 41, 46)

• 41 'Are you auditing me?'
• 46 'Them seats, they's expensive'

'you already said you's gonna move that shed, so that mean this waar won't be long enough when you do. You have to scrap this, then, plan to lose money.' (lands in 10, 37, 62)

• 10 'You said you're going to have to move this one'
• 37 'Can your 1099 lose money?'
• 62 'The solar panels move from the pond, right?'

The copper aria: 'I'm a long-game man... I know markets... highest best use... one-hundred-twenty pounds... seven-hundred-twenty dollars... six bucks.' 'Scrap ain't never been six bucks.' (lands in 23, 30, 33)

• 23 'Our whole life is patient money'
• 30 'Live Bait... stripping that wire'
• 33 'I know markets' to Duran

'more than seventy percent of the copper mined today is secondary product... All the talk these days are data centers. So, supply is about to half, and demand is going to skyrocket.' (lands in 59, 65)

• 59 'electricity the ultimate extraction economy'
• 65 'Is there a Google or something?'

'you get your wire at the plier point of desperation... I'll sell the stuff when the stuff hits its highest value. For now a couple hundred pounds sit in the electrical trailer... rather than the fifty bucks at a time that you muster.' (lands in 8, 28)

• 8 'I git the scrap'
• 28 'Been sellin' Pine to the tourists'

'You act like you know me.' / 'It's public record. You stole wire that weighed twenty-pounds, but they charged your for ten thousand dollars in property damage... Your restitution is ten thousand dollars. Unpaid to date' (lands in 30, 48, 56)

• 30 'Live Bait hand stenciled in two foot red letters'
• 48 'They's levy my bank account'
• 56 'granish the wage'

'All the same. Think they know ever thing.' 'Not all the same, Cody. I'm the first of the kind.' (lands in 30, 46, 54)

• 30 'All you the same. Thinks you know.'
• 46 'All the same.'
• 54 'All the same.' 'Aw, come on Cody'

The indictment: 'rude, insubordinate, you commit crimes on my property, a cop's property. You broke the computer. You intentionally attack my trees... punching in from your house... casing my response to your bring-Deddy-to-day-off-work-day... massive debt... a theft record in bold ink... money for a driver's license almost forty days ago, and a recording of our personal conversation that you show around' (lands in 14, 25, 32, 41, 49, 69)

• 14 The recording; $120
• 25 The confrontation
• 32 The Beechnut
• 41 The laptop
• 49 'That's stealing, Cody'
• 69 'did you get your license when it was my money?'

'The unknown here is that you don't know me. I believe that even in the face of all this, you're an intelligent person, and I have every reason to hold out hope for you. Now go work. Closing time.' (lands in 14, 48, 59)

• 14 'I'm the first person ever tried to help you'
• 48 'he'll rise to the occasion if he just has a different point of view'
• 59 'I'm curious to see what the most found-money he ever got in his whole life grows into'

'So, that's it. We sold our home.' 'Is it time for the victory lap yet?' 'You earned it, but I only have time for lunch' (lands in 29, 53)

• 29 'Just a little victory lap'
• 53 'the money landed just about the time I realized my controlled demolition on the dam was actually working'

'The old valley.' 'The good valley.' 'It's the good valley. And we'll build right next to it. Our own valley.' 'Going back home to build our own home.' (lands in 10, 33, 53)

• 10 'our family is in Sevier County'
• 33 'I need her closer to the family'
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'We just sold my first real home.' 'And I'm going back to my second real home.' 'That's wild swings.' 'Wild ones.' (lands in 31, 44, 63)

• 31 The tent in Albany
• 44 Karen's
• 63 'Ten years of this guy.'

'Past has to be prologue, but prologue is not prediction.' 'Prediction is folly.' 'I predict follies ahead.' 'Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.' (lands in 7)

• 7 '10,000 years of humans repeating themselves'

'(Sometimes here, sometimes there, and sometimes with people who uncontrollably disliked me.)' (lands in 30, 46)

• 30 'you the lonely one'
• 46 'I ain't your friend'

Chapter 52, January 30, 2024 (27 connections)

Tuesday afternoon, January 30. The crew built two frames and took the pipe delivery while Michael was at the closing; Cody walked into the woods for twenty minutes and 'went home.' The spillway, finally: Michael in the excavator, nobody else on the dam, Cody holding the pipe with the skid – and Cody's idea, the auger blade as sluice gate, a bucket of dirt as plug. 'Cody, that's an excellent idea!' The water digs the plug at the rate of the drop. Alone at dusk: the pond raised four inches, bullheads and sunnies and turtles, swum to ear-depth; geothermal taught in five turns; 'I'll be here that day.' 'We all will.' Six hours, ten inches; 'I'll ride you home.'

The line worth the page: 'I'll be here that day.' 'We all will.' Cody claims a future day at the pond – the day the geothermal pipes sink and the fishing changes – and Michael extends it to everyone. It is the only time in the book Cody says he will be at the Drip in a future tense, and the book records it on the evening of the closing, six hours into watching water drain, with nobody else there.

Connected chapters: 2, 6, 8, 11, 15, 18, 25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 40, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 65, 70, 72

'Wow! I gotta leave you kids alone more often.' 'Ya, bossman. I's thinkin the same thing.' / 'You walked off into the woods and didn't come back for twenty minutes.' 'I had to go.' 'Did you shit in my woods?' 'I went home.' (lands in 40, 50, 55)

• 40 'Everybody works on the trailer'
• 50 'I go back up, go in the right way, drop that saw off, n I come home.'
• 55 'They take off for lunch every day on their own'

'you got both frames built, and you fully paneled that first one, and you took the pipe delivery to boot.' 'Um, so, we did have three hours.' (lands in 51, 54)

• 51 Southeast Drainage
• 54 'The first rack is almost ready'

'Weather's calling for rain all next week, and the spill pipe is plugged too long as it stands... It's soaked through, and we gotta drain it.' (lands in 47, 55, 65)

• 47 'It rained a half inch three times this week'
• 55 'all that soil we been packing dry been soaking up all that water'
• 65 'Five and flexed... See how the Gum is right in the middle of the pipe?'

'I'll run the ex.' 'I'm sorry, Cody. I can't let you do that. It's gotta be me.' 'Hell it does.' 'I guess you can walk off into the woods again, then.' 'Yeah, right. Slow yer roll, Cody.' (lands in 11, 15, 25, 56)

• 11 'I'll be in the seat when the dam gets breached'
• 15 'He covets em'
• 25 'I'm the only one can, Deddy'
• 56 'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide'

Disconnects, the tape reel, two-fifty, marry up the pairs into the conduit (lands in 18, 51, 58)

• 18 The first disconnects
• 51 'Cut each roll in half'
• 58 'did you make up all of the disconnects?'

'Cody, you're in the skid to hold the pipe down. Rusty you're spotter.' (lands in 45, 56)

• 45 'Rusty hop out of there. That's me work.'
• 56 'I want a spotter. Slightest shift, let us know.' – Cody

'dig the back side to the knee, leave off about a foot short of the water. Put in the pipe and open the last foot slow. Let it drain a couple inches at a time. Any brighter ideas?' (lands in 34, 47)

• 34 'I want ten dump trucks worth on there'
• 47 'we have to lower the water like a foot and a half'

'There's some wet soil.' 'Good spot, Rus.' / 'That cant is too steep. We want almost flat.' (lands in 34, 55)

• 34 'tough pack back there'
• 55 'that dirt's soaked through'

'Everyone off the dam while I nibble at this.' 'It's fine.' 'Nope. Off the dam. Me and the machine.' (lands in 32, 56)

• 32 'Did we just have a full and complete serious safety conversation?'
• 56 'One man at a time on that plywood'

'That'll take over night.' 'No, I'll speed it up when we get under the lip.' / 'I live here now. I can watch it.' (lands in 50, 55)

• 50 The first night
• 55 'I let it seep too long'

'Wait. I got an idea. Don't shut me down, bossman. Put the auger blade on the pipe, and I can go get a full bucket of dirt in the skid. If It gets going too fast, I can dump in a plug fast to stop it.' 'Cody, that's an excellent idea!' (lands in 30, 53, 55)

• 30 'dig myself a level shelf'
• 53 'He came up with this idea to use the excavator blade as like a sluice gate'
• 55 'Cody went in?' 'He was serious, like a cop.'

'Pond's down six inches. Come here and look at the flow. The water is digging out the plug at exactly the rate of the drop – like it just agrees with us.' 'You ain't dug that?' 'Nope. The current's digging it.' (lands in 47, 54)

• 47 'like it had millions of rain storms to argue over it'
• 54 'The real image is this spill pipe. Look at that. It's like we planned it.'

'Anyone wanna stand around with their hands on their hips talking about, yep, that's workin', yep sure is?' 'I'll hang out with you, bossman.' / 'Rusty's my ride today.' 'it's just you and me, Cody.' (lands in 55, 59)

• 55 'Tanner. I thought you left with the guys.'
• 59 'Rusty's my ride today.' again

'Cold as fuck.' / 'If the whole thing pops off all at once, the pipe can handle it.' 'Ya. Spill side's good too... they's a boulder right under the flow.' (lands in 45)

• 45 Boulders

'Check that old inflow pipe. How deep is it?' 'Top four inches showin.' 'So we raised the pond four inches.' 'Always needed that. The fish'll hide in the cutback now.' (lands in 6, 54)

• 6 'Pond's still mostly full'
• 54 'I put the new pipe up about six inches higher than the old one'

'I was thinking I'd shock the bass out and go with Trout.' 'Deep enough. We used to swim here, and I never touched bottom fore my ears wouldn't let me deeper.' / 'They's Bullhead in here, and them Sunnys, they's delicious. Ate a Bass or two. Best though is them turtles.' 'You ate a lot out of this pond, didn't you?' 'We did.' (lands in 2, 8, 48, 60, 65, 70, 72)

• 2 The fishing hole
• 8 'the countless fishing days up Trail Holler'
• 48 'we hunt and fish up thar, near ever meal'
• 60 'I got a couple Brookies and a Golden Trout'
• 65 'There are probably one or two boss bass' / 'There's rumors.'
• 70 'Other night we sneak in the holler instead, Lonnie got a Bullhead, and that shed light go off we gotta split.'
• 72 'Everyone else brought a fishing rod rather than catch 'em in the engine bay'

Geothermal in five turns: the outdoor unit, the compressor, a forty-degree delta, a sixty-five-degree delta; HDPE in the pond; 'the compressor sits inside, same humidity, not hostile. The pipe sits in water, same temperature. The delta never changes.' 'There you go, brother.' (lands in 34, 53, 54)

• 34 'a reversing valve'
• 53 'I put geothermal in him in like five turns, and he nailed it'
• 54 'geothermal' on the money list

'But no fishing.' 'the HDPE pipe is planned, it's coiled. It's predictable... Lose a few fish to the thing, but still fishable for the people that get to watch the pipes get sunk.' 'I'll be here that day.' 'We all will.' (lands in 28)

• 28 'The deer come back we git him out'

'Six hours, ten inches down.' 'Yep, Get in the truck. I'll ride you home.' (lands in 25, 53)

• 25 'Pull this pipe, like let the whole dam go.'
• 53 'I drove Cody home... my headlights went across the front'

Chapter 53, January 30, 2024 (25 connections)

Ten-thirty, January 30, the smoking window. Michael drove Cody home; the money landed while the dam drained. Cody was useful – bullheads, the sluice gate, geothermal in five turns. Then the headlights across Cody's front door: cedar trim from the scrap pile, cut too thin on purpose. 'What did you say to him?' 'Seeya in the morning.' 'No, officer. I didn't let him steal.' 'Cedar don't have serial numbers.' Stef: 'There's a baby in the house' – headroom from the tax police. Her first night home: Jenny, Sydney, FD, new sheets on Tommy's boyhood bed, Nick Lachey, and Clover's poster from Mammy, who equals biscuits.

The line worth the page: 'Cedar don't have serial numbers, Stef.' The theft planned at 28 is found in a turning headlight beam and forgiven before the car has stopped; 'seeya in the morning' is the whole sentence passed. Stef's 'There's a baby in the house' is the defense Lonnie used at 25 ('that baby need heat'), and Michael names the moment: someone finally got some headroom from the tax police.

Connected chapters: 5, 10, 12, 13, 22, 25, 28, 30, 33, 38, 41, 43, 44, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 63

'Are you in the car at ten-thirty at night?' 'Smoking window. Yeah, I drove Cody home.' 'Not the body, the boy, right?' (lands in 41, 52)

• 41 'Not when the smoking window's open'
• 52 'Get in the truck. I'll ride you home.'

'Want the good stuff first and the bad stuff last like it came to me, or do you want a custom order?' 'Bring it natural.' (lands in 13, 59)

• 13 'Who's telling this story'
• 59 'Revoked. Tell it my way.'

'Something weird about those wires... I get the ALTA Settlement. I sign it. I know the number, but it doesn't feel like money until it's in the account.' / 'My first time.' 'When I sold my Sevierville house, I got a check from the closing company.' (lands in 33, 51)

• 33 'Your money landed here Friday'
• 51 'So, that's it. We sold our home.'

'the money landed just about the time I realized my controlled demolition on the dam was actually working' (lands in 52)

• 52 'The current's digging it.'

'Cody was useful today. It started rough, but the dam emptied of water and filled up with information... He used to swim there. There are Bullheads, and the dude can think. I put geothermal in him in like five turns, and he nailed it.' 'Did he ever work HVAC?' 'Nope, I told you the boy's smart.' (lands in 22, 52, 55)

• 22 'He's smart. Like really smart'
• 52 Geothermal; the sluice gate
• 55 'I told you he's smart'

'He came up with this idea to use the excavator blade as like a sluice gate and pipe stabilizer, and he added in a skid steer bucket dump insurance policy.' (lands in 52)

• 52 'Cody, that's an excellent idea!'

'So the pond's empty?' 'No. we weren't emptying it. We were setting in the spillway pipe.' / 'The dangerous part is history. I'll rest easy tonight.' (lands in 54, 55)

• 54 'The dam survived too.'
• 55 The slide – the dangerous part was not history

'I drove him home, and my headlights went across the front, and he stole some of our lumber to put up trim around the front door of his house.' 'What did you say?' 'You heard me.' 'I meant what did you say to him, idiot.' 'Oh, I didn't say anything... I said, seeya in the morning.' (lands in 12, 25, 28)

• 12 'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone'
• 25 'I saw you, and I kept that in the pocket'
• 28 'trim scrap I made when I cut them window boards just wrong enough'

'You let him steal?' 'No, officer. I didn't let him steal.' / 'How do you know it's our wood?' 'There you go. You got there without me. Cedar don't have serial numbers, Stef.' 'Is it our wood?' 'Not anymore.' (lands in 30, 43, 56)

• 30 'It's the official record.'
• 43 'Interview a hundred thousand liars'
• 56 'Got my boy bring back a saw. I hadda stomp up and down git him steal that scrap lumber'

'he cut it too thin, so it went in the scrap pile. I was actually going to use it for a couple of shelves above the TV the shed... it wasn't in the scrap pile anymore.' (lands in 28, 54)

• 28 'cut them window boards just wrong enough'
• 54 'There's a TV in my back seat'

'So he stole scrap.' 'If he stole it. That's not the freight though, if he did.' / 'how did he get in there and get the wood out if he stole it?' 'That's the stuff.' (lands in 50)

• 50 'I make a Z'

'I gave him that caulk – I threw it out, and he took it out and said don't thow this out, and he took it home with him. Probably for the same project.' (lands in 5, 38)

• 5 The door gap
• 38 Cody fishing the frozen caulk bead

'There's a baby in the house. If there was a gap or something, and he just stole it to fill the gap.' 'And there's my girl. Maybe not a warning, but someone finally got some headroom from the tax police.' (lands in 5, 25, 28, 46)

• 5 'Gap so big I can read the light bulb, Cody!'
• 25 'that baby need heat'
• 28 'we put them up here over this gap in the door'
• 46 'It's not the value of the crime. It's just that it's a crime.'

'It's still an invasion. And how did he do it without the cameras? That's my next quest.' (lands in 30, 46, 50)

• 30 The camera that didn't ping
• 46 'a camera that catches all three doors'
• 50 The Z route

'How was the first night home?' 'It was awesome! I forgot how much I love it here. The whole family just living the life I been missing. Jenny just came home from the game. She and Sydney went to watch FD' (lands in 10, 44, 60, 63)

• 10 'our family is in Sevier County'
• 44 'Karen keeps telling me to move home'
• 60 Friday supper at Karen's
• 63 'These two are the next in line to the throne, Jenny's kids, Sidney and FD'

'Karen bought me new sheets for my old bed, same bed I slept half my childhood on, same bed Tommy had as a boy.' (lands in 49)

• 49 'her childhood twin bed'

'Little Clover got any posters up yet?' 'She's got a Pillsbury Grands Biscuits poster. Mammy gave her one at dinner.' 'She don't call her Karen?' 'Nope biscuits equal Mammy.' (lands in 54, 60, 61)

• 54 'Clover pushes open the bathroom door with a Grand's Biscuit in her lips'
• 60 'Clover's got a steady biscuit supply in the oven'
• 61 'Clover's got biscuits on the brain before daybreak'

Chapter 54, January 31, 2024 (46 connections)

January 31, a second night survived, the dam too. Stef's morning at Karen's: Clover huffing paint at the door crack, pee-mail, Tommy's eggs, Karen on speakerphone, all the duckies in one pond. Head pressure, solving for V; 'We're real light,' two told-ya-so's in a paragraph. Four heads over the dam top. Breakfast in the shed: the recording is Rusty's lullaby, Cody sent it himself; 'Cody Norman's Greatest Hits.' 'You're just being asked to keep accurate books.' 'Accurate to who?' 'Accurate here.' The spill pipe stopped perfect at the lip – 'like we planned it.' Devin runs the hill with country fried steak; lunch too snug; DirecTV tomorrow. The long list: switchback, trailers, solar-good-enough.

The line worth the page: 'You're not being punished here by it. You're just being asked to keep accurate books.' 'Accurate to who?' 'Accurate here.' Cody's 'balance the books' (8) meets Michael's accounting doctrine and the two men are finally on the same page of the ledger; 46's 'I'll leave that to you' becomes a bookkeeping instruction, and Cody's question is the one the Feb 26 chapter asks again ('Right to who?').

Connected chapters: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 72

'So, you survived a second night.' 'Starts to look like a pattern. The dam survived too. I haven't been out there, but the water's up where it belongs.' (lands in 50, 51, 55)

• 50 The first night
• 51 'You slept here last night.'
• 55 The slide that evening

'We have to get the old pipe out today, and that's gonna be wet hair.' 'Hairy?' 'Meh. It's early.' (lands in 52, 55)

• 52 'Check that old inflow pipe'
• 55 'The old drain pipe was full of water, and it shot out when the fill slid.'

'Talk it through. Got a smoke?' 'Coffee too.' / 'Smoke, coffee, story, go.' / 'I'm gonna smoke two cartons a week with this arrangement. No banishment to the bunker or the porch.' (lands in 18, 42, 55, 68)

• 18 The smoking aria
• 42 The bunker
• 55 'She's the only smoking fellowship I have now'
• 68 'now I gotta send the butler for my groceries'

'Wanna hear about my morning instead?' 'That's the one.' – 5:30, Clover at the door crack 'like she's huffing paint'; cut loose on the Cotters; pee-mail; the storm door, a tuft of fur (lands in 53, 60, 61)

• 53 'Nope biscuits equal Mammy'
• 60 'She's rubbing all of her on all of me'
• 61 'Clover's got biscuits on the brain before daybreak'

'She takes me to the table where I find Tommy eating over easy eggs, bacon, toast, and a coffee. He doesn't put milk in his.' / 'I bet Tommy gets those eggs every morning.' 'Not ever mornin'.' 'Don't talk with your mouth full, makes me jealous.' 'S'why I did it.' (lands in 55, 60, 63)

• 55 'I'll come down here and appreciate the morning eggs'
• 60 'Tommy chimes in – Dinner and a show'
• 63 'Twinkles'

'Put me on speakerphone. Hi Karen.' 'You must be beside yourself all the duckies in the same pond again.' (lands in 11, 32, 60)

• 11 'little duckies'
• 32 'the mama duck'
• 60 'Got Stefanie back in the nest'

'Kitty only tolerates Clover because she's five times her size. She'd claw Pooty's bug eyes out of his head.' 'Pooty won't bother her.' 'No, she's gotta be here, get used to the new place.' (lands in 50, 55, 61, 67)

• 50 'Kitty feel welcome?'
• 55 'She doesn't know where she is'
• 61 'you'll be locked in Pooty's crate in Mammy's living room'
• 67 'She's a predator, and her mind works on predator rules. Problem is she's not the apex in them woods.'

'Bbyyee, Mmiicchhaaeell.' / 'That commute got slippers in it?' 'Most of it. I might have to go pick up a file from Audit later if I can't get the VPN setup.' (lands in 49)

• 49 'Name's Slippers.'

'I put the new pipe up about six inches higher than the old one. That raises the water permanently, but it temporarily puts the old pipe below the waterline.' / 'Six inches is a lot of head pressure. Pi R Squared says roughly half a gallon per foot.' 'Don't math-mouth me first thing in the morning, Michael. Besides, you're solving for V.' (lands in 9, 11, 52)

• 9 'a-squared plus b-squared is a hard C-ya later'
• 11 '275,000 gallons'
• 52 'So we raised the pond four inches.'

'we cut the pipe out five or six feet, fill the void with dirt, pack it in with the treads, and we have a plugged dam.' / 'We're digging out the top of a dam that we didn't build, and other than my ceremonial first-shovel hard hat, not one of us has even the likeness of an engineering degree.' (lands in 25, 55, 63, 65)

• 25 'Pull this pipe, like let the whole dam go. That man know that?'
• 55 'I have no business doing this.'
• 63 'not one of us'
• 65 'what you really need is an engineer'

'I wanna share it with the guys.' 'Awe, so sweet.' 'Shutup, Stefanie.' (lands in 33, 35, 41)

• 33 'So cute.' 'Shutup, Duran.'
• 35 'Shutup, Tanner.'
• 41 'Shutup, Rusty.'

'Need a barn wall?' 'I already rearranged the letters when I put the sheets on last night.' (lands in 53)

• 53 'Karen bought me new sheets'

The money: 'I got my pockets turned out over here. The land, two months payroll, all the materials; all my income is outgo – and then some... the actual house under six hundred... the income bridges.' 'How close?' 'You have the same passwords I have – it's close.' 'Real close.' (lands in 10, 33, 59, 66, 67, 69)

• 10 The LMA plan
• 33 Duran's numbers
• 59 Six thousand cash
• 66 'I got three hundred a foot all day.'
• 67 'We're evert bit of six-hundred short right now and that's if the house costs six-hundred.'
• 69 'We do coast plus feefteen... Seex hundred easy, so maybe seven-feefty.'

'If you really spend one-three on the land, we're screwed.' 'the land was five thousand an acre... The machines were two-fifty. Four guys, a year and a half, that's another two-forty. It's a half a mile of road, and we're already in a hundred trucks there... house septic, the big solar order, the workshop, geothermal, the actual house and at least one-fifty to your contractor.' 'Good try. You're not building the house.' (lands in 17, 33, 46, 65, 67)

• 17 'You're not building the house.'
• 33 'the dirt work here is going to cost one point three all by itself'
• 46 'That'd be some long game shit'
• 65 'I am on the hunt for GCs…' 'Don't do it.'
• 67 'Michael! You can't do it. I'm telling you, you're not building this house.'

'I told you not to spend boulder money and cry poor.' 'Why do you get all the clean told-ya-so's, and I gotta hide under the bed for mine?' 'Genetics.' / 'Two? You get two told-ya's in the same paragraph?' 'Pound the table all you like. The record stands.' (lands in 9, 44, 46)

• 9 'the told-you-so cued up and ready to fire out from under the bed'
• 44 'I don't get many of these'
• 46 'Don't spend it all hoping that I'll let you build the house'

'True, but now we're living in tents, and we got enough to start but nowhere near enough to finish.' 'Any ideas?' 'Nope. That's you. I'm safe and warm and Clover's got a biscuit plug. Take your time.' (lands in 31, 59)

• 31 The tent in Albany
• 59 'I will give him that money if I have to hock the Hummer' (58)

'I got four heads popping up over the dam top now and three-hundred feet before they're on me.' (lands in 25, 49, 65)

• 25 'I hear them on the gravel long before they get here'
• 49 'FedEx just crested the dam'
• 65 'The guys just popped over the hill anyway.'

'Mornin' boys!' 'Yeah, that hill.' 'Cold enough out there?' 'Ain't no warmer in here, bossman.' / 'Smooth hands says it all, Tanner.' 'Ouch.' / 'And we're off. Cody fast out of the gate, point out the folly of my ways, Rusty in the middle with a dam grievance, and the run-in shed ain't warm enough for Tanner.' (lands in 9, 17, 45)

• 9 Ouch
• 17 'That hill's somethin''
• 45 'Tanner, your hand is so soft'

'Breakfast might warm him up.' 'Any seconds?' 'All four.' 'Okay, then. Day starts with a break.' / 'Dam held.' 'Close the door behind you. Let's go.' (lands in 14, 40, 65)

• 14 Breakfast at the grill
• 40 'Everybody works on the trailer'
• 65 'Close the door – cat wants out'

'Hundred-forty feet in one day?' 'No. That's not our style. We'll put in a couple sticks to drain the water further down the back, land it on the hillside so it's natural earth, and go finish the solar. I'm not so sure I can take much more than the two heatless nights.' (lands in 51, 55, 56)

• 51 Seven sticks
• 55 'Nah. That was the schedule. Priorities put it off.'
• 56 'I froze my ass off last night'

'Wait, you've been sleeping in there without heat?' / 'Gahhllee, What are you trying to prove?' 'It's not all that. Have you people ever had a cat? That beast is a heat seeker, and at a hundred and two degrees she's a heat giver too.' 'Better man than me. I'll take my mother's house in a sub-division with heat and electricity.' 'And pancakes, yes I know, Devin.' (lands in 34, 48, 50)

• 34 'I'll never fit in if I don't'
• 48 'That soff Yankee ain't stay livin' in no shed'
• 50 'Kitty feel welcome?'

'Get me a Coke, coffee and orange juice with mine.' 'Not this again. It was coffee, Coke, orange juice' 'Oh, this again. I need milk too, Devin.' / 'Here, coffee, Coke, orange juice.' 'Turnabout's the flavor.' (lands in 14, 34, 65)

• 14 'Orange Juice, Coke, coffee.' 'Actually, you said coffee, Coke, orange juice.'
• 34 'Cody'd too soon get tempted spit in my orange juice'
• 65 'Coffee, Coke, orange juice?' – Devin, run to the grill

'Bring me that USB-c flash stick too. I need a copy of this recording Cody has.' 'Yeah, right. I can just text it to you.' 'You already have it, Rusty?' 'Yup. It's my lullaby. Long time comin Cody needed someone tell him off like that.' 'Fuck you, Rusty.' 'Now, Cody. You sent it to him.' (lands in 14, 17, 46, 51)

• 14 The table speech
• 17 'Cody's got a recording of you guys at breakfast'
• 46 'Play it back with your recording from the grill'
• 51 'a recording... that you show around to your friends'

'So, Um, can I have a copy too?' 'Cody Norman's Greatest Hits. Apparently you could sell that thing. I bet the live bait man would love a copy. Did you buy bait there and come fish here? I hadn't considered that.' (lands in 7, 12, 30)

• 7 'collects them like prizes'
• 12 'curated them into display cabinets'
• 30 'Live Bait hand stenciled in two foot red letters'

'All the same.' 'Aw, come on Cody, don't get mad. That's the part you always miss. We are what we are. You said yourself it doesn't make you bad. What you miss is, you're not being punished here by it. You're just being asked to keep accurate books.' 'Accurate to who?' 'Accurate here.' (lands in 8, 30, 46, 51, 65)

• 8 'the machination to balance the books'
• 30 'I got a record. That don't make a man all he is'
• 46 'I won't be the person to punish you for your feelings'
• 51 'Not all the same, Cody'
• 65 'Me work is teaching you to right work, Cody.' 'Right to who?'

'It means write what happened. Tell it clean. Leave the equation to the man with the chalk, whoever that is at the time. Take it one step further. Some people are gonna convict you no matter what you do to audit them. Their mind's made up.' 'But that say more bout them then it do me.' 'More. Same read, same man, different mood. Totally different read.' (lands in 13, 48)

• 13 'If you're on my jury, they'll never convict me'
• 48 'It's the record. It's the reference.'

'Meghan call that butter her up.' 'We got no need imagine you spread butter all over Meghan.' 'Um, thanks Rus. That image helps big.' (lands in 14)

• 14 'image clouds'

'The real image is this spill pipe. Look at that. It's like we planned it.' 'It's perfect.' 'Ya, that's lucky stuff. It don't look like it went under the pipe at all. Just stop perfect at the lip.' / 'get in that ex and let's push the pipe through and seat it and make it real.' (lands in 47, 52, 55)

• 47 'It's like it was never not here'
• 52 'like it just agrees with us'
• 55 The slide

'Push the pipe in so it's sticking out over the water four or five feet... Lift up the tag of pipe, and we've got a shut-off.' / 'Just light nose, little at time.' / 'I talk to the man, and I know he can't hear me.' 'Ya, I do too. Dig sites all the same, man wave his hands all around talkin to theyselves.' (lands in 25, 31, 56)

• 25 'Is that guy talking to himself?'
• 31 'one level down'
• 56 Lonnie: 'hands fly like they's distract you pull the bunny from a hat'

'Holy, he's making a run at the hill.' 'No way.' 'Yeah, right.' 'Dude. I don't want you guys parking up here anyway.' 'He's gonna make it.' 'Great, now I need a guard tower.' 'Food'll be hot though.' / 'the hill's got nothin on a kid got something to prove and a country fried steak.' 'Stone cold, Devin.' 'Did you record that, Cody? I could use it to dare the mailman.' (lands in 18, 49, 66, 72)

• 18 'that was stone cold'
• 49 'Devin, your car couldn't get up here'
• 66 'Nobody ever drove all the way up before.'
• 72 'Coming in hot.' 'Scared of the hill.'

'Put it on the fridge. Here's the hamper. The lawn chairs are behind the recliner.' 'Too many asses in here fer me. I'ma eat outside.' 'Can't do that guys. We gotta debrief the site and get organized.' / 'Yours is a trophy, son. Good go up the hill. But let's not do that again. You guys park at the split.' / 'It's snug, but it's a must-have.' 'Warm up quick though.' (lands in 14, 50, 58, 66)

• 14 'Park in front, Tanner'
• 50 'The boys got the red recliner from my Florida days'
• 58 'I don't think you fit behind the chair to hide'
• 66 'All them cars park down the road says different.'

'Rusty, if you fart in my house, I'll cut loose Cody's twisted mind on the retaliation.' 'I ain't man enough for all that.' 'Nobody is.' (lands in 17, 40, 59)

• 17 'He can lay a fart though'
• 40 Rusty in the trailer
• 59 'Don't suck.'

'The first rack is almost ready. The second one needs a couple more stake posts, and the third is about an hour out.' / 'we need to disassemble this end first, and that means no charging' / 'Use eight new panels... That doubles our current PV... take apart the wood rack madness' (lands in 24, 52, 58)

• 24 'Two by four racks for the solar panels; that's a bold move'
• 52 Three racks of eight
• 58 'did you make up all of the disconnects?'

'Is that a Ring?' 'Yep, devil heard my plea. It's the mailman. Dropping Amazon boxes at the yard.' 'Sissy.' / 'There's a TV in my back seat by the way. It was sitting in the driveway' 'I gotta do something about this driveway. They're going to leave the wrong thing down there at the wrong time, and it's going to get stolen.' 'Yeah, right.' (lands in 16, 41, 49, 65)

• 16 Twenty-eight Amazon boxes
• 41 The house plans in the driveway
• 49 'FedEx just crested the dam'
• 65 'known-carcinogen stickers on every door frame'

'At least I'll have Netflix tonight and DirecTV comes tomorrow.' 'DirecTV in a tool shed. Ain't right.' 'Ain't right live without it, Cody.' 'I do.' 'We're different.' (lands in 34, 61)

• 34 'I'll have Directv transferred to this address'
• 61 'DirecTV is coming today, so I'll have NewsMix'

'When we finish the dam, you two get back to the back driveway and the switchback. That road needs drainage to the gully. Those felled trees need bucked and dragged... clean up the trailers, sort and organize all three and bring all the extra and later stuff – the lathe tools, for instance – to storage. Basically, the next two weeks are finish the spillway pipe, road building and solar-good-enough.' 'Are we going to straighten up the easement too?' 'That and more, Rusty.' / 'Who's getting this garbage? We ain't leaving this here to draw bears.' (lands in 34, 47, 61, 62, 66)

• 34 'I ain't living in no shed with a grill'
• 47 'I started them on the back driveway'
• 61 The same list, repeated almost verbatim to Stef
• 62 'It took all week to level out that switchback'
• 66 'they better put a drain tile cross that switchback or it won't be a road no more come June'

'Two bedrooms helps though.' (lands in 66)

• 66 'Two bedrooms?' 'I just imagined bigger.'

Chapter 55, January 31, 2024 (37 connections)

January 31, supper at Karen's: weekly turns, rope-a-dope, 'You paid my homelessness so Emam can live in a mansion,' Jen and Tommy and the kids. Then Rusty's call – 'Gahhllee, Rusty just shit his pants' – a mudslide on the back of the dam, the skid surfed down and sunk. Goulash and five rolls, a key on a string. At the Drip: Hasselhoff, the door spotted not blocked, 'I almost killed you, man.' 'That was the schedule.' To Stef: a puzzle piece missed, a glass tomb, the counterfactual with the canoe, 'I'm an anecdote.' Tanner comes back with no supper; walking the cat under the awning; 'I'll smoke with you, buddy.' Cody went into the mud first and threw Rusty a stick. 'Lessons learned are the bill, and this is your land too.'

The line worth the page: 'No, a glass tomb, not made for it.' Stef says iron box, Michael says glass tomb, and the counterfactual he builds – carbon dioxide, the canoe, the shovel half the man it was – is the book's one full aria of dread, delivered about a thing that did not happen. 'It happened somewhere to someone in some time' is his defense, and it is the definite-article law run in reverse: the possibility is the fact.

Connected chapters: 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 41, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67

'maybe we could take weekly turns. Stef and this tickle-me-yellow-doodle can go stay at the Drip, and I'll come down here and appreciate the morning eggs that she won't even lower herself to eat.' (lands in 54, 60, 63)

• 54 Tommy's eggs
• 60 'Michael, you need to stop all that and stay here.'
• 63 'The cooking skills diluted' (60)

'Owner finance, he says - Of course the house sells when you pay someone to take it.' / 'You paid my homelessness and your shed life so Emam can live in a mansion.' – Karen (lands in 23, 29, 31, 53)

• 23 'We want an owner finance.'
• 29 'You're homeless'
• 31 Emam on the call
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here'

'Look out, Stef. He's got the rope-a-dope.' / 'I didn't want to list the house at all. You're the one lulled me in with your bits and pieces.' 'Got anything there?' 'Nothing fair.' (lands in 10, 63)

• 10 'Nothing sells in the Winter'
• 63 'You're the one lulled me in' – Karen's reading of the book's method

'Permission and example in one. Is that two turns, Karen? I need a ruling here.' 'I think you should both stay here.' / 'Oh thank God, Jen you're here. I'm outnumbered' / 'Tommy?' 'You're doing fine without my help.' (lands in 54, 60, 63, 67)

• 54 'Karen on speakerphone'
• 60 'Tommy, you can't argue with this man.'
• 63 'Twinkles'
• 67 'It's been a month already. You really need to cut this out and come stay here.'

'Not freezing. It's thirty-three tonight.' / Ethan's wet hair, Syd taking Luna out, 'Mama, stop fussin'' (lands in 53, 60, 63, 64)

• 53 'Jenny just came home from the game'
• 60 'Ethan's at his daddy's'
• 63 'It's Ethan.'
• 64 Sunday at Myrtle's

'One sec, that's Rusty. Hey.' 'Gahhllee, Rusty just shit his pants.' 'Wha – did you...' 'He come down the dam...' 'Give me that phone, Cody. Hey, Michael. Everything's okay. Nobody hurt. But we just had a major mudslide on the back of the dam.' (lands in 14, 34, 54)

• 14 'Gahhllee'
• 34 Ten dump trucks over the spill pipe
• 54 'Dam held.'

'all the sudden I'm surfing down the back side, confused, I'm pulling back on the joystick, forward picking up speed, and then cushioned slow down, and it sinks right into the slop.' / 'It was so cool. I was gliding down the hill, floating on it. It's actually for the best. The old drain pipe was full of water, and it shot out when the fill slid.' (lands in 25, 54, 56)

• 25 'Pull this pipe, like let the whole dam go.'
• 54 'that's gonna be wet hair'
• 56 'The mud's shrinking faster than the machine came down.'

'First thing. Stay off that dam. Stay out from under it. Go to the shed and relax. You sound like you could use a breath. There's cokes in the fridge in there. I'll be there in twenty minutes.' (lands in 17, 52)

• 17 'I'll be there in a little while. I'll see for myself.'
• 52 'Everyone off the dam while I nibble at this'

'Here's a plate.' 'Karen!' 'There's goulash and I put five rolls in.' 'No eggs, though?' 'You'll have to show up in the morning for those.' 'I was going to win that fight.' 'Sure you were, honey.' (lands in 54, 60)

• 54 'I bet Tommy gets those eggs every morning'
• 60 'Here, take some whinnies. I packed you some rolls.'

'That reminds me. Here's a key in case nobody's here when you get here sometime.' 'On a string. I love you so much, Karen! Stefanie, take care of these people.' (lands in 15, 17, 64)

• 15 'The key to our home to come is Stefanie's Christmas gift'
• 17 'I put the key on a chain'
• 64 Sunday at Mamaw's

'So, Hasselhoff, you got lucky. We'd still be digging out the front door if it turned around on the wave.' 'Skills.' / 'It's like a cave entrance the way the mud sucked it in. The door spotted but not blocked.' (lands in 56)

• 56 'The door spotted but not blocked' – the hatch dug out

'I thought he's a gonner.' 'Where were you?' 'I's in the excavator up there tamping in the pipe. Just bout slide down the dino tail, and I hear the engine rev and the tracks just spinnin backwards.' (lands in 52)

• 52 'I'll run the ex.' 'It's gotta be me.'

'we leave it there for tonight. Let the water settle out. Maybe tomorrow we get a couple sheets of plywood and walk out.' / 'I let it seep too long. I almost killed you, man.' 'Nah. That was the schedule. Priorities put it off.' 'Just didn't get there in time.' 'So, maybe just in time. If we didn't spend the last couple weeks fixing this thing, the whole dam might have collapsed.' (lands in 41, 49, 56, 65)

• 41 'It would have within a few years for sure'
• 49 'Not the dam again.'
• 56 'One man at a time on that plywood'
• 65 'probably kill ten men if they're standing there when it opens up'

'On the positive side, as that dries out this year, it's gonna set up like concrete.' 'Gahhllee, that's a fact.' 'Yeah, right.' (lands in 46, 58)

• 46 The shotcrete
• 58 'when that sets up it will be like concrete'

'I missed a puzzle piece...' 'Look, no cryptics. Spit it out.' / 'The water poured over too long... It filled up, and it collapsed. I should have seen that.' 'You did see it. You saw it Sunday, and you acted on it.' 'I didn't act. I let the men act, and it almost cost him his life.' (lands in 10, 47, 50)

• 10 'that puzzle piece mind'
• 47 'it's been sheeting over all week, and It's terrifying'
• 50 'I wouldn't have puzzle pieced myself out of a home'

'Don't be dramatic. He was in an iron box made for that.' 'No, a glass tomb, not made for it.' 'Tombs have bodies, and Rusty is walking around perfectly fine.' (lands in 56)

• 56 'I got the hatch open... It's water.'

'None of that happened, Michael.' 'Oh, It happened, or we wouldn't know the possibility. It happened somewhere to someone in some time. It happened, and I didn't learn the lesson when it did.' 'What the hell are you talking about?' 'I have no business doing this.' (lands in 16, 31)

• 16 'Self provoked'
• 31 'every man and thing that ever sat in this place throughout all time, they felt it too'

'I'm an anecdote. I'm a cautionary tale.' / 'Look around you. How many construction sites do you see – every one of them populated by the same people you have at yours.' 'Not the same. Mine's the dodgeball discards.' 'Those are too. Do you think you have the only four guys in Sevier county that didn't pay attention in math class?' 'Yeah, and I was the dodgeball captain every Tuesday and Thursday. And I love Math class.' (lands in 9, 16, 19, 44)

• 9 'a thousand ways to die'
• 16 'guys went un-picked for dodgeball'
• 19 The word problem
• 44 'the dodgeball team you're renting'

'Tanner. I thought you left with the guys.' 'I did, but then I realized you didn't have supper. I figured I better come make sure you didn't need anything.' / 'Hey, Tanner. Thanks for coming back. This dude's a wreck.' 'I see that.' / 'No cute this time, Tanner?' 'Nah, you got enough trouble.' (lands in 33, 34, 50)

• 33 'So cute.' 'Shutup'
• 34 Jeeves: 'Only if I get food too.'
• 50 'Sheesh, don't you have any other friends?'

'All's I need is a pile of shit to handle and a tape measure to pick the bag size.' 'I'd go extra large on this one. Tarp, maybe.' (lands in 26)

• 26 'a steady diet of shit to handle and a tape measure for the bag size'

'Buddy, we can't shovel that out, and it's thirty feet from the edge, so excavator's out too.' 'You might have to let it dry in and dig it out after.' 'Oh shit.' 'Oh shit – now I gotta carry everything everywhere again.' 'Nope. Let's go buy a golf cart.' (lands in 47, 48, 56, 64)

• 47 'We need a golf cart.'
• 48 'talk about get a golf cart'
• 56 'What happened to the golf cart idea?'
• 64 'Did you get the golf cart?' 'First thing, and Tanner picked it up'

'I gotta let Kitty out first... She won't go if I don't sit on the steps.' 'Wait. You have a cat that won't go to the bathroom if you don't walk her?' / 'She's the only smoking fellowship I have now. I freeze under the awning while she lays in the mulch.' 'I'll smoke with you, buddy.' (lands in 18, 50, 62, 67)

• 18 The smoking aria – the huddle
• 50 'She's in the corner, paws tucked under'
• 62 'Kitty colored coyote poop'
• 67 'You smell like you rolled around in an ashtray though.'

'She's a nervous wreck up here.' 'It's a lot of change.' 'Talking about it was one thing, but I actually live in the woods, in a shed, with a cat that ain't convinced.' 'I'm not so convinced you should do it.' (lands in 10, 34, 60)

• 10 'live like we do so I can live In a tool shed with a cat'
• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael'
• 60 'Michael, you need to stop all that and stay here.'

'She can't stay up here alone... only one way in, one way out of this shed. Cats don't like that.' 'Put the cat door in back.' 'Can't put a cat door yet. She doesn't know where she is.' 'Best way to learn.' (lands in 10, 37, 62, 67)

• 10 'She's had a cat door and eleven acres all her life'
• 37 'the cat door lets in the chipmunk'
• 62 'she runs away in a panic from something and can't locate herself to the shed'
• 67 'She's a predator, and her mind works on predator rules. Problem is she's not the apex in them woods.'

'If there weren't so many Bobcats. I don't worry about the coyotes, they can't climb trees.' 'I see prints almost every day.' 'Cub and mama, I think. I watched her just last night with my own eyeballs crossing to the dam, clearly had a big rabbit or something.' (lands in 31, 49, 50)

• 31 'a thousand Bobcat prints'
• 49 'Coyotes do okay with an AR though'
• 50 'the bobcat on the Critter cam'

'6:30 days are getting longer.' 'Still, dark. I have goulash Karen gave me. Let's skip the ride. It'll be more fun to buy the golf cart in daytime.' (lands in 16, 62)

• 16 'Gets dark at 4:30'
• 62 'Spring is sprung early'

'It was never really that dangerous.' 'Buddy, that thing's buried.' 'Yeah, but it was slow motion... It got slower as it got deeper... then it was just mud gliding over it for a second or two, and then just stop.' 'It's scary stuff. Someone could get hurt. Like for real.' 'I see that now. I think everyone saw it.' (lands in 32, 56)

• 32 'Did we just have a full and complete serious safety conversation?'
• 56 'It's absolutely amazing. You could almost film this'

'It's a real thing, debt to man. When they count on you, it's not just money, it's their safety. I couldn't have designed a lesson better with a textbook.' – Tanner (lands in 19, 22, 49)

• 19 'they make you, or they break you'
• 22 'I put you men on each other's neck'
• 49 'I couldn't have designed this lesson better with a whole human resources training packet'

'Even Cody got a little serious until we heard that door squeak open, and Rusty stands up in the window frame, and he's clearly shook... Cody rushes in. You can see his foot – holes where he stepped into the mud and instantly up to his knees.' 'Cody went in?' 'He was serious, like a cop. Steady step, just started walking in. Didn't even think about it. Needed doin, and he went to do' (lands in 25, 52, 56)

• 25 'Evaluate, plan, react'
• 52 'Cody, that's an excellent idea!'
• 56 'Told me you were ready to dive right in'

'He stood there a second. Scoped it out and told Rusty to jump down hill – then he threw him a stick. He was just on top of it.' 'I told you he's smart.' 'He can be such a little asshole, though.' 'Nothing personal, but of the three of you, he's the one I'd want on site in the moment.' 'No offense taken. Me too.' (lands in 14, 22, 53)

• 14 'Told you he was smart. He got you pegged'
• 22 'He's smart. Like really smart'
• 53 'the dude can think'

'I wouldn't let you drown, buddy.' 'You weren't in the options. But you're the guy for the whole thing. Both of you'd get someone out of the burning house, but Cody ain't much for the space blanket.' 'Image clouds.' (lands in 14, 17, 43)

• 14 'image clouds' coined
• 17 'Everybody got to pick a man'
• 43 'he doesn't dislike you'

'Don't you dance around.' 'Science, outcome. Got it.' / 'we been pouring truck after truck of loose spoils dirt on that hillside... when it rained, and the water topped over so clean, I rolled the dice. I skipped it.' / 'The dam drooled for a month. It mattered. And the storms last week really mattered... machine rot across the soil, that was the last straw.' (lands in 18, 44, 50)

• 18 'Lieutenant Obvious'
• 44 'more drool than a St. Bernard'
• 50 'slobber'

'So not your fault.' 'No, not like malfeasance or anything... I don't think any of that would have mattered. I think that loose fill soil would have slid no matter what' 'You should stop there. That's the whole truth of it.' 'Not all. Lessons learned are the bill, and this is your land too. When the hotels got me sued a dozen times and the gas station two dozen more, that was me trouble. This is your house too, so we get the lessons together.' 'Together.' (lands in 18, 32, 58, 65)

• 18 'I've been sued a hundred times for stuff I never did'
• 32 'Accidents come with lessons learned'
• 58 'Lessons learned are super, but this one isn't a lesson'
• 65 'Lesson one: Learn your lessons.'

'We delayed. I mis-prioritized. Water got under the soil and on top of it, and it slid. Nobody hurt. Skid steer open for discovery in the morning.' 'But you buy those stupid loans, so it's insured – see, I listen.' (lands in 19, 56, 58)

• 19 'The loan requires me to have insurance on them anyhow, so really what's the loss.'
• 56 The recovery
• 58 'It is a brand new machine.'

'The adrenaline dump is catching up with me. Cold as hell tonight. I'm going to eat some goulash and rest.' 'I love you.' 'I love you more.' (lands in 25, 50)

• 25 '(Anger always starts with fear.)'
• 50 'I love you, Michael.' 'I love you too. We'll get through this.'

Chapter 56, February 1, 2024 (43 connections)

February 1, froze last night, shower at Karen's promised. The skid didn't sink; it's on solid ground under the slop. Lonnie on the ridge the whole scene: clowns out of a shanty, 'Hell's a chat?', Clayton in the Tarzan quicksand and Jim Clayton's honest trailers, 'Dig, Yankee,' his boy at the cracked laptop ticking like a cattle fence, 'Thankee, Yankee,' and his own story – lumber yard closed, court fees, the funeral, 'Can't granish cash.' Michael digs from downstream; water pours out of the hill; the mud shrinks a foot in five minutes. Cody's arm as flood line; Tanner returns a1 to h8 correct. Cody made spotter, a victory lap owed. The pull: five feet back, the seat eaten, 'Don't lose your slippers.' 'All clear. Now pull.'

The line worth the page: 'Shame me again, granish the wage. I show them. I work with Blalock. Can't granish cash.' Lonnie on the ridge, to no one, during the pull. The garnishment that Cody named at 48 and Michael threatened at 46 is the father's own history, and the cash economy Stef calls a crime (46) is Lonnie's answer to a funeral he couldn't finish paying. The punishment thesis – punishment punishes the punisher – is on the page in the man who was punished.

Connected chapters: 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72

'I froze my ass off last night. I had to get in the truck with the heater on. I'm going to Karens, and I'm going to take the longest hottest shower that modern life has to offer.' (lands in 47, 50, 61, 67, 68)

• 47 'I guess I'll come up to Karen's every couple days'
• 50 'if it don't I can get in the truck and turn on the heat'
• 61 'Turn on the heat, Michael'
• 67 'I can't fit a shower in that shed anyway, but coming up here every two days…'
• 68 'It was a hard night. We slept in the truck again'

'So, um, it didn't sink at all.' 'Maybe that mean it's on the solid ground below the slop.' (lands in 55, 58)

• 55 'it sinks right into the slop'
• 58 'That mud hole sort of filled in'

Lonnie on the ridge: 'Cody ain't the only one git up on this ridge. Tell me that man honest. Ain't no good... tear out roots put up a mud toilet ain't match the roots. He laughin' at the roots.' (lands in 38, 48, 50, 70, 72)

• 38 'put a toilet down the mud'
• 48 'you ain't come up here say he honest on my porch'
• 50 Cody on the same ridge
• 70 'You was over thar again, wasn't you?' 'I was, and I see you, boy'
• 72 'she's staring up the ridge, turns around wants in the shed'

'here they come, fall out that shanty like clowns, ring leader out first throw them hands all about... just hands fly like they's distract you pull the bunny from a hat' (lands in 54, 63)

• 54 'man wave his hands all around talkin to theyselves'
• 63 'Don't play Cody with me.'

'Tell me I'm longin'. Tell me gentleman chat. Hell's a chat? Chat's what they do in them coffee shops. Chat. Chew up big words, fly em out in long sentences. Look how smart I am.' (lands in 7, 25, 28)

• 7 'Lonnie, you talk in big words when you're with the ladies'
• 25 'I saw your longing... a gentleman's talk'
• 28 'Coward, slave to they money'

'Man, that's fierce.' 'Devin with the word of the day.' (lands in 40)

• 40 'Devin. Sharp as a tack.'

'Cody, go up and get that track-ho. Check the grease. Warm it up.' / 'Tanner, how many chains we got?' 'You have three, and I have one in my truck too.' 'Four chains. Forty feet.' (lands in 37, 45)

• 37 'grease the machine'
• 45 'Rus, walk that excavator down'

'And now I smell you, and you worse'n cattle. Worse'n the pig farm here all them years.' (lands in 57)

• 57 'it was a pig farm for many years'

'Dev – hate to lay all the shit work on you, but you're just that guy... Go get those ice-cold chains' / 'I need to talk my way in, and this is at least a three mind problem.' (lands in 40, 41)

• 40 'this guy's tool enough'
• 41 'Three conversations, and I'm asswhooped'

'Rus. You fix these things. The exhaust looks free...' 'Wasn't last night. First thing I looked at.' / 'It's the fan cage back there. That's full. Nothin' stop that slop - just pack right in.' (lands in 17, 58)

• 17 'Rusty fix anything. It's got wheels, Rusty fix it.'
• 58 'I had to take that whole back cage off'

'Might's well call old man Teague with that machine. Used to was they's fix a machine got in like that. Now they's all weak, break down easy – can't fix em you ain't got they little computers and softwares.' (lands in 2, 25, 48)

• 2 Teague's junkyard
• 25 'Old man Teague, he got a dozer out front'
• 48 'knee-bow programs'

'I was about to say go get the skid and bring down the plywood from the scrap.' 'Yeah, right. I did it too when I's thinkin about shovels.' / 'What happened to the golf cart idea?' 'Let's get an assessment. Then I'll go to Karen's for a shower. I think I missed the eggs' (lands in 55, 64)

• 55 'Let's go buy a golf cart.'
• 64 'Did you get the golf cart?'

'I git up to pee, and there's my boy there tickin at that computer, tick, tick, tick like a cattle fence. Now he scared cross the line, and my boy never scared. Yankee man got him 'fraid, train him.' (lands in 5, 18, 41, 48)

• 5 'Boy's roots run deep like the ground wire for cattle fence'
• 18 'I'm the ground wire, Cody'
• 41 Lonnie dropped the first one
• 48 Tanner delivers the laptop

'Buy a whole new computer just cuz they's a crack in the screen, just cuz it ain't perfect... You spend yer money, Yankee. Buy two computers, keep my boy up at night work free. I got me a laptop now. Thankee, Yankee.' (lands in 35, 41, 65)

• 35 'The computer's your first company asset'
• 41 'Lonnie got it first, and he drop it'
• 65 'someone broke a key off his computer'

'How do you sit in that thing with the window wide open in front, thirty-one degrees?' 'I got the heat on blowin at me.' 'Not for long. Put the window down and give me the seat.' 'I got this, bossman.' (lands in 37, 52)

• 37 'Cody's got the window open up there letting all the hot air out'
• 52 'I'll run the ex.' 'It's gotta be me.'

'Hell's he call bossman? Just as I thought. That man infection run deep. Got my boy genuflect, bend the knee.' (lands in 9, 38, 40, 70)

• 9 'bossman' first
• 38 'Got no boy his own, he think he take mine'
• 40 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses.'
• 70 'expect me I should bend the knee that man tear out my whole menu'

'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide until I know it's safe.' / 'There he go. Make himself a martyr.' (lands in 28, 45, 52, 65, 69)

• 28 'Coward'
• 45 'Rusty hop out of there. That's me work.'
• 52 'Me and the machine.'
• 65 'Me work is teaching you to right work, Cody.' 'Right to who?'
• 69 'Nope. This is me work.'

'I'll nibble in, downstream. I think Rusty's right, it's on solid ground, just cased in slop.' 'That was me, bossman.' 'Good eye, Cody.' / 'If I come in from downstream I get a feel, maybe we pull it out and keep the dam increase.' (lands in 11, 52, 55)

• 11 'Good eye, Cody.'
• 52 'nibble at this'
• 55 'Cody went in?'

'there's those winches in there. Maybe we could bolt one to a fat tree downstream and start pulling.' 'It'd just pull the tree over. Hydraulic lock, plus the parking break kicked in when the bar went up.' / 'It's locked, Yankee. Rusty see that. Dig it out or she stay.' (lands in 17)

• 17 'Could run a fifty thousand pound machine hanging off a hillside by tow straps'

'maybe it's slick enough down there under the tracks, it slides like it's on ice until it digs in.' / 'No way. Hydrostatic suck.' / 'Suck's right. Hydrostatic just big word. Stuck in suck.' (lands in 7, 55)

• 7 'big words'
• 55 'It got slower as it got deeper'

'One man at a time on that plywood. Look at it. Already sunk in.' / 'When I was a kid, this was the quicksand scene in Tarzan. Whenever the villain needed dramatic punishment or the hero needed a sudden obstacle, out comes the quicksand scene, and in goes Clayton.' (lands in 55)

• 55 'a couple sheets of plywood and walk out'

'And look down there Clayton see the quicksand too soon. Think he work around it, plan a vine. Dig, Yankee... Don't need no engineer degree off sharecropper birth to sing this Star Time TV.' / 'I never did like they take Jim's name fer that Tarzan villain. Jim the honest man... Jim Clayton, house half this valley with them trailers, honest price, good product, and Dolly know it too.' (lands in 2, 48, 54, 65)

• 2 'Clayton Homes Double Wide'
• 48 'that man ain't honest'
• 54 'not one of us has even the likeness of an engineering degree'
• 65 'what you really need is an engineer'

'Man don't need no skid steer. He pull a log, make a row, plant cotton. Quarter a day, make a billion. This Yankee sink a quarter million, got more money then cents.' (lands in 25, 33, 54)

• 25 Blalock's dozer arithmetic
• 33 'two-fifty paid out of my pocket'
• 54 'The machines were two-fifty'

'I'm gonna dig. That's all we got. Ground's solid so far, and I can reach on full boom... Cody get off those boards. That's deeper than this, and... It's dangerous.' / 'Short sight. That's it. Say he got a plan, Dig. See that from the road. Boyd see that from his land. Land vacant. Boyd see that from his mama house. Dig, Yankee.' (lands in 2, 24, 45, 68)

• 2 'Mama bought it'
• 24 'the lady died. The son owns it now'
• 45 'this creeper'
• 68 'Mom passed last year, and we've sort of been on hold.'

'Go finish the second rack and work the panels into the third.' / 'Pulled. Not landed, but coiled in the combiner box on the back wall. Ready to be landed.' (lands in 54, 58)

• 54 'The first rack is almost ready'
• 58 'I landed this end completely'

'I dug out the side, and it's like a river of water coming out.' 'That's cool.' 'Ya, it's like them springs.' 'Yeah, right. Dig into the hill, and the water pours out.' (lands in 35, 63)

• 35 'There's springs seeping everywhere'
• 63 'Find the springs when the rain comes' (Tommy)

'I think I see water in the cab.' 'Yup, full up, but it's dropping as I watch. Line left behind like Cody's arm.' 'How far up did it go?' 'Seat got under.' 'Did it get in the controls? The Joysticks?' 'No. Dropping fast.' (lands in 55, 58)

• 55 'the mud would have been past the windshield'
• 58 'There was some water in there. Had to bar and blow it'

'Your arm looks like the water line in the plaster after the flood passed through.' 'Talk about a1 to h8.' 'Ha, Tanner! Nailed it. Though I'm not sure it jumps quite that far.' 'You know, I looked that up... How many moves does it take a Knight to jump from a1 to h8.' 'That was it. Lotta work. No clean path. No way to plan for all that.' (lands in 17, 24, 57)

• 17 'you got my knight jumping a1 to h8'
• 24 '(Sure, a Rook is good, but you gotta love a Knight.)'
• 57 Mernie's flood

'If it wasn't my skid steer, It'd be one of the coolest things I ever saw. The actual mud is shrinking. Can you see that?' 'The mud's shrinking faster than the machine came down.' 'It's absolutely amazing. You could almost film this, the mud is a foot below the roof in like five minutes.' (lands in 52, 55)

• 52 'like it just agrees with us'
• 55 'It got slower as it got deeper'

'I almost wish we did this last night. Maybe...' 'Um, nope. No way. You didn't want to, and that was the right call then. It's the right call now.' 'You're right, Tanner.' (lands in 19, 55)

• 19 'you need me to trust you'
• 55 'Maybe tomorrow we get a couple sheets of plywood and walk out'

'Water's out, but there's a coat of mud-slime everywhere and about an inch on the seat.' / 'we gotta lift the cab to get at the hydraulic bypass valve' / 'One of them little flower digging shovels in the trailer.' (lands in 58)

• 58 'Changed the oil, changed every filter. It's like a brand new machine.'

'Send Cody back here.' 'Already here, bossman.' 'Jesus, you scared me.' 'I'm a sneaky some bitch.' (lands in 18, 30, 50, 70)

• 18 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch.'
• 30 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch too, Cody.'
• 50 The Z route
• 70 'Boy, you need to pay attention, let a man sneak up on you like that.'

'I want a spotter. Slightest shift, let us know. Deal?' 'I can spot.' 'Only one I'd trust with it. Tanner told me how you were last night.' 'How's that?' 'Told me you were ready to dive right in, and it was you figured out how for Rusty to escape.' 'Rus was already out when I got here.' 'Humble about it too. Tell ya what. If you ever want a victory lap, know this, you got one coming.' (lands in 29, 51, 52, 55)

• 29 'Just a little victory lap'
• 51 'Is it time for the victory lap yet?'
• 52 'Rusty you're spotter.'
• 55 'Cody went in?' 'He was serious, like a cop.'

'Thas how he do it. Got my boy up all hours work his books, free. Got my boy bring back a saw. I hadda stomp up and down git him steal that scrap lumber and fix that door. Got my boy with flattery. Wave his hands around and flatter the boy. And fore ye know it, boy won't provide no more. Tell me they granish his wage. Now he work free.' (lands in 28, 48, 50, 53)

• 28 The scrap plan
• 48 'They's levy my bank account'
• 50 The saw returned
• 53 Cedar on the door

'Did the same me. Lumber yard close. I work them dozers for day pay on account I can't pay them court fees. They take money right out my boy's mouth, shame me, can't finish pay the funeral. Shame me again, granish the wage. I show them. I work with Blalock. Can't granish cash.' (lands in 7, 25, 28, 46)

• 7 'Lonnie worked at the lumber yard with your grand dad'
• 25 '(Conflicts with Mernie lumber yard story)' – squared here
• 28 'your mama hung them pinks out to dry'
• 46 'Poor communities are the only places left in America where cash even moves'

'The boss hooks are freeboard now, and I think we can get a chain in there and bucket curl a pull.' / 'Cody hand me that five-eighths chain.' 'Once he gets it through the Boss Eyes, hook me on my bucket teeth.' 'Like this, bossman?' 'Yes, just like that, pinch the hooks and get out of there.' (lands in 47, 65)

• 47 'there were feet of freeboard'
• 65 'Free board is right too. Two feet.'

'Here ---- oh, hell!' 'Are you okay?' 'Soon's I get off this boom.' 'That was sick!' 'Bro, you moved five feet back.' 'My blade was down hard. That hit... I guess it's just drop in the shit.' 'Don't lose your slippers.' 'Slippers, cute. I'll have you know these are the shoes doctors and cooks and men on their feet wear.' 'Slippers.' (lands in 2, 8, 18, 49)

• 2 'stupid shiny smooth bottom shoes'
• 8 'He clocked Michael's Dansko shoes'
• 18 'Slippers' – Bill
• 49 'Mikey Slippas'

'Buddy, that was like a dump truck gate slamming down.' 'It was loud.' / 'Pride's got extra grease. Scraped my shin on the handles. All good.' 'Looks like it's out.' 'It turned right toward the driveway.' (lands in 55)

• 55 'It was so cool. I was gliding down the hill'

'My butthole ate the seat before it threw me out. If I can get that out of my rectum, I'll put my ass back in there and finish the pull.' 'I'm glad that didn't happen while I was standing on the plywood.' 'It couldn't. The sides had it stuck tight. Once the sides came out, and the current of water lubed things up, it was inevitable.' (lands in 32)

• 32 'Did we just have a full and complete serious safety conversation?'

'Okay, so the ex is in the driveway. Get two more chains on that and someone pull it out of there --- That's Stefanie calling.' 'Hey.' 'Hey. You didn't call me this morning.' 'I woke up just as the guys hit the equipment yard.' 'Are you coming for a shower?' 'Absolutely, I'll be there in a bit. Love.' 'Love.' 'Okay, guys, All clear. Now pull.' (lands in 18, 50, 61, 65)

• 18 'All clear.' 'Clear.'
• 50 'Call me when you wake up so I know you survived'
• 61 'If something happens at night, I won't even know till the next morning'
• 65 'Love.' 'Love.' before the crew comes in

Chapter 57, February 1, 2024 (27 connections)

February 1, the Community Center. Mernie sweeps – 'Keep it up, it last forever' – and Emma sets March 2 for paint: 'How about Stefanie?' 'Too soon.' Bernie's search: a real school until 1970 and not one photograph of the front doors; the address is 1711 or 1720; Ray Reagan, born in Dupont, mechanic and pilot, justice of the peace, judge twenty years, an airport and a bridge with his name bolted on, drove home every night – 'I vote here. We all vote here.' Mernie remembers the doors: glass top to bottom, heavy in the wind. Then the holler: Charlie and Bobbie Lovell, 1989, a pig farm – and the dam that let go, five times the size, an avalanche, the house where Betty lives, the steps to nowhere, the people who left with nothing to pack. Every tease met a wall. All rock.

The line worth the page: 'Every tease met a wall. All rock.' Gibson's verdict on the easement (12, 13) reassigned to the internet by a girl described as Claude and Copilot and Gemini rolled into one (7); the machine that can find Seymour, Wisconsin cannot find the schoolhouse across the road, and the only record of the doors is Mernie's hands on the handle in the wind. The book's thesis on records is delivered as a search log.

Connected chapters: 2, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 24, 31, 32, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 45, 47, 55, 56, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65

'Emma, get the dust pan.' 'Behind you.' 'Don't know how this get so dusty, nobody ever come.' 'Comes in through the walls, but not for long. Next month will be Spring fresh painted' / 'S'not worry, Emma. Keep it up, it last forever.' (lands in 4, 20)

• 4 Mernie's broom on the 1907 porch
• 20 'It's getting so I have to make up work for you'

'March second's the day.' 'Who you git?' 'All the usuals, their kids and grandkids. I could use one or two more.' 'How about Stefanie? You can tell she was raised right.' 'That's a fact, but I think it's too soon ask...' (lands in 36, 64)

• 36 'you can tell she was raised right' – Stef's first Sunday
• 64 'Did you recruit any riders?' – the church report withheld; Feb 26 Monday call (new ink)

'This search gives me brain damage.' / 'It's 2024, and there's a Raccoon with his own cult following... This community center, it has been here since at least 1907. It was a real school until 1970, and every search net I cast for just one picture of the front of this building with its original doors comes up void – not empty, void of a photo.' (lands in 4, 20, 41)

• 4 Pickens School House; the two doors
• 20 'Asked everyone I know where the originals are'
• 41 Lenny and George – the raccoons with a following

'There's color photography in 1970 when it closed for goodness sake... Mama, stand in front.' 'Bernice, there's no call...' 'There. Now there's a photo of this place, and I'm posting it on Instagram right now.' 'Don't you post that picture' (lands in 7)

• 7 'Who needs college? Our little girl has a Samsung.'

'I can't even get a straight answer on the address. It's 1711, 1720. The firehouse is 1718, that's for sure.' / 'Thas just the way they is, the old models, we ain't pin down to no fixed thing or place. We cross the time.' (lands in 13, 24)

• 13 'Without that, we wouldn't have an address'
• 24 'A surveyor can't find an owner'

'Reagan surfaced. Reagan Circle, right here... Ray Reagan, the county judge, born right here in Dupont in nineteen twenty-one, first of ten children, first of his whole line to finish high school.' 'I know Ray. He was my dear friend. Cancer took him in 1978. I remember it like it was yesterday. Emma, he died the day you was born.' (lands in 7, 10, 36)

• 7 'his wife die of cancer'
• 10 'If you got the right name, it don't matter anymore what you do'
• 36 Mernie 'the quiet one back there'

'he went off to the war and flew for the Army Air Forces — a mechanic and a pilot both, a man who could fix the machine and fly it — and when it was over he came home to Dupont and never left it again. He married an Ogle girl, Louise.' 'I was at that wedding. Louise was the loveliest lady this valley ever knew.' (lands in 22, 60)

• 22 'there was a wedding, and I wasn't invited?'
• 60 'Don't forget Janice on that phone' – Janice Ogle (naming law)

'Ray drove to a factory in Knoxville and back every day until the county made him a justice of the peace in 1956.' 'He marry up more love in this valley – Louise do the matchmakin and Ray do the hitchin.' 'Then they made him a judge in 1958, and then would not let him quit for twenty years, straight through to the cancer' 'He's no prisoner. Ray wouldn't have it no other way.' (lands in 21)

• 21 The vows – Michael does the hitching

'He built the industrial park. He built the hospital. He built the airport between the Forge and Gatlinburg. There is a bridge over the French Broad with his name bolted to it. This county celebrates its history, but not Pickens Schoolhouse... a man who came out of a two-door schoolhouse in a valley that cannot afford one photograph of itself.' (lands in 4, 24)

• 4 The two doors
• 24 The voussoir bridge

'And the whole time he sat that bench, Mama, he never moved away. Never topped out. The judge of the entire county, and he drove home to Dupont every night of his life. He voted here. I vote here. We all vote here.' (lands in 4, 38, 39)

• 4 'where the whole holler files through to be counted as one'
• 38 'never live above your raisin''
• 39 'This's where you'll come vote this Fall'

'I have the self same problem, Bernice. I been to Williams Library, The Heritage Museum, I had lunch with Anna Garber and Steve Petty, they're kitchen table historians. I've been to the Boyd's Creek book crew.' / 'Everyone has a lead, but no picture has materialized.' (lands in 7, 24, 32)

• 7 Boyd's Creek
• 24 'Boyd, like the battle'
• 32 'That tree was here at the Battle of Boyd's Creek'

'So if you want to give up, I found a lot of old time buildings and old time doors, and I can even get a few of them purdy cheap, and I can dress this place up like it wants to dress.' (lands in 4, 20)

• 4 'bet he could buy a couple fit-in doors'
• 20 'donating a couple fit-in doors'

'I remember the doors, Emma. Like I say, I don't have a picture, but I remember them. They was glass panes from top to bottom. They was heavy, so heavy. When you come out a windy day, that wind catch them doors, and it's all I can do to hold on the handle.' (lands in 4, 20, 37)

• 4 'Were they hung the same day? Who did the work?'
• 20 'These doors. They plague me.'
• 37 'We ever gonna get back on this door handle?'

'Mamaw, If I could just transcribe your mind onto Bernie's internet. No telling what we'd see.' (lands in 7, 31)

• 7 'She's Claude and Copilot and Gemini rolled into one'
• 31 'transcribing my breath, putting it all down on the register'

'I see more about that old holler than I see about this historical building. Trail Holler... before Stefanie bought it, it was owned by Charlie and Bobbie Lovell, and that they bought it at a tax forfeiture auction in 1989. I see that it was a pig farm for many years.' (lands in 45, 47, 56)

• 45 'only Charlie and Bobbie come up see they place'
• 47 'Charlie loves Bobbie, 8/11/89'
• 56 'Worse'n the pig farm here all them years'

'I even see that a huge dam up there let go in a storm, and it wiped out the house where your friend Betty lives. Them steps to nowhere that head up the hillside in front of her house, they used to lead to a house wiped out by the flood when the dam let go.' (lands in 45, 47, 62, 65)

• 45 Betty from the screen
• 47 'the dam's old. Way old.'
• 62 'I never once noticed those steps until I saw the flowers yesterday'
• 65 'The steps. There's a chimney down there.'

Mernie: 'A terrible rain come, not days long, but days worth in one fell storm. That rain took out the old pig farm dam, they'd built it up on top of that dam's up thar now. Five times the size it is now, and it come down that holler in a piece, more like an avalanche than a flood. It wipe out the trees, cut loose the very earth from the land itself.' (lands in 11, 39, 55, 62, 65)

• 11 'the million-year landslide'
• 39 'An avalanche just landed on me.'
• 55 The slide
• 62 'young grey Poplars in that whole swath down to the dam'
• 65 'Those are pioneer species... Don't build this higher. Ever. It already collapsed once.'

The search: Pickens, West Virginia; three counties; four Duponts; Seymour, Indiana (Mellencamp), Texas, Connecticut, Wisconsin; servers all over the world; sibling schoolhouses; genealogy; Letsbeblount at an oblique angle, Blount County tourism trying to steal it (lands in 2, 4)

• 2 Seymour as Lonnie's valley
• 4 'It didn't become Seymour until 1909'

'I've been to the library of Congress, and it was wallpapered with Greenbrier Schoolhouse in Metcalf Bottoms... every time I thought I was onto something, I met a rock wall.' 'So it can't be done?' (lands in 12, 13)

• 12 'the thing cannot be done'
• 13 'If this man won't try the bore, it can't be done'

'I blew right past every polite door mat captcha I came across, every members only, every glass wall on an Instagram post, every place on the internet, and if there's a picture of this building with the original doors, I can't find it. Every tease met a wall. All rock.' (lands in 12, 13, 63)

• 12 'All Rock he says.'
• 13 'It's all rock, Michael'
• 63 'It's all rock.' – the power easement

Chapter 58, February 2, 2024 (35 connections)

Friday, February 2. The crew beats him down and Cody jabs – 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?' Rusty and Cody on the wrench: water in the cab, the back cage off, a smashed finger, 'Not how it looks from here.' The skid cranks – after Cody connects the battery. Gum trees live where poplars die. Tanner gets a notebook and Kitty as Batman; 'I never stop thinking about it.' Then the confidence: Rusty's DCS week, a brother's house, a week to find a place where the girls have their own room, no operating budget because Cody voted the full twenty. 'I will give him that money if I have to hock the Hummer.'

The line worth the page: 'I'm the homeowner, you're the boss.' 'Not how it looks from here.' Cody answers the refusal Michael has made since 22 and 40 with the only reply that has ever landed on it – the view from the crew's side – and Michael's 'That's your imagination' is the same definite-article law he used on the million-year dam. Both are right on their own books; the crew goes on saying bossman.

Connected chapters: 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 30, 31, 32, 35, 37, 39, 40, 41, 43, 45, 48, 50, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 61, 62, 65, 68, 69, 70, 72

'I see what you did there, kids. No walk up this morning.' / 'Figured we'd get started and catch up when you came down.' – Devin (lands in 14, 30, 37, 40)

• 14 'I'm a vampire'
• 30 'both of you get here before me again. Is this a thing now?'
• 37 Cody in first, machine warm
• 40 '7:45, and all four here before me'

'your pay scale don't include making the homeowner walk all the way past the pond and down the hill all alone with the bears and Bobcats' / 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?' – Cody (lands in 9, 50, 61, 68)

• 9 'Does he know you're armed?'
• 50 Bobcat on the eyeball cam
• 61 'I have bear dodging'
• 68 'Are you armed?' 'Honey.' 'Right. Just checklisting.'

'Cody signs in with the jab. Rusty? You got any smart mouth looking for a workshop?' 'Nope.' 'Me, neither.' 'Tanner volunteers refusal.' (lands in 32, 48)

• 32 'Cody here just proved his worth in one smart mouth assertion'
• 48 'You do got a smart mouth, Cody.' (Lonnie)

'Rusty and Cody, you're on the wrench.' / 'Had to bar and blow it a few times' – Rusty; 'I had to take that whole back cage off... The battery got me worst. Smashed my finger' – Cody (lands in 17, 56)

• 17 'Rusty fix anything. It's got wheels, Rusty fix it.'
• 56 'It's the fan cage back there. That's full.' – Rusty's read

'We have a doctor. She'll come look at it.' 'Nope. Just a loose nail.' 'Okay. Option's yours.' (lands in 13, 61)

• 13 Brittany, the medical abstract (3)
• 61 Dr. McCormick – the doctor Michael won't go back to

'I'm the homeowner, you're the boss.' / 'Not how it looks from here.' – Cody / 'That's your imagination.' (lands in 18, 22, 40, 69)

• 18 'That's why we keep homeowners out the machines'
• 22 'I ain't your bossman, you are'
• 40 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses.'
• 69 'You ain't the boss of me, I am.'

'Changed the oil, changed every filter. It's like a brand new machine.' – Rusty / 'It is a brand new machine. Try and remember all of that detail in your invoice this week, Cody.' (lands in 15, 48, 56)

• 15 Lonnie: 'got his brand new machines, won't let nobody get in 'em'
• 48 'It's your turn for the next two weeks'
• 56 'Water's out, but there's a coat of mud-slime everywhere'

'Then crank it up, buddy.' 'Nothing?' 'Gahhllee, I didn't connect the battery.' – Cody (lands in 6, 14)

• 6 'Somehow they batteries got in upside down'
• 14 Gahhllee – Cody's alone

'That mud hole sort of filled in where the machine was in it.' / 'when that sets up it will be like concrete. I'll actually have to run some heavy mulch in there' (lands in 55, 56)

• 55 'as that dries out this year, it's gonna set up like concrete'
• 56 'The mud's shrinking faster than the machine came down'

'The Gum trees might live actually. Those are some freaky trees. All those Poplars are history though.' – bottomland silts, roots out of the trunk (lands in 32, 62, 65)

• 32 'it's an organism'; clonal root sprouts
• 62 'young grey Poplars in that whole swath down to the dam'
• 65 'Five and flexed... See how the Gum is right in the middle of the pipe?'

'did you make up all of the disconnects?' 'Yes. I got that finished, and I landed this end completely. Panels are ready.' – Tanner (lands in 18, 52, 54)

• 18 The first disconnects
• 52 'Marry up the pairs, and get them into the conduit'
• 54 'Pulled. Not landed, but coiled in the combiner box' (56)

'I haven't seen you in my home, and I don't think you fit behind the chair to hide.' (lands in 50, 54)

• 50 'The boys got the red recliner from my Florida days in here'
• 54 'The lawn chairs are behind the recliner'

'Look out, Kitty. We're coming in.' 'She wants out?' / 'First note, cat hates outside right now.' / 'She's Batman posing for the movie poster and she's not pleased with the Riddler left her outside alone' (lands in 50, 55, 62)

• 50 'She's in the corner, paws tucked under. Eyes wide.'
• 55 'She won't go if I don't sit on the steps'
• 62 'She's off the porch at least.' 'Out of bounds though.'

'This is your notebook. You need one. This is a big job that's gonna last a long time. We're going to do thousands of things, and you need to take notes.' (lands in 35, 45, 59)

• 35 Cody's day notes; the laptop as first asset
• 45 'Devin, keep notes'
• 59 'That notebook just earned its keep' / 'What you need is to keep records'

'So, you just had that ready for me? Did you cue up the cat too?' 'I never stop thinking about it, Tanner.' 'I'm starting to get that.' (lands in 19, 31)

• 19 'you'll never get to work before I do because I never stop thinking about it'
• 31 'the moment is running in the background, one level down'

'I was up all night last night thinking about the skid.' / 'Up all night. That's not the same... That's stress. Stress will yank that stool right out from under you. The secret is complementary hobbies.' (lands in 7, 19, 55)

• 7 'I still need a stool to reach the top shelf'
• 19 'that's a comforting noose... the more your feet move, the more the stool wobbles'
• 55 Tanner: 'It's a real thing, debt to man'

'They take off for lunch every day on their own for one thing, but right now it's mostly Rusty.' / 'I did notice he wasn't making eye contact today though, and he's quiet-ish.' (lands in 52, 59)

• 52 'Did you shit in my woods?' 'I went home.'
• 59 'Hell, yeah, White Star hot dogs'

'He's got home problems.' 'Take the floor, Tanner. No need to leave me a turn.' 'Right. So, um.' 'Secret. Got it.' (lands in 43, 59)

• 43 'She lets me know when she's going in a thing and coming out'
• 59 'As long as it's me that tells him that I had to tell you'

DCS; his brother's house; a home visit; 'a week to get moved into a place where the girls have their own room' (lands in 17, 18, 59, 65, 70, 72)

• 17 'I got three little girls... Oldest nine'
• 18 'the girls get out at 2:30'; the little one in the truck
• 59 'Does his brother have kids too?' – the question Michael didn't think of
• 65 'Jed move out, and I'm move in. That's the plan. Red one's to rent.'
• 70 'I got four girls keep me from quit. Them three babies all the motivation I ever need.'
• 72 'We got the girls set up first, and we're setting up our room tonight.'

'He doesn't have two thousand dollars to get an apartment fast enough, and he wanted to know if we have anything in the operating budget, and we don't because Cody voted to take the full twenty per hour.' (lands in 21, 22, 48, 59)

• 21 'I guess we'll vote on that.' – unattributed
• 22 'I will make the victim whole with your ass' – the one rule
• 48 'the other two can vote him off the island'
• 59 'blame it on Cody. If he hadn't voted against leaving some funds as operating account'

'Lessons learned are super, but this one isn't a lesson; this is the State, having learned its lesson, protecting the endangered kids with equal measure that they protect the ones that only appear endangered next to the measuring stick.' (lands in 32, 55, 65)

• 32 'Accidents come with lessons learned'
• 55 'Lessons learned are the bill, and this is your land too'
• 65 'Lesson one: Learn your lessons.'

'I watched DCS take kids all my life at that daycare center. You've never seen such agony.' / 'There's real pain out there that you and I can only imagine because we can read words' (lands in 15, 17, 39, 72)

• 15 'Some guys marry a gal like their mother'
• 17 'my mom owned a daycare center'
• 39 'His mother is dead.' 'Exactly.'
• 72 'How was living in a noisy drug infested motel better than living with your brother?'

'The goal. The only goal. Think hard and only positive. The goal is to get Rusty into this conversation so that you don't have to get caught betraying his confidence. I won't break your trust unless I have to – but know that I have to' (lands in 19, 21, 59)

• 19 'you need me to trust you'
• 21 'You defined the firing, and it showed your betrayal'
• 59 'Was he mad at you?' 'Relieved, just like I thought.'

'I will give him that money if I have to hock the Hummer, and I intend to have it in his hands within the hour.' (lands in 41, 59)

• 41 'Man gets paid on payday. I don't care if you have to hock your C-Pap'
• 59 Six thousand at the counter in Farragut

'Maybe – I mean it's not that secret. As long as it's me that tells him that I had to tell you. I think he'd just be relieved.' 'Now you're talking.' (lands in 59)

• 59 'I told him that I told you about the apartment'

Chapter 59, February 2, 2024 (52 connections)

Friday, February 2, the phone from Jimmy John's: 'Why did you just withdraw six thousand dollars - at the bank counter - in Farragut?' No parables, state radio, 342, the BOLO. Rusty's girls at his brother's – 'Does his brother have kids too?' – two thousand each as advance pay on the workshop pad, cash for effect. Tanner: 'I won't take it.' 'Then Rusty can't have it.' 'I could call that bluff.' Giving is receiving; Comenity and the modern pawn shop; pay ahead. Then the batteries: top-balancing, thermal runaway, Chimney Tops, mini monsters under beds, AC to DC and back, 'the ultimate extraction economy.' 'Baptism without the fire.' White Star hot dogs, an ear-tagged male. 'Rusty. I got you two thousand dollars here. Go home early.' 'Michael --- thank you.' Cody leaves pauper to paper money.

The line worth the page: 'Giving is receiving. Let me receive my way.' Michael's whole transaction said plain to the one man who tries to refuse it; Cody's 'Given means gamed' (11) and 'Took is gamed too' (15) are answered in four words, and Tanner's 'I could call that bluff' is the only time anyone has the standing to. He takes twenty and hands the rest back, which is the answer the book lets stand.

Connected chapters: 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72

'Okay, so you're not being robbed. That's good. Why did you just withdraw six thousand dollars - at the bank counter - in Farragut?' / 'I drove straight from the bank, to Jimmy John's... so your call is freaky fast.' (lands in 35, 41, 46, 58)

• 35 'You're a rolling SARS report'
• 41 'Why did you take out another five-hundred this morning?' 'Are you auditing me?'
• 46 'Suspicious Activity Reports are a real thing'
• 58 'within the hour'

'Nope. No parables.' 'That's what I meant. No parables. So, this one time, at bandcamp.' (lands in 13, 45, 49)

• 13 'I speak in interruptions and restarts' / 'Parables.'
• 45 'Stops and interruptions.' 'Parables.'
• 49 'It's your own fault, Parables.'

'Michael, I have my state radio right here. I won't even call dispatch. I'll key up, 342, and I'll put out the BOLO.' 'Ouch.' (lands in 9, 25, 68)

• 9 Ouch christened
• 25 'Cop, got her radio status check, reading the MDT screen'
• 68 'Did you just narrate my police stop?'

'Nope. Start at why, not at preamble.' 'Preamble is how I get places.' 'That's amble – like an old man.' / 'Revoked. Tell it my way.' (lands in 13, 29, 53)

• 13 'Who's telling this story?'
• 29 'let the adults discuss this'
• 53 'Bring it natural.'

'Rusty and all his girls have been staying at his brother's place.' 'Does his brother have kids too?' 'Aw, hell. I didn't even think of that one.' 'Didn't think. I wish that was the case.' (lands in 17, 58, 72)

• 17 'I got three little girls'
• 58 'He's been staying at his brother's house'
• 72 'How was living in a noisy drug infested motel better than living with your brother?'

'Are we buying them furniture too?' 'No. I can't give Rusty two thousand dollars without giving two thousand to the other two also.' 'Papaw, they're not your grandchildren.' (lands in 15, 38, 42, 60)

• 15 Five hundred each as Christmas bonus
• 38 Lonnie: 'Got no boy his own, he think he take mine'
• 42 Stef's loot for seven girls
• 60 'Hi Papaw' – Syd to Tommy; the title in its right house

'Oh, forgive me my poor humor. I'll forgive you your hallucinations.' / 'balancing the books?' 'Yes. I'm glad you see that. What you're missing is that it's not a gift. It's advance pay.' (lands in 8, 12, 45)

• 8 Cody's 'balance the books'
• 12 Forgiveness, the dog never petted all the way up
• 45 'Forgiveness doctrine.' 'Fifty cent royalty.'

'They're not your employees, Michael.' 'I know, Margot – listen, I got this figured out. They will work the concrete pad for the workshop, and this is the downpayment for that.' (lands in 37, 47, 54, 65, 68)

• 37 The 1099 test: 'then the 1099 is an employee'
• 47 'When the workshop comes though'
• 54 'the workshop, geothermal, the actual house'
• 65 'When are we building the workshop?'
• 68 'And he's not my employee.'

'Why cash?' 'Well, I need it to have most effect. Plus, it will go on their paychecks when they actually account for it, so they'll pay the tax later.' (lands in 41, 46, 56)

• 41 'You paid cash for yesterday's computer'
• 46 'The whole economy up there is cash'
• 56 Lonnie: 'Can't granish cash'

'I'll come to Wares Valley tonight after work.' / 'Love.' 'Love you too. It's the right thing to do.' 'I know.' (lands in 51, 54, 60)

• 51 'Wear's Valley' ×2
• 54 'Wears Valley' – the sweep (small true)
• 60 Supper at Karen's

'Did you handle it?' 'I did... I told him that I told you about the apartment and that you were heading to the bank to get money.' 'Was he mad at you?' 'Relieved, just like I thought.' (lands in 58)

• 58 'I think he'd just be relieved.' 'Now you're talking.'

'That notebook just earned its keep.' 'I'll keep track and keep you posted.' 'No need for that. I keep track. What you need is to keep records. This is just the kind of larger sum that gets you attention.' (lands in 48, 54, 58)

• 48 'It's the record. It's the reference.'
• 54 'You're just being asked to keep accurate books.'
• 58 'This is your notebook.'

'It's two thousand each. I can't give advance pay to one and not to the others.' 'That don't make sense.' 'It does. This corporation is a gift, which means that the benefits of a corporation are the same for everyone.' (lands in 11, 15, 16, 21)

• 11 'Given means gamed'
• 15 'Took is gamed too'
• 16 'my thousand?' 'It was your idea'
• 21 'What I cannot fill is the want'

'I won't take it.' 'Then Rusty can't have it.' 'I could call that bluff.' 'Ouch. And you'd be right, but I'd be very bothered.' (lands in 14, 20, 48)

• 14 'I'll knock three of your black stinking teeth out' – the first bluff at a table
• 20 'I could call that bluff' – Bill's trap doctrine
• 48 'You got a no for every could be, Cody' – Tanner, on refusing

'giving is receiving. Let me receive my way. It's advance pay. Last time you had a nut to work with, you changed your life.' (lands in 15, 17, 30)

• 15 The two thousand saved; 'We need three'
• 17 Tanner engaged with the bonus
• 30 'pay them to be your friend' / 'It's not wrong' (31)

'I could pay my taxes.' 'Two cover the whole thing?' 'I'll get a couple car payments ahead too.' 'What's the interest on that ring?' 'They bury that in the payment talk.' (lands in 17, 43, 61)

• 17 Zales; the ring
• 43 'You two just got engaged, didn't you?'
• 61 'Tanner is going to pay taxes and... pay down the ring instead'

Comenity, the modern day pawn shop; customer stickiness; 'the whole extraction economy goes belly up' (lands in 19, 51)

• 19 'Buy big loan, pay it nearly off'
• 51 The copper aria – 'I know markets'

'Pay ahead... if you only pay the minimum, you will still owe past the maturity date... fully retroactive.' 'I read that.' / 'they make a lot of money on those few fish' (lands in 19, 55)

• 19 'interest is front loaded'
• 55 'you buy those stupid loans, so it's insured – see, I listen'

'I can't give them theirs.' 'You have to.' 'That's you work.' – Tanner, in Cody's grammar / 'Okay. I see you. You're probably right. Take out twenty and give me the rest.' (lands in 45, 56, 65)

• 45 'Rusty hop out of there. That's me work.'
• 56 'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide'
• 65 'Me work is teaching you to right work, Cody.' 'Right to who?'

'This has to be accurate, and I can't let the new guys handle it.' 'New guys.' (lands in 54)

• 54 'Accurate to who?' 'Accurate here.'

The balance lesson: eight individual batteries, 'having them connected would crash amps into the under-charged one'; green lights as a math guess across sixty-four cells (lands in 49)

• 49 'this is a triage lesson... they're nowhere near balanced'

'Take this volt meter.' '53.2 Volts.' / the solar disconnect / '53 volts.' 'When the current goes away, the voltage drops a little.' 'Physics.' (lands in 18, 19)

• 18 'Lick it and stick it'; hot landing
• 19 Nameplate, sun-hours

'The world is full of these little mini monsters. They're forgotten under beds in old phones... This whole lesson is about potential, not about likelihood.' (lands in 55)

• 55 'It happened somewhere to someone in some time' – the counterfactual as fact

'there's a dumb luck side. And most important, there's a human side. Every side managing its own current and power... speaking their own physics.' (lands in 25, 54)

• 25 'LP/OP'; 'Evaluate, plan, react'
• 54 'Same read, same man, different mood. Totally different read.'

'All the stuff that the AC power goes into converts the AC to DC in order to use it.' / 'Sending electricity to your home from twenty miles away is the direct equivalent of sending air conditioning from the same place... electricity the ultimate extraction economy.' (lands in 13, 18, 63, 68)

• 13 Cancel the Sevier County Electric permit
• 18 'we're installing electricity at the speed of light'
• 63 'ten power poles and the required fifty-foot-wide swath'
• 68 'He was super interested in our electricity.'

'Are we still on the ring?' 'Everything around you is on the ring, these batteries included.' (lands in 16)

• 16 Stef recites the plan: 'prime plus, amen'

Pytes straps, the Victron combiner box, four-aught to the inverter's battery lugs (lands in 18, 51, 56, 67)

• 18 The load center
• 51 'We need a combiner bus'
• 56 'coiled in the combiner box on the back wall'
• 67 'The batteries are holding solid, and I need the mind melt.'

'How'd you learn all this crap?' 'Baptism without the fire. Just like you.' (lands in 22, 46)

• 22 'without learning it at the barrel of desperation'
• 46 'Years, Cody. I learned it just about the way you learned it'

'The confidence of disposable income. You buy it, you find out what's wrong with what you bought, and then you try again.' 'That's why you had so much shit to move.' (lands in 29, 45, 48)

• 29 '3 pairs of jeans, one hundred pairs of socks... the books'
• 45 'three enclosed trailers... that ain't normal here'
• 48 'if something gets hard, he'll just buy the fix for it' – Tanner on Michael

'College costs money, and graduate school was outrageous, but at least I learned to hire hands to carry the load. You will too.' (lands in 21)

• 21 'I want them to be you'

'Everything eventually does – even the precious ones. That ring you bought for Emily will one day be a forgotten thing.' 'Not to us.' 'Truth.' / 'Those toilet seats will look forgotten before we use them too.' (lands in 46)

• 46 Seven toilet seats; 'a mismatched life'

'I'll give them the money --- witness. Shill. Good?' 'Shill, maybe. Witness, sure.' (lands in 21, 35, 42, 44)

• 21 'I need you as a witness.' 'Usually I'm your alibi.'
• 35 'Stef's the frontman'
• 42 'Dance, Tom.'
• 44 'No shill required'

'Hell, yeah, White Star hot dogs. Follered a bear up the driveway on the way back.' 'Was it the fat one?' 'Fat, but not the sow. A male - got an ear tag, too.' (lands in 17, 48, 61, 62)

• 17 'She's fat like she's pregnant'
• 48 'She looks different'
• 61 'two different bears'
• 62 'a street gang and their ear-tagged henchmen'

'Boyd's Creek's a strange road, two gas stations each with great food. One a convenience store hot dog and the other a whole Italian restaurant, with veal.' 'Yeah, right.' (lands in 7, 24, 65, 71)

• 7 Boyd's Creek named
• 24 'Boyd, like the battle'
• 65 'I live over toward Boyd's Creek, so this is out of the way.'
• 71 'Just turning off Boyd's Creek now.'

'Rusty. I got you two thousand dollars here. Go home early. Get an apartment for the babies... This is advance pay, but we're writing it as a loan to start. It will get paid back in payroll when we pour the pad for the workshop.' (lands in 17, 22, 41, 70, 72)

• 17 'I got three little girls'
• 22 'I said if you come up short, and the team is not ready, then I am here' – recalled
• 41 'Man gets paid on payday'
• 70 'Boy, what that man mean your two-thousand?'
• 72 'We got the girls set up first, and we're setting up our room tonight.'

'Michael. I'm not sure I know how to thank you.' 'Jeez, Rusty. Don't get all high diction on me.' / 'blame it on Cody. If he hadn't voted against leaving some funds as operating account' (lands in 21, 22, 58, 72)

• 21 'I guess we'll vote on that.' – billed
• 22 'You're both children.' 'Technically, like this lawn chair is furniture'
• 58 'Cody voted to take the full twenty'
• 72 'Nobody ever stepped in my life like that before. Saved our ass, Michael.'

'Bossman.' 'Shutup Cody.' 'Take the money. Don't suck.' / 'Rusty's my ride today.' 'Fine. Both of you get out of here.' (lands in 33, 40, 52)

• 33 'Shutup, Duran.'
• 40 'For Christ's sake, Rusty!'
• 52 'Rusty's my ride today.' 'it's just you and me, Cody.'

'Michael --- thank you.' 'You're welcome. Leave that door open. Hey. Leave the door open, it's fifty-five out there.' (lands in 61)

• 61 'Turn on the heat, Michael'

'why did you let Cody leave early?' 'I'm not Cody's boss. You three are, and nobody overruled him. Besides, the boy just got two thousand dollars cash. I'm curious to see what the most found-money he ever got in his whole life grows into' (lands in 40, 48, 51, 69)

• 40 'you're his boss, not mine'
• 48 'a different point of view to look at his future through'
• 51 'I have every reason to hold out hope for you'
• 69 'What did you do with your two-thousand?' 'That's not your business.'

'When I dropped off the computer, he let slip that the court has been garnishing his wages, so I'm sure he's flabbergasted from pauper to paper money, just like he wanted.' (lands in 28, 48, 56)

• 28 'Best Christmas gift ever, Deddy. Not five hundred bucks'
• 48 'They's levy my bank account, and this week I only get one-fifty'
• 56 'Shame me again, granish the wage'

Chapter 60, February 2, 2024 (30 connections)

Friday night at Karen's. Clover's spins and outside glands; 'Why don't you people greet me like this?' 'Well, Michael, I made you supper.' Heat and stuff – that's just the stove. Tommy: 'Bigmouth.' Musical dressers. Karen the former Clerk; Stef in the nest, Jenny at the end of the driveway, Janice and Brenda on the phone – the Henry women, a force; 'She - doesn't - cook.' 'Michael, you need to stop all that and stay here.' 'Can't.' 'Won't.' 'Differnt.' 'Same.' 'What's the twenty-fourth?' – asked by everyone; Jenny's leak near the tire, Jason tomorrow; Ethan's at his daddy's, here on the twenty-fourth. Season's 101, Saturday. Grand Teton on the TV, Nathan in red Crocs on a Jackalope, Brookies and a Golden Trout – 'You look like a meathead in that pic.' Whinnies in a bag. 'Night, Meathead.'

The line worth the page: 'Can't do it, Karen.' 'Won't do it's more like it.' 'Can't, won't, same thing.' 'Differnt.' 'Same.' The marriage's 'Decided' refrain (17, 29) played at Karen's table with Tommy as referee, and the chapter ends with Karen asking again and Stef answering for him – 'Won't.' – and Michael conceding 'Yes, Ma'am.' He loses the argument in her house and wins it by leaving.

Connected chapters: 1, 2, 3, 13, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 36, 45, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 63, 64, 67, 72

'Well, hello, Clover. Yes, baby. I know. Oh, that's my face... I missed you so much too.' / 'The spins are the best part.' – Stef / 'she's got her outside glands on to do it.' (lands in 54, 72)

• 54 Clover at the door crack, pee-mail
• 72 'Dogs rule, cats drool.' 'Kitty works just fine.'

'Hi, everyone. Why don't you people greet me like this?' 'Well, Michael, I made you supper.' – Karen (lands in 34, 55)

• 34 Jeeves: 'Only if I get food too.'
• 55 'Here's a plate.' 'Karen!' 'There's goulash and I put five rolls in.'

'Okay, Clover, you got me all claimed up... No dog will mistake me as anything but yours' / Pooty's turn; 'it's not time for a lap sit yet' (lands in 54, 61)

• 54 'She'd claw Pooty's bug eyes out of his head'
• 61 'you'll be locked in Pooty's crate in Mammy's living room'

'Wow, you people have like heat and stuff.' 'That's just the stove.' – Tommy / 'I see Clover's got a steady biscuit supply in the oven.' 'She's a good girl.' – Karen (lands in 53, 54, 61)

• 53 'Nope biscuits equal Mammy'
• 54 'Ain't no warmer in here, bossman'
• 61 'Clover's got biscuits on the brain before daybreak'

'Hi, honey. Oh, careful.' 'I could hug your guts out.' 'I miss you too.' / 'How's Kitty?' 'She's a little frustrated with all the shed traffic.' (lands in 36, 49, 58)

• 36 'That's an awesome hug, Larry'
• 49 'I'm feeling fonder already.'
• 58 'First note, cat hates outside right now.'

'Tommy.' 'Bigmouth.' / 'Ya do it to yerself. Like I said, bigmouth.' (lands in 3, 55, 63)

• 3 'I got two voices. Loud and everyone hears me'
• 55 'Tommy?' 'You're doing fine without my help.'
• 63 'Meathead here brings out our best.'

'Karen's had me moving bedroom sets all day.' 'Spring cleaning.' 'It's Winter.' 'Tell me about it.' / 'musical dressers' 'They's a tune to it.' (lands in 34)

• 34 'Stef in the basement with totes'

'Glad you didn't cook like this for the county, they'd never have stopped electing you.' 'They're getting along just fine without me.' / 'How's the new Clerk?' 'I wish it was Angie' (lands in 13, 57)

• 13 The mailbox earns a jury summons; the rolls
• 57 Ray Reagan, the county judge who never topped out

'Got Stefanie back in the nest, Jenny living right a the end of the driveway, Tommy on hand-carts.' 'Don't forget Janice on that phone.' 'And Brenda?' 'Her too. Them three never lef the bedroom at Myrtle's.' (lands in 36, 54, 63, 64)

• 36 'My Mamaw is Mernie too, Myrtle!'
• 54 'all the duckies in the same pond again'
• 63 'Brenda's getting Olive Garden soup and Janice got cold cuts'
• 64 Sunday at Myrtle's; the Henry women (naming law)

'Been married fifty years, and they ain't got me yet.' – Tommy / 'The Henry women. They're a force.' 'Yes, we are.' – Karen / 'the 1982 model is no dilution' (lands in 16, 25, 45, 63)

• 16 'April 27, 1982, ma'am'
• 25 'Born 'n raised in these hills'
• 45 'That's us. It's how we getcha.' 'Us?'
• 63 'Ten years of this guy.'

'The cooking skills diluted.' 'Michael!' 'Not like that, Karen. She - doesn't - cook – not she -can't - cook. She won't cook. I mean, her actual name took the place of the act, Cook.' (lands in 36, 63)

• 36 The recipe cards in the good cook's seat
• 63 'And we was callin' you sister.' – the name-stack

'You don't like my cooking, so I just don't do it.' 'Nope. You cooked once, added every mix matched flavor you could imagine, burned it, dried it out, forehead glistening, apron stained... establish the strike protocols and its duration.' (lands in 1)

• 1 The fight, zero tags – the couple's opening register

'What's going on at the Drip?' 'They cleaned up the skid steer, and today me and Tanner got the battery setup.' 'Heat tonight?' 'Nope.' (lands in 58, 59, 61)

• 58 The wrench; 'It is a brand new machine.'
• 59 The batteries strapped
• 61 'We got foggy breath around here.'

'Michael, you need to stop all that and stay here.' 'Can't do it, Karen.' 'Won't do it's more like it.' 'Can't, won't, same thing.' 'Differnt.' 'Same.' 'Tommy, you can't argue with this man.' 'Hard headed.' (lands in 17, 34, 55, 67)

• 17 'Not decided.' 'Decided.'
• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael.' (twice)
• 55 'I'm not so convinced you should do it.' – Tanner
• 67 'It's been a month already. You really need to cut this out and come stay here.'

'Do you want some macaroni salad?' 'I'll get some for seconds.' 'Get another burger.' (lands in 55, 63)

• 55 Goulash and five rolls
• 63 'I'll make macaroni salad. You know – a table full.'

'Jen said Syd and FD are coming. Ethan's at his daddy's.' 'So, he's here on the twenty-fourth. Good.' 'What's the twenty-fourth?' – asked by everyone (lands in 55, 63)

• 55 Ethan's wet hair, Syd taking Luna out
• 63 'It's Ethan.' / Nathan and Ethan pay

'Hi, Mikey.' – Jen / 'Jenny, how's that leak. Is they any improvement?' – Tommy / 'Still leakin near the tire?' 'That's the strange part. I'm bringing it to Jason tomorrow.' (lands in 53)

• 53 'Jenny just came home from the game'

'Hey, FD. It's about time – all you do is work. Syd.' / 'Hi, Mamaw... Hi Papaw. Mikey. Stef.' 'Hi, Favorite.' 'Hi Squidney.' (lands in 53, 59, 63)

• 53 'She and Sydney went to watch FD'
• 59 'Papaw, they're not your grandchildren' – the title placed right
• 63 'Sidney and FD' – the spelling sweep (small true)

'What's the twenty-fourth?' 'It's their anniversary – there's onions.' – Karen / 'We're taking you all out to dinner.' 'Good thing you mentioned it today. I'll need to get a night off.' – FD / 'Saturday the twenty-fourth at Season's 101.' (lands in 22, 47, 63)

• 22 'there was a wedding, and I wasn't invited?'
• 47 'You should love me like that.'
• 63 Season's 101, three four-tops in the window

'Is work busy this time of year, FD? You should come work with us up at the Drip.' 'It's the slow season, but tourists never stop entirely.' (lands in 21, 28)

• 21 'I need men to build this place'
• 28 'Been sellin' Pine to the tourists'

'Look, look, look. Lookit the TV --- That's Grand Teton.' – Tommy / Glacier, 'more like our Smokies'; Flagstaff, Brookies and a Golden Trout (lands in 2)

• 2 Tommy's Tennessee pride; the Smokies

'Who's that?' 'That's Nathan.' 'Who's Nathan? I've never heard of him.' 'You have.' / 'Michael, every name worth remembering crossed your mouth in the last ten years. Nathan wasn't one of them.' (lands in 63)

• 63 'And this dude. He's Nathan.' 'Oh, Ethan. Hi Ethan. Why do you call him Nathan.' 'It's the red Crocs.'

'It's a Jackalope.' 'Is that real?' 'It's folklore. It's a big deal out there – like our Sasquatch.' 'Big Foot.' 'Yes, Tommy. My bad.' / 'Sure they is, Stef. Right there. Nathan's sitting on it, with red Crocs.' – Tommy (lands in 63)

• 63 'It's the red Crocs.'

'You look like a meathead in that pic.' – Stef / 'Meathead, ha!' – Tommy / 'Now Tommy's got it. Thanks, babe.' / 'Night, Meathead.' (lands in 18, 63, 67)

• 18 'Slippers' – Bill's name for him
• 63 'Meathead here brings out our best.' 'I told you, it's Meathead.'
• 67 'Get her back here at a decent hour, Meathead.' 'Yes sir, Mr. Cotter, sir.'

'We left on May 10, and we camped every step of the way except once every four or five days we got a hotel for a shower.' 'So, just like home?' 'Har har.' / 'I bet that car smelled like bad magic.' (lands in 31, 47, 56)

• 31 The tent in Albany
• 47 'where are you going to shower?' 'Karen's every couple days'
• 56 'the longest hottest shower that modern life has to offer'

'I gotta head out and get back before dark, or I'll be on the porch all night with Kitty's bathroom habits.' / 'Here, take some whinnies. I packed you some rolls. Do you have mustard?' 'We get a lot of those packets with our lunches' (lands in 55)

• 55 'She won't go if I don't sit on the steps'

'You sure you don't want to stay just tonight?' 'No, I can't, really.' 'Won't.' 'Yes, Ma'am.' / 'I love you too. I'll call you in the morning.' (lands in 50, 61)

• 50 'Call me when you wake up so I know you survived.'
• 61 'Hey.' 'Hey.' 'You're up early.'

Chapter 61, February 3, 2024 (28 connections)

Saturday, February 3, early. Foggy breath; Dr. McCormick said cold is terrible; the comforter's warm. 'If something happens at night, I won't even know till the next morning.' Can an ambulance get up that driveway. DirecTV today; Tanner's paying down the ring. 'Don't do it.' 'Oh, I'm doing it.' 'At least there's heat in jail.' 'There she is.' Nagging, the gown, the legs. 'Turn on the heat, Michael.' Firearms training versus bear dodging: five pings, two different bears, 'They'll bring me back.' 'Are we still talking about the bleb?' 'Nope.' Pooty's crate, endless wool. The list: switchback, drainage, trailers, enough solar to turn on the heat – which he has on now, because he can't wear his blanket around like Andrew Cuomo.

The line worth the page: 'Are we still talking about the bleb?' 'Nope.' The word is said by Stef, the fourth time in the book (3, 18, 31), and Michael answers with one syllable and a bear joke. The anti-melodrama law in miniature: the grave thing named plainly, dosed once, refused as subject, and the chapter moves to wool.

Connected chapters: 3, 10, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 28, 31, 34, 35, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 62, 67, 71, 72

'Hey.' 'Hey.' 'You're up early.' 'Clover's got biscuits on the brain before daybreak.' 'We got foggy breath around here.' (lands in 53, 54, 60)

• 53 'Nope biscuits equal Mammy'
• 54 'Clover at the door crack like she's huffing paint'
• 60 'I'll call you in the morning.'

'You gotta turn on the heat. Dr. McCormick said cold is terrible.' 'It does hurt. Makes me clench. Not when I'm sleeping though. The comforter's super warm.' (lands in 3, 31, 34, 50)

• 3 The bleb named
• 31 'I promise I'll go back to the doctor when we get the house done'
• 34 'We agreed to table that until after the build.' 'No, you agreed.'
• 50 'the down comforter ought to handle it'

'If something happens at night, I won't even know till the next morning.' / 'None of that happens. I'm fine. A little cold never killed anyone.' 'That's exactly untrue, one hundred percent.' (lands in 50, 51, 55, 67)

• 50 'Call me when you wake up so I know you survived.'
• 51 'A little cold won't kill nobody.'
• 55 'None of that happened, Michael.' – her line, now his
• 67 'a little cold won't kill anyone.' 'Not this again.'

'Can an ambulance even get up that driveway?' (lands in 49, 62)

• 49 'the thing that makes a truck driver assume it's impassable'
• 62 'Told you the ambulance didn't need - to get up the driveway.' 'Maybe fix it anyway.'

'The TV is on – and DirecTV is coming today, so I'll have NewsMix to entertain me.' (lands in 34, 54)

• 34 'I'll have Directv transferred to this address'
• 54 'DirecTV in a tool shed. Ain't right.' 'We're different.'

'So the boys got that money yesterday. Tanner is going to pay taxes and a he was going to pay a couple of car payments, but he's going to pay down the ring instead.' (lands in 17, 59)

• 17 Zales
• 59 'I could pay my taxes.' 'What's the interest on that ring?'

'Don't do it.' 'Oh, I'm doing it.' 'Michael.' 'Yup, I took out all that money. Cash too.' 'At least there's heat in jail.' 'There she is.' 'Don't play with me.' (lands in 10, 35, 46)

• 10 'So now it's my fault you're going to jail'
• 35 'Of course, you'll be in prison.'
• 46 'It's not the value of the crime. It's just that it's a crime.'

'We did all this just last week and the week before and the week before. Doctor McCormick said stress is bad too.' 'Nope - no. He did not. Never said a thing about nagging.' 'He said it when you left the room.' 'I never left the room.' 'It was really uncomfortable in that gown too with you staring at my legs.' (lands in 58)

• 58 'That's stress. Stress will yank that stool right out from under you.'

'Turn on the heat, Michael' / 'I get sun today. We should hit float, and I can start measuring the batteries with heat tonight.' (lands in 50, 56, 59, 67)

• 50 'if it don't I can get in the truck and turn on the heat'
• 56 'I froze my ass off last night'
• 59 'There's a couple hours of daylight left, and we can store a little energy.'
• 67 'The batteries are holding solid, and I need the mind melt.'

'I have firearms training today.' 'Is that a warning? I have bear dodging. Did you see them on the Ring last night?' / 'There were like five pings and two different bears.' (lands in 48, 58, 59, 72)

• 48 'I think she's the pregnant one'
• 58 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?'
• 59 'Fat, but not the sow. A male - got an ear tag'
• 72 'I didn't get any Ring notifications.' 'Me either, but kitty was blinging all night.'

'Until one of them eats you.' 'They'll bring me back.' 'What?' 'The hardest part is standing still long enough so they won't run away before you get your fill. Poof, they're gone.' 'Are we still talking about the bleb?' 'Nope.' (lands in 3, 18, 31, 71)

• 3 The bleb, first
• 18 'Pile on Michael's bleb'
• 31 'And this damned bleb.' – loaded twice, caught
• 71 'you're there alone, and that lung. This isn't Amsterdam.'

'your next complication is a side effect. If you don't have heat tonight, we come up there, and we tie you to the hood of the car – you'll be locked in Pooty's crate in Mammy's living room.' (lands in 26, 54, 60, 67)

• 26 'I will beat you to a pulp, a literal pulp'
• 54 'She'd claw Pooty's bug eyes out'
• 60 Pooty's lap sit; 'you need to stop all that and stay here'
• 67 'She's a predator, and her mind works on predator rules. Problem is she's not the apex in them woods.'

The list: the back driveway, drainage to the gully, trees bucked and dragged, branches in a row by the pond, the trailers sorted, lathe tools to storage, 'enough solar to turn on the heat' (lands in 47, 54, 62)

• 47 'I started them on the back driveway'
• 54 The same list to the crew, nearly verbatim
• 62 'It took all week to level out that switchback'

'which I have on right now because the guys got this floor covered in mud already, and I can't wear my blanket around like Andrew Cuomo.' (lands in 21, 47)

• 21 'less mud caked to the floor and frozen there'
• 47 'My legs have grown double up here with all the mud caked to my feet'

'Turn on the heat, Michael' – warmth as the unit of care, never named (lands in 25, 28, 50, 54, 56, 60)

• 25 'that baby need heat' – Lonnie's one defense
• 28 Stove wood sold, propane for the baby
• 50 'forty-two in here now... Means no heat.'
• 54 'you've been sleeping in there without heat?' / 'That beast is a heat seeker, and at a hundred and two degrees she's a heat giver too'
• 56 'I froze my ass off last night'
• 60 'you people have like heat and stuff.' 'That's just the stove.'

Chapter 62, February 11, 2024 (50 connections)

Sunday, February 11. 'Welcome home' – a basket of laundry, Kitty off the porch and out of bounds, the locate-fear, Kitty-colored coyote poop. Daffodils at Mrs. Wiggins' roadside and the steps nobody noticed till the flowers: eerie, or fit in. The dead-houses catalog – a chimney alone, foundation squares, a weathervane rusted in place pointing Hardin Valley to the Drip, 'the directional almost beat me to it.' 'It's all so vivid.' 'I knew you would.' Wonder and cypher; spelling separate. The climb for the cat – two-word replies, 'Michael – don't,' a moss seat, forty pounds, 'took my breath away.' The house site from above: the switchback, the brown roof, six-bedroom septic, tile versus culvert, 'Easy, Tommy.' The scoop and the young poplars – Stef sees a second slide. Three GCs this week. Kitty on the stoop the whole time; a chipmunk as a vivid encode.

The line worth the page: 'It's like the sun is shining a spotlight through the clouds... They're like younger, skinnier, different color trunks all the way down the hill to the dam.' Stef sees the flood's record before Michael does, from the ridge, and reads it as a second, recent slide; Michael names the trees and says 'You're onto something.' Neither knows what Mernie told the reader at 57. The protected secret is handled by the two people it's kept from, and they get it half right, which is the book's exact dosage.

Connected chapters: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 71

'Welcome home.' – Michael / 'Right? How's it feel that way already?' 'Because you have a basket of my laundry.' 'It's absurd.' 'A little.' (lands in 45, 47, 65)

• 45 'Mornin' boys! Welcome home.'
• 47 'Wel-come-home-guys' – the owl
• 65 'That's your laundry.' 'It's a lid.'

'Is that Kitty way up there?' 'One and the same.' 'For a second I saw a cub, and I got excited. She's off the porch at least.' 'Yep' 'Out of bounds though.' (lands in 37, 48, 55)

• 37 'They's gettin' ready birth them cubs'
• 48 'She looks different'
• 55 'She won't go if I don't sit on the steps'

'My biggest fear isn't that she gets eaten, but that she runs away in a panic from something and can't locate herself to the shed.' 'Kitty colored coyote poop in the driveway's my fear.' (lands in 49, 50, 55)

• 49 'Coyotes do okay with an AR though.'
• 50 'Kitty's in the car, five minutes of suffering'
• 55 'Can't put a cat door yet. She doesn't know where she is.'

'Spring is sprung early. Did you see those Daffodils down there at Mrs. Wiggins' roadside?' 'See them? They almost made me crash into the one gate post we have left.' (lands in 3, 45, 63, 71)

• 3 The gate post that fell on the first push
• 45 Betty from the screen; 'Miss Betty deserves a more natural view'
• 63 Sherry's ten daffodils; 'one lone daffodil is bad luck'
• 71 'It's March in two days. Been warm all week'

'I never once noticed those steps until I saw the flowers yesterday.' 'Eerie. Like they took an old house down to put up the trailer.' 'I thought more fit in than eerie.' (lands in 5, 31, 34, 57)

• 5 'It's eerie 's hell that first time.' (Lonnie)
• 31 'Only you could make eerie sound dreamy to me.'
• 34 'I'll never fit in if I don't'
• 57 Mernie: 'Them steps to nowhere... a house wiped out by the flood when the dam let go'

'There's a chimney stands alone in the field across the street - Stone foundation squares not far down. Up the street there's this weathervane on top of an abandoned phone pole.' 'It's rusted in place' (lands in 3, 65)

• 3 'There's a stone chimney...' – the street catalog
• 65 'The steps. There's a chimney down there.'

Stef's four questions: 'Does that mean something?' 'Who put it up there?' 'What direction is it pointed?' 'What's Southeast?' / 'Ever since I drove by that first day, it's developed a whole personal folklore.' (lands in 7, 13, 60)

• 7 'So, it's folklore.'
• 13 'Who's telling this story?' – the aria as interrogation (Ch 62 revision)
• 60 'It's folklore. It's a big deal out there'

'Welcome home.' – Stef / 'it's pointed the exact direction from Hardin Valley to here at the Drip, but it's at the end of the trip. Like I've been coming here so long the directional almost beat me to it.' (lands in 1, 31)

• 1 Hardin Valley, the house they leave
• 31 'the arrival race'

'You love it here already, don't you?' 'I do. It's all so vivid.' 'I knew you would.' (lands in 31, 53)

• 31 'It's all so vivid' – seeded into the dark walk (Aug 21 revision)
• 53 'I forgot how much I love it here' – her version, at Karen's

'This whole place is wonder and cypher. Today it's feral daffodils alongside akimbo concrete slabs to nowhere and weathervanes pointing to the next encode.' (lands in 28, 65)

• 28 'Feel invaded... Feel empty.' – Lonnie's reading of the same driveway
• 65 'What wow and wonder awaits you?' 'You're on the pipe early today.'

'Southeast.' 'What's Southeast?' 'Sevierville's out that way, Gatlinburg, Asheville, Charleston, Charlotte – is that right?' 'Charleston's the ocean one.' (lands in 10)

• 10 'our family is in Sevier County'

'I'll learn it a hundred times, and I'll always mess it up – just like spelling separate.' 'Um, S-E-P-A-R-A-T-E.' / 'Thank god for autotypo.' / 'That's a sep-A-Rat problem.' (lands in 35, 48)

• 35 'I don't spell good' – Cody's notes
• 48 'Autopopulate ain't no word.'

'A gentleman would have took it for me.' 'These are caveman times. Give it here and watch the cat.' / 'She doesn't speak manners either.' (lands in 30, 66)

• 30 'The biggest lie of all is the South has manners'
• 66 'you forgot your manners on the bedside table'

'Get me a can of cat food.' / 'Crack the can.' 'I have to wait until I see her. That trick's more for turned-off ears, not out of service.' 'You can click those cheeks all you like, that cat's ignoring you.' (lands in 55)

• 55 'She's the only smoking fellowship I have now'

'every tree in the holler will unload a raccoon.' 'Feed the little trash pandas too.' 'Can't do that. They'll go to the weekly meeting, and they'll tell all the bears. Next thing you know, we got a street gang and their ear-tagged henchmen... Cat's probably up there right now playin the stoo-pigeon.' (lands in 19, 41, 47, 59)

• 19 'I just want to pet their little ears'
• 41 Lenny and George in the toilet
• 47 'this one's a raccoon bath'
• 59 'A male - got an ear tag, too.'

'You're out of breath.' 'It's the clicking.' 'It's the hill.' 'It's this turn-coat cat.' / 'You're literally replying two words at time.' 'And you're using one.' 'Michael.' (lands in 24, 31, 47)

• 24 'I got a lung thing, I can't climb those hills at kid speed'
• 31 'The hardest thing I do is walk up and down that hill'
• 47 'You're still a little out of breath.'

'Get higher up than me and I'll rest.' 'Now we're racing up a near vertical hill?' 'Hey - if you can't keep up - I understand.' 'Please don't.' / 'Michael – don't.' (lands in 3, 14, 31)

• 3 'Forty-five minutes the wrong way'
• 14 'I'm a vampire' – the arrival race
• 31 'right on cue for the arrival race'

'Wow, it's so pretty down there – is that her?' 'Where?' 'On the stoop.' 'I'm giving these to the raccoons.' (lands in 55)

• 55 'She doesn't know where she is'

'We'll need a life flight.' 'Told you the ambulance didn't need - to get up the driveway.' 'Maybe fix it anyway.' / 'the black helicopters would swoop in - with the repelling ropes - and take my crazy ass away.' 'High odds.' (lands in 23, 26, 61)

• 23 'the day room at the nut house'
• 26 'Are you off your meds?'
• 61 'Can an ambulance even get up that driveway?'

'No, the weight limit is forty-pounds, Michael. No hammers. No saws. Moving that arm will kill you.' 'Hush, honey. Look.' 'Literally - took my breath away.' 'Amen. Do you see it?' (lands in 3, 17, 61)

• 3 'I didn't hurt the lung'
• 17 'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle'
• 61 Dr. McCormick's orders, now with a number

'Kitty?' 'Our home. This week's work? The stretch next to the pond. See how I mulched that?' / 'see how we took those trees up – the switchback?' 'I see it now, that back driveway. I get it now.' / 'All you'll see from here in a year is a - brown metal roof.' (lands in 47, 54, 58)

• 47 'What's a back driveway?'
• 54 'the back driveway and the switchback'
• 58 'I'll actually have to run some heavy mulch in there'

'The solar panels move from the pond, right?' 'Those go over there – We'll run the septic field in that direction, six bedroom septic is a big field' / 'Six gauge copper running five or six hundred feet is so much better than ten gauge copper running just a hundred feet' 'Finally saved you a few bucks with my bright ideas.' (lands in 1, 10, 24, 51)

• 1 'six bedrooms'
• 10 'You said you're going to have to move this one'
• 24 Two septic site plans – 'Plural?'
• 51 The copper aria; 'Future proofin' wasted waar'

'Drain tile.' 'What?' 'It's called a tile.' 'Easy, Tommy.' 'Well, it is.' 'Receipt says culvert pipe.' 'Called a tile around here.' 'Look at you. Two for two on the wins. Wire and weather drains.' (lands in 52, 60, 66)

• 52 Seven sticks of fifteen-inch culvert
• 60 'Differnt.' 'Same.' – Tommy's one-word rulings
• 66 'they better put a drain tile cross that switchback or it won't be a road no more come June'

'You sure you don't want to move up here and sleep in the job site shed?' 'No pancake batter left.' 'Black magic.' 'Leader of men.' (lands in 42, 44, 45)

• 42 Pancakes with blueberries
• 44 'Leadership change.'
• 45 'You obliterated my authority with your pancakes'

'We gotta finish the switchback, work in the gravel and connect the whole thing to the main driveway this week.' / 'I don't see it, but I'm sure you do, and that's good enough for me.' (lands in 16, 54, 61)

• 16 'You built the GPS before you closed your eyes'
• 54 'the next two weeks are finish the spillway pipe, road building and solar-good-enough'
• 61 The list, to Stef

'You can see the dam a little better from here – that's our next month. It held through the rain Friday – inch and a half.' (lands in 52, 55, 65)

• 52 'like it just agrees with us'
• 55 The slide
• 65 'Are we still on the dam?'

'Do you see the scoop I'm talking about?' 'Scoop of what?' 'You accused me of making up the million year old dam.' / 'It's like the sun is shining a spotlight through the clouds... They're like younger, skinnier, different color trunks all the way down the hill to the dam.' – Stef sees it first (lands in 11, 47, 57, 58)

• 11 'the million-year landslide'; 'So you're guessing?'
• 47 'Jury's still out on that mudslide guess.' 'Not a guess.'
• 57 Mernie: 'more like an avalanche than a flood... cut loose the very earth'
• 58 'All those Poplars are history though.'

'Those are oaks and hickories and Walnuts and old, old trees on either side and young grey Poplars in that whole swath down to the dam. You're onto something.' 'And I never noticed it from below.' 'Me neither.' (lands in 8, 32, 65, 67)

• 8 'walnuts... ginseng'
• 32 'That tree is our history here'
• 65 'Those are pioneer species... Don't build this higher. Ever. It already collapsed once.'
• 67 'that swath of galvanized grey trees... they're called pioneer species'

'I have three appointments with GCs this week' / 'I just took a few names out of the Google list' / 'I called a the number on that sign you sent me – no luck.' 'I assumed the no luck.' (lands in 35, 46, 63, 65)

• 35 Cherokee Group
• 46 'I'm Michael too.'
• 63 'I'm on the GC hunt again this week too'
• 65 'I am on the hunt for GCs…' 'Don't do it.'

'We should be able to get all the way back to the stone bridge in a vehicle when you visit after church next week.' 'Sunday tradition.' (lands in 11, 24, 36, 64)

• 11 Peter and the bridge
• 24 'a ten thousand year arch'
• 36 Stef's first Sunday
• 64 Church Feb 25 / Emma recruitment seam (recent updates)

'Can you believe she's just sitting down there?' 'It's like she's looking at us.' 'I can't tell from here. I went blind from this range at fifty.' (lands in 31, 48)

• 31 'some of them are watching me'
• 48 'They watch us.' 'Like audience?' 'No, more like they cast an eye between footfalls.'

'You're the old one, Pappy.' 'Who got up here first?' 'You cheated.' 'Let's hear it. How'd I cheat?' 'Pushed me down, made me spill the laundry and took off without me.' 'I see you.' 'I should hope so.' (lands in 14)

• 14 'I'm a vampire' – the arrival race, won

'Love it. Such a clean plant, and I almost missed it.' / 'Down is so much faster.' 'Especially with you behind me hallucinating pushes.' (lands in 34, 49)

• 34 'The plant as coalmine canary'
• 49 'The cactus lived'

'Dateline makes this subject quite clear; don't kill him on a hike. Those girls always get caught.' 'God help me.' (lands in 9, 17, 29, 71)

• 9 'when they find your body in a shallow grave'
• 17 'God help me' / 'Hey, that's my line'
• 29 'Amy, I may need an alibi'
• 71 'a Bonafide bad guy with a story for one of your Datelines owns our easement'

'How's that for a vivid encode?' 'What?' 'Kitty left you a warning of her own.' 'Ahh, the lowly chipmunk. Thank you, Kitty. I always wanted one of those.' (lands in 10, 26, 37)

• 10 'And a never ending supply of Chipmunks.'
• 26 Swiffers, flowers, batteries – 'Kitty left you a warning' (the gloss the old build seeded)
• 37 'the cat door lets in the chipmunk in the cat's mouth'

Chapter 63, February 24, 2024 (52 connections)

Saturday, February 24, Season's 101, three four-tops in the window. Caroline: 'Happy Anniversary!' – and Michael hunts the big mouth; Tommy's twinkle is allergies. 'Don't play Cody with me.' Introductions: Stefanie's tin statue, ten years, twenty-four when she graduated grade school; Sidney and FD; Ethan called Nathan for the red Crocs. 'Michael and Stefanie Cotter' – 'Actually, these are the Cotters.' Sherry and the daffodils: sistered bulbs gone feral from straight lines, Lycorine, Clover is safe, starch spent every February, 'like family that never dies,' and ten potted daffodils in a Bell Pepper box for a matrilineal table – 'they give themselves away.' Twinkles with pollen on his nose. Spanish, 'pendejos. English.' Tommy: find the springs when the rain comes. Ribbons not chalk, Big Orange, Bulldogs. The house seat: eighteen feet down, never less than a four-foot wall, sixty-five by thirty-five, another bunker – concrete roof for the batteries, 'Catch fire, Michael.' Ten power poles and a fifty-foot swath across eight hundred fifty feet of a man who won't answer his phone; fourteen feet from center. 'It's all rock.' 'Anniversary dinner, Michael.' 'Food's here. Quit that.'

The line worth the page: 'Actually, these are the Cotters, and ten is nothing – these namesakes have been married fifty years.' Caroline gives the couple a surname and Stef corrects it off them and onto her parents in one sentence; the book's surname law holds by the bride's own hand, and the anniversary table's oldest marriage gets the name. 'Meathead' and 'Stef' are what the couple leave the restaurant called.

Connected chapters: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 39, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71

'Happy Anniversary!' – Caroline / 'Who was it?' 'Pardon?' 'Which of these big mouths told you it was our anniversary?' (lands in 22, 47, 60)

• 22 'there was a wedding, and I wasn't invited?'
• 47 'You should love me like that.'
• 60 'Tommy.' 'Bigmouth.' / 'What's the twenty-fourth?'

'Now, Michael the embarrassing cake scene is a birthday thing.' – Karen / 'I see the twinkle in Tommy's eye too.' 'Allergies.' – Tommy (lands in 15, 64)

• 15 Cupcakes and candles for a license that didn't come
• 64 'Ethan, did you get the cake off my counter before we left?' – the cake scene armed, not fired (notes)

'Did that delinquent over there talk you into anything untoward.' 'No, he's a perfect gentleman.' 'What's untoward?' 'Tommy, don't play Cody with me.' 'Now, that's uncalled for.' (lands in 14, 62)

• 14 'Play just dumb enough, render the info too costly'
• 62 'A gentleman would have took it for me.' 'These are caveman times.'

'Caroline, it's a pleasure to meet you. Did they give you a whole team for these ya-hoos, or are you on your own?' 'I can handle him.' 'He's the easy one... She's the worst of the bunch.' (lands in 45, 60)

• 45 'This lady's so sweet I can't imagine she curls her hair'
• 60 'The Henry women. They're a force.' 'Yes, we are.'

'You people are the sweetest!' 'Meathead here brings out our best.' – Karen / 'And we bring Tommy out to make us look better.' 'It's working.' (lands in 60)

• 60 'You look like a meathead in that pic.' 'Meathead, ha!' 'Now Tommy's got it.'

'The guest of honor here is Stefanie.' / 'Has the award committee showed yet?' / 'I was sure today was the day they'd unveil my tin statue. Ten years of this guy.' (lands in 21)

• 21 'It's not Wizard of Oz, Tanner. Every Tin Man gets the straw'

'Ten years! I'd have thought you were together as grade school sweethearts.' 'I was twenty-four when she graduated grade school.' 'That took a turn, didn't it, Meathead?' – Tommy (lands in 16, 49)

• 16 'April 27, 1982, ma'am'
• 49 'Forty-one years and two hundred seventy-seven days'

'These two are the next in line to the throne, Jenny's kids, Sidney and FD. Which one of those is yours, again Jen?' 'Mine's the girl, Mikey. She brought us FD.' 'Hard to tell the difference sometimes.' (lands in 53, 60)

• 53 'Jenny just came home from the game. She and Sydney went to watch FD'
• 60 'Hi, Favorite.' 'Hi Squidney.'

'And this dude. He's Nathan.' 'Hi Nathan.' 'Hi Caroline. It's Ethan.' 'Oh, Ethan. Hi Ethan. Why do you call him Nathan.' 'It's the red Crocs.' (lands in 55, 60, 64)

• 55 Ethan's wet hair
• 60 'That's Nathan.' 'Who's Nathan? I've never heard of him.' / 'Nathan's sitting on it, with red Crocs.'
• 64 'Ethan, did you get the cake off my counter' – Ethan back the 24th (fuse)

'Can I get you clowns a drink – no alcohol for you – you went to all that work, and you didn't give me your name.' 'I told you, it's Meathead.' 'Like the man said, Meathead. Nice to meet you again, Caroline.' (lands in 60)

• 60 'Night, Meathead.'

The drink order round the table: sweet tea, Coke, sweet tea, sweet tea – 'Twinkles?' 'Oh, you're good at this. Tell her Twinkles.' 'I'll have a Coke with Meathead. Make mine with lemon please.' – Tommy (lands in 14, 54)

• 14 'Coffee, Coke, orange juice' – the order as bit
• 54 'Turnabout's the flavor.'

'And you two lovebirds? Wanna share a drink? I could bring two straws.' 'Michael move over. We have an eighth seat, sister. Get in here.' 'I can't do that - Guys?' 'Sweet tea – Sweet tea.' – Syd and FD (lands in 60)

• 60 'Tommy, you can't argue with this man.'

'Are these real?' 'It's Season's, so we get fresh flowers.' 'They're so pretty.' 'Thank you, Karen. I'll be right back with the flowers – drinks.' (lands in 26, 27, 47)

• 26 Swiffers, flowers, batteries
• 27 'These are for you. Jackass thought I wanted flowers for the table.'
• 47 'Supposed to have flowers in it.' 'Well, this one's a raccoon bath.'

'We have Daffodils coming up everywhere at the Drip.' 'They're called Daffydils, Meathead.' 'Oh, Tommy stop with all that.' 'Well, Karen, if he's gonna move to the county, he needs a learn the language.' (lands in 16, 25, 62)

• 16 'Y' ain't got the ear for it, boy'
• 25 Deddy decoded; 'Ye ain't got the ear fer it'
• 62 'Spring is sprung early. Did you see those Daffodils down there at Mrs. Wiggins' roadside?'

'That explains it though, Stef. Look at the bulb. That one is sistered, and that's why the flowers along the stair slabs look so straight down the middle and puddled all around it. They're so old they went feral.' 'Planted in straight lines, but grown wild over generations.' – Stef (lands in 57, 62)

• 57 Mernie: 'Them steps to nowhere'
• 62 'feral daffodils alongside akimbo concrete slabs to nowhere'

'That's the most beautiful place setting, Caroline. Thank you. Can you find out where they got these?' – Jenny / 'Sherry grew them. Do you see the little garden back there' (lands in 36, 64)

• 36 The recipe cards in the good cook's seat
• 64 The pocket door at Jean's – J&S; Jenny's house (recent updates)

'She says they're her favorites. They represent everything, she says – Hey Sherry come over here.' / 'These are ---' 'The Cotters.' 'Michael and Stefanie Cotter and their family. Michael and Stefanie are on their tenth anniversary.' (lands in 15, 54)

• 15 'Me --- I take thee, Stefanie.'
• 54 'cut loose on the Cotters'

'Actually, these are the Cotters, and ten is nothing – these namesakes have been married fifty years.' – Stef (lands in 31, 47, 60, 67)

• 31 James and Gervie fifty years
• 47 'So they came up here after their closing just like we did, and they signed a tree'
• 60 'Been married fifty years, and they ain't got me yet.' – Tommy
• 67 'Get her back here at a decent hour, Meathead.' 'Yes sir, Mr. Cotter, sir.'

'We've all been in many time, food's delicious, Ma'am.' 'That one's Tommy. Don't let the manners fool you.' – Stef / 'Now, Caroline. And we was callin' you sister.' (lands in 30, 36, 62)

• 30 'The biggest lie of all is the South has manners'
• 36 'earn ma'am'
• 62 'She doesn't speak manners either.'

'that bulb is sistered as he called it. As they get older they divide, and they spread, and no animal will eat it, so they go on forever and ever spreading out slowly.' – Sherry (lands in 28, 32, 48)

• 28 Rose Pink: 'My turn this year, your turn next'
• 32 'clonal root sprouts... this tree's children, at once part of it and apart'
• 48 The bridge graft; sprouts in the refrigerator till March

'the Lycorine is on every part.' 'Did you say Lycopine?' 'No, Michael. That's tomatoes. Lycorine is a poison that the Daffodil produces to make it unpalatable... an unsuspecting dog vomiting and quite unhappy in minutes.' 'So they can't hurt a dog?' 'Clover is safe.' (lands in 9, 60)

• 9 'obtuse'; the vocabulary lessons – Michael corrected for once
• 60 Clover's spins and outside glands

'These flowers just want to live for generation after generation. Tulips would be gone in ten years or less if left wild. Daffodils live on forever an ever, growing outward slowly, like family that never dies.' (lands in 36, 57, 64)

• 36 'Mamaw's here now. She passed last year.' 'And you all still meet every other Sunday at her house'
• 57 'Them people lef off atter that... nobody ever heard from them again.'
• 64 Lunch at Myrtle's; the flowers thanked at her table

'Every new season they spend their starch, and they bloom before anything else can compete. They bring joy and hope and happiness to my Winter-weary soul every February.' (lands in 8, 32, 62)

• 8 Chicory: 'beauty on a schedule nobody set'
• 32 'It will spend all of its starch in this one year.' – the Beechnut's death sentence
• 62 'Spring is sprung early.'

'Every couple of years I have to split the bulbs. This one is its first year daughtering, so it's like a young lady... I would be so happy to give you a couple for your anniversary and some for you and Tommy too. Would you like one?' 'Jen. Thank you. I would be honored.' (lands in 42, 60)

• 42 Stef's loot for seven girls, picked by each other
• 60 'Got Stefanie back in the nest'

Kitchen sidebar: 'Greg, there is a family out in the bar. Will you please run me over ten of the potted daffodils?' 'You found someone already?' 'Well, yes, of course. They're daffodils; they give themselves away.' (lands in 21, 59)

• 21 'The need is easy... What I cannot fill is the want.'
• 59 'giving is receiving. Let me receive my way.'

'They'll fit in the Bell Pepper box.' / 'that one river stone – you thought that was too small. Do you want me to go in the garden and replace it?' 'Absolutely, please. A grey one.' (lands in 45)

• 45 Boulders, man size or bigger; rip rap

'Why these people?' 'It just seemed right – a matrilineal family, daughters all close to mamas, the bunching rule – one lone daffodil is bad luck, but mama bulbs with their babies attached, it just fits the table.' (lands in 36, 60)

• 36 'My Mamaw is Mernie too, Myrtle!'
• 60 'Them three never lef the bedroom at Myrtle's'

'Are you going to do it?' 'I'll try.' 'Which one?' 'The funny old one. He's just the guy to sit there with pollen on his nose.' 'Twinkles.' 'That's the one.' (lands in 60)

• 60 'Night, Meathead.' – Tommy's own name-giving, returned

'So what all's up at the Drip?' 'It's been the busiest two weeks yet. The guys are clicking, the machine's are turning hours, and the roads are connected.' 'I can't wait to see it tomorrow.' 'Lunch at Mama's house tomorrow.' (lands in 62, 64)

• 62 'connect the whole thing to the main driveway this week'
• 64 Sunday at Myrtle's

'Brenda's getting Olive Garden soup and Janice got cold cuts. I'll make macaroni salad. You know – a table full.' – Karen / 'Like always. I knew I was onto something when I picked this family. I had my options, you know.' 'Yes, honey. I know.' 'Sue Kiczinski cooks, Stefanie.' (lands in 17, 31, 60)

• 17 'Everybody got to pick a man.'
• 31 James, Gervie fifty years, the fish tank – 'Life's complicated.'
• 60 'Do you want some macaroni salad?' / 'The cooking skills diluted.'

'no way she puts up with your from the age of fifteen to present.' 'Okay, that one don't count. How about…' 'How about we forego the list this time.' – Karen (lands in 49, 60)

• 49 'my forty-two year old wife... childhood twin bed'
• 60 'Been married fifty years, and they ain't got me yet.'

'FD, I hope you're taking notes. This man is not the shining example on the hill.' 'He's funny though.' 'So are two black eyes.' 'We don't hit here, Sydney.' 'We do if you keep that up.' / 'Don't get sucked in, FD. You're a sweet man.' (lands in 19, 26, 60, 69)

• 19 'You're little. Why you so violent?'
• 26 'I will beat you to a pulp, a literal pulp'
• 60 'You should come work with us up at the Drip.'
• 69 'Yeah, they're violent.' 'Mine too. Those are no less violent.'

'The boy said I'm funny, Stefanie.' 'Not funny.' 'Mas gracioso que ella.' 'Mas chistoso, si.' 'Pero, ella tiene razon. No intentes esta mierda sin red. Requiere practica.' 'Por supuesto.' 'Hey, pendejos. English.' 'Yes, Ma'am.' (lands in 10, 17, 36, 69)

• 10 'Did I say it wrong? Prefer Spanish?'
• 17 Spanish with the contractor; 'School, amigos, oreja.'
• 36 'earn ma'am'
• 69 'Hablas Espanol?' / 'self defense with a bad accent'

'Was they a answer to my question in there?' – Tommy / 'Mudslide to this moment, Meathead.' / 'You do know that Michael is an M aliterative too, don't you?' 'Mmmhm.' – Stef (lands in 55)

• 55 The slide

'FD, why don't you get this kinda flack?' 'I don't' have a big mouth.' 'Take that.' 'Took.' 'Now, give.' (lands in 11, 15, 60)

• 11 'Given means gamed'
• 15 'Took is gamed too.'
• 60 'Bigmouth.'

'Do you want the whole machine recovery scenario?' 'No, we get all those on the speaker phone.' 'She..? You're supposed to tell me not to cuss.' 'More fun this way.' 'Why have a secret code if it's party line anyway?' 'Lull you into a false sense of confidence.' 'Is everything on Op?' 'Not everything, but you're slippery.' (lands in 3, 7, 19)

• 3 'You're on the car speaker.' 'So, no cussing, got it.'
• 7 Emma's 'secret code'
• 19 'Honey, you're on speaker phone with Cody and Tanner'

'Machine's out, working, road all the way connected. Mushy because it's cut from the forest floor, and the gravel has to set down.' 'Lotta springs up there.' 'Rain's the problem right now.' 'Find the springs when the rain comes. Gotta find those lest you put the seat in a big spring.' – Tommy / 'Wisdom, brother. Next on the list, rain time spring hunts.' (lands in 35, 37, 56, 65, 66)

• 35 'springs seeping everywhere'
• 37 'This kind man's got wisdom.'
• 56 'I dug out the side, and it's like a river of water coming out.'
• 65 'Let me know right away if you find springs.'
• 66 'got springs runnin clean across the road down in that easement'

'We cut the trees out of the rough seat, and I laid out ribbons.' 'Why not chalk paint?' 'At first I was just testing, figuring. Stef was arranging the front door.' 'If we used spray paint, all we'd have is a big orange splotch.' (lands in 3, 18, 68)

• 3 'a property pin with deep faded pink ribbon'
• 18 The survey ribbon stripped to aim camera one
• 68 'I saw your survey sticks.' 'Faded ribbons told me something like that.'

'Big Orange ain't the worst thing move in early.' – Tommy / 'Bulldogs, Tommy.' 'Don't look at me, Tommy. You're the one raised her.' 'I'll never know how you a Bulldog fan, house full of Tennessee pride.' (lands in 13, 50)

• 13 'Big Orange fragile stickers'
• 50 'Greenest state in the land of Tennessee, smarty pants.'

'I'm on the GC hunt again this week too.' 'Ready for that?' 'Ready enough to meet and greet.' 'That one fella got a point. Hard time find someone let you dig the hole.' – Tommy (lands in 46, 62, 65, 66, 69)

• 46 'Our subs won't like fitting in someone else's dig.' 'Hole's either big enough, or it's not.'
• 62 'I have three appointments with GCs this week'
• 65 'I am on the hunt for GCs…' 'Don't do it.'
• 66 'My men dig the house seat. And that ain't the place fer it.'
• 69 'You dig your own hole?' 'I do.'

'A hole this size, more than two hundred feet long, hundred feet down the hill. Quick run of the rotary laser calls it eighteen feet down at the highest, taper to zero at the low, but the long line is never less than a four foot wall. Buddy. We got dirt to move, and I ain't paying freight for that.' (lands in 32, 35, 65)

• 32 'Five feet high requires an engineered stamped plan and a permit'
• 35 'Cody barried us yer rotary laser'
• 65 'we'll have a ninety-foot bench here at the top of the hill. Remember, it can't be deeper than a four-foot retaining wall can hold.'

'Why's a two-bedroom hole so big?' 'It's the hillside, plus we gotta level down the entire length of the hill to get the car in the back-loaded garage.' / 'The foundation is sixty five by thirty five.' 'Two thousand.' 'Four thousand with that, but it's not finished. It's a walk-out' (lands in 1, 17, 47, 62, 66)

• 1 'six bedrooms'
• 17 Houseplans.net; lodge vs lake house
• 47 'the garage is on the basement level in back'
• 62 'six bedroom septic is a big field'
• 66 'Two bedrooms?' 'I just imagined bigger.'

'The most-uphill portion of the foundation is a fifteen by twenty-seven block – under the master closet and bath – that's where the solar mechanical room goes.' 'Are you doing another bunker?' 'Absolutely.' 'No way you find a contractor happens build bunkers too.' (lands in 9, 42, 54)

• 9 'a fully functional concrete encased bunker'
• 42 The bunker hunt; the fingerprint reader
• 54 'No banishment to the bunker or the porch'

'It's not a bunker, really. It's just…' 'Say it, Michael. See how ridiculous you sound.' 'It's not ridiculous, Stef. It's complicated.' 'Ridiculous.' (lands in 17, 31, 60)

• 17 'Not decided.' 'Decided.'
• 31 'Life's complicated.'
• 60 'Differnt.' 'Same.'

'The mainest main reason for the bunker effect is that it needs to have a concrete roof because of the batteries.' 'Why, Michael?' 'Easy, honey. It needs to be concrete because there is some potential that the batteries could catch fire.' 'Catch fire, Michael.' (lands in 9, 59)

• 9 'Pat Robertson' mini-fridge – the first bunker
• 59 Thermal runaway; Chimney Tops; 'This whole lesson is about potential, not about likelihood.'

'Stefanie, if you want to leave our anniversary dinner and head up to the Drip and plan out placement of the ten power poles and the required fifty-foot-wide swath, nearly one thousand five hundred feet long from the road to the house, then I'm happy to spray the chalk paint for you. It's all rock.' (lands in 12, 13, 57, 62, 68)

• 12 'All Rock'
• 13 'It's all rock, Michael, I almost lost the head'
• 57 'Every tease met a wall. All rock.'
• 62 'young grey Poplars in that whole swath' – the other swath
• 68 'Did they plan power poles right along the hillside for you too?' 'We're going solar.'

'There must be another way.' 'That's a fact, but they're all ways with a cost or a delay or worst a court attached. We have an easement across eight-hundred and fifty feet of the neighbor's land. We don't know the man, and he's not answering his phone.' (lands in 2, 24, 45, 68, 71)

• 2 Boyd's file
• 24 'the lady died. The son owns it now... the phone number's no good'; 'I'm trying to get the six acres'
• 45 'this creeper... I've never met him. It's a long story.'
• 68 'I own this land.' – the neighbor, at the equipment yard
• 71 'owns our easement and controls our entire sense of peace and security'

'Now that doesn't mean we can't just exercise our rights and cut down nearly forty-five-thousand square feet of his trees – that's more than an acre of his total six acres – to put in our power, but that's now how the easement reads. It reads fourteen-feet from center of a delineated line, that's only twenty eight feet of easement.' (lands in 3, 21, 24)

• 3 The easement washout
• 21 'It's a play for control': one bucket at a time vs the moonscape
• 24 'Easements get recorded with the Registrar of Deeds'

'Anniversary dinner, Michael.' – Karen / 'I'm sorry, Karen. You're right. We can't bore it. Neither one of us wants the clear cut. It's solar. And the only solution for solar is a concrete roof, which ironically is the cheapest too.' (lands in 12, 18, 21)

• 12 Gibson's bore; 'if this man won't try the bore, it can't be done' (13)
• 18 'For the first time ever, the holler has power!'
• 21 'one bucket at a time vs the moonscape only rats live in'

'Sounds reasonable to me. Good luck with the GC though.' – Tommy / 'I think we'll need to build the bunker roof too.' 'Food's here. Quit that.' – Karen (lands in 46, 64)

• 46 Michael-the-second bounces off the dig
• 64 Karen cake scene armed, not fired (notes)

'one lone daffodil is bad luck, but mama bulbs with their babies attached' – the motherless rule, said about a flower (lands in 7, 24, 36, 39, 62)

• 7 Cody's mother dead; Emma's mother unnamed
• 24 'the lady died' – Boyd
• 36 Myrtle dead; the Henry daughters
• 39 'His mother is dead.'
• 62 'feral daffodils' at Betty's steps – mother bulbs with no one to daughter them into a garden

Chapter 64, February 25, 2024 (29 connections)

Sunday, February 25, lunch at Myrtle's. Half-heard: a box fell out all over the road, she's not coming, the sink elbow ordered, Brenda's package. 'How was church?' 'Did you get the golf cart?' – first thing, Tanner picked it up. Riders for Emma: David's in. Dwight replaced the cabin switch himself – stubborn. J&S Services at your service: Jen and the kids in Jean's house, toilets out, outlets in, Michael and the guys up one day for a pocket door. Scott's no damsel; Angie is. Spisstashio puddin', the cake off the counter, the plates. David's blessing thanks the flowers at her table. Then the spaceship: Tatum, Viola, Brendalynn by the wrist, Josh coming, Kendall staying – thousand horsepower, ask Jason, no child seats, Brenda's to Dwight's and back to Mernie's. The drawer closes the chapter.

The line worth the page: 'Hi, My Love. How was church?' 'Did you get the golf cart?' The question the whole skip was built to collect – Stef at church on the 25th, Emma's March 2 ask – is answered with a question about a purchase, and the report never comes. The seam is in ink; the church stays uncollected, and the chapter lets the golf cart take the slot.

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 25, 26, 27, 31, 36, 39, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 71

-and a box of those fell out all over the road- -didja pick em up?- -called and she's not coming- – the bug-hears-only fragments, dash-bracketed (lands in 25, 31, 48)

• 25 The pond cam: thirty seconds, ends mid-thought – the Ring as narrator
• 31 'the accompaniment... transcribing my breath, putting it all down on the register'
• 48 'Ha! She's not coming down here.'

'Michael, when you parked at Brenda's did you see any packages?' 'Expecting an Amazon?' 'The sink elbow. I had to order it.' 'I'll go look again.' (lands in 16, 54, 60)

• 16 Twenty-eight Amazon boxes
• 54 'Dropping Amazon boxes at the yard'
• 60 'And Brenda?' 'Her too.'

'Hi, My Love. How was church?' 'Did you get the golf cart?' – the report withheld (lands in 36, 47, 57, 62)

• 36 Stef's first Sunday at the chapel
• 47 'I drove by your church just as they were letting you all out'
• 57 'How about Stefanie?' 'Too soon.' – Emma's March 2 ask
• 62 'when you visit after church next week.' 'Sunday tradition.'

'First thing, and Tanner picked it up. Got it charging at the shed.' (lands in 47, 55, 56, 62)

• 47 'We need a golf cart.'
• 55 'Let's go buy a golf cart.'
• 56 'What happened to the golf cart idea?'
• 62 'We should be able to get all the way back to the stone bridge in a vehicle'

-it's so mild- / -That's Sydney and FD- (lands in 62, 63, 71)

• 62 'Spring is sprung early.'
• 63 'These two are the next in line to the throne, Jenny's kids, Sidney and FD.'
• 71 'It's March in two days. Been warm all week'

'Did you recruit any riders?' 'I'm comin'.' 'David's in. Any others?' (lands in 7, 57)

• 7 'Look there, Mama you got your first recruit.' – Emma's first
• 57 'I could use one or two more.'

-I had to go all the way back to Carl Owenby's, get the switch cut though the bag- / 'You replaced that switch already, Dwight?' 'Yep.' 'I told you to let me do it.' 'I ain't let my niece do upkeep on my own cabin.' 'Fine, stubborn.' (lands in 18)

• 18 The load center; switches

-is that Camryn? Where's Jared? - / 'Jen and the kids moved into Jean's house, and these two been taking out toilets and installing outlets. Michael and the guys came up one day to put a pocket door in the bathroom.' (lands in 60)

• 60 'Jenny living right a the end of the driveway'

-the new one is grey- / 'Don't get any bright ideas, Scott. You're no damsel in distress.' 'Angie is though.' 'And Angie has you.' (lands in 60, 63)

• 60 'I wish it was Angie' – the Clerk
• 63 'A grey one.' – Sherry's river stone

-I want a popsicle – me too – put your shoes on – / 'Janice, did you make the spisstashio puddin'?' 'You know I did, David.' (lands in 60, 63)

• 60 'Don't forget Janice on that phone.'
• 63 'Janice got cold cuts'

-it was my car – in the shed – no, that was the other one - / 'Ethan, did you get the cake off my counter before we left?' 'You know I did, Mamaw.' 'Tommy. Where's the plates?' 'I got them with the cake, Mamaw.' (lands in 60, 63)

• 60 'Ethan's at his daddy's.' 'So, he's here on the twenty-fourth. Good.'
• 63 'the embarrassing cake scene is a birthday thing'

'Food's ready, David. Give us the blessing.' 'Heavenly Father. We love you so very much and thank you every day for this family and the many gifts that you have bestowed up on us. We thank you for these flowers and this meal and this day and all the beautiful days before it. In Jesus' name.' 'Amen.' (lands in 27, 36, 63)

• 27 'These are for you. Jackass thought I wanted flowers for the table.'
• 36 'Mamaw's here now. She passed last year.' 'And you all still meet every other Sunday at her house'
• 63 'Daffodils live on forever an ever... like family that never dies.'

-Viola I said shoes – where's the forks – and then he tried to tell me – Michael – / 'Michael, what?' 'I was just telling Carly you'd fix Mamaw's sink.' 'Oh yeah, the package.' (lands in 13, 60)

• 13 'Who's telling this story?' – two channels, one phone
• 60 'Karen's had me moving bedroom sets all day.' – Tommy's upkeep

'Do we get to ride in the spaceship?' 'No, he's not driving somewhere.' 'We can just go up and down the driveway, Dwight's and back, Mama.' 'No.' 'I don't mind.' 'Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship.' (lands in 2, 39, 50, 65)

• 2 Lonnie on the Hummer: 'that damn thing ain't in keepin' with nothin''
• 39 'Launch mode on'
• 50 'I hit a hundred on Pellissippi.'
• 65 'that stupid moon machine... supposed to be lunar lander'

'You better put your shoes on if you're going to stomp your feet like that.' 'Let's go.' 'Oh, Brendalynn, by the wrist and everything.' 'Come on, old man. You're taking Viola and me on a spaceship ride.' (lands in 45)

• 45 'Death grip, fingers intertwined' – Tanner's hand

'Pa, are we going on a real spaceship?' 'No, Tatum. It just sounds like one.' 'Looks like one too.' 'Viola's got a point. It does look pretty spacey.' (lands in 3, 59, 60)

• 3 'this Super Cruise is cool stuff'
• 59 'Papaw, they're not your grandchildren.'
• 60 'Hi Papaw.' – the title in its right house

'You're not going that fast with those children, Michael.' 'No, Janice. Promise. This drive is spaceship shaped only.' 'You don't even have child seats, Michael.' 'I know, My Love. We're not even leaving the holler – Brenda's to Dwight's and back again to Mernie's.' (lands in 17, 26, 36)

• 17 'Brakes, turns, look-outs... Sit back and enjoy the ride then, Sidecar'
• 26 'You can't stop in the middle of the road, Stef'
• 36 'My Mamaw is Mernie too, Myrtle!'

Drawer parentheticals: '(The extraction economy is aimed at them)'; '(owning judgment is a privilege of the loved)'; '(nobody could make money on it, so there it sits making humanity instead)'; '(connect unequal partners hot, and the current crashes into the deficit.)' (lands in 12, 48, 49, 59)

• 12 'Only the man with sin can stay his hand the stone'
• 48 Lonnie: 'Been our land all my life'
• 49 'this is a triage lesson... nowhere near balanced'
• 59 'the ultimate extraction economy'; the balance lesson

Chapter 65, February 26, 2024 (40 connections)

February 26, the shed and the dam. Stef on the phone from chambers before a day of warrants; Michael on the GC hunt, told again he is not building the house. The crew pops over the hill, Rusty's invoice gets corrected for copy and paste, and Cody is told he is here to learn to run a business. 'Then quit.' Michael and Tanner lay five sticks of spillway pipe around a Gum tree while Cody pouts in the skid. Breakfast in the shed: Rusty moving into Cody's red trailer, Lonnie's broken computer key, gummies from a Michigan man, a lean burn kit for Meghan's car. Claude the Safe Dams man reads the dam safe, gives his dam-Miranda, and reads the pioneer trees: the old dam was nearly twenty feet higher and collapsed once. 'Don't build this higher. Ever.'

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 24, 31, 32, 35, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72

'I am on the hunt for GCs…' 'Don't do it.' / 'you are not building this house' (lands in 17, 54, 62, 63, 66, 67)

• 17 'No, No, NO. You're not building the house.'
• 54 'Good try. You're not building the house.'
• 62 'I have three appointments with GCs this week'
• 63 'I'm on the GC hunt again this week too.'
• 66 Abbington, the first GC through the gate
• 67 'I'm telling you, you're not building this house.'

'What wow and wonder awaits you?' / 'You're on the pipe early today.' (lands in 31, 62)

• 31 'this guy is on the parable pipe today for sure'
• 62 'This whole place is wonder and cypher.'

Known-carcinogen stickers on every door frame; 'Prop 64 is don't goof con the GC' (lands in 54)

• 54 Amazon boxes dropped at the yard

'The guys just popped over the hill anyway.' (lands in 54)

• 54 'I got four heads popping up over the dam top now'

'Love.' 'Love.' (lands in 16, 56, 66, 68, 72)

• 16 'Love.' 'Love.' – the sign-off
• 56 'Love.' 'Love.' 'Okay, guys, All clear.'
• 66 'Love.' 'Love.' – the date set
• 68 'K, love you.' 'I love you too.'
• 72 'Okay. Love you.' 'Love you too.'

'Close the door – cat wants out' / 'Hold the door till the cat goes in.' (lands in 54)

• 54 'Close the door behind you. Let's go.'

'It's your turn again already?' / 'that's Norman, N-O-R-M-A-N' / 'Keep the check.' (lands in 41, 48, 70)

• 41 'You gotta get me the invoices so I can make the deposit'
• 48 'It's your turn for the next two weeks.'
• 70 'Man made me resubmit both of your invoices.'

'It's the record.' / 'That's you work, bossman.' 'Me work is teaching you to right work, Cody.' 'Right to who?' (lands in 48, 54, 56, 59, 69, 72)

• 48 'It's not kiss-ass, Cody. It's the record. It's the reference.'
• 54 'Accurate to who?' 'Accurate here.'
• 56 'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide'
• 59 'That's you work.' – Tanner, in Cody's grammar
• 69 'Nope. This is me work.'
• 72 'That's you work.' – Stef, on Boyd

'you are here to learn how to run a business' / 'It's a job.' 'Then quit.' (lands in 21, 49, 70)

• 21 'This business is the job.'
• 49 'I'm giving away the knowledge how to run a company'
• 70 'he give away a company, brag all his friends how smart he is'

'Are we still on the dam?' – Tanner's last nerve on high alert (lands in 49, 62)

• 49 'Not the dam again.'
• 62 'You can see the dam a little better from here – that's our next month.'

'Coffee, Coke, orange juice?' (lands in 14, 54)

• 14 'Orange Juice, Coke, coffee.' 'Actually, you said coffee, Coke, orange juice.'
• 54 'Here, coffee, Coke, orange juice.' 'Turnabout's the flavor.'

The top bench for the house seat: ninety feet, no deeper than a four-foot retaining wall can hold (lands in 32, 63, 67, 69)

• 32 'At least four feet wide by four feet high, step down, cut another bench'
• 63 'the long line is never less than a four foot wall'
• 67 'terraced benches with short walls'
• 69 'I marked the third bench, so move on to that next.'

'Let me know right away if you find springs.' (lands in 35, 63, 66)

• 35 'There's springs seeping everywhere.'
• 63 'Find the springs when the rain comes.'
• 66 'That hillside's gonna be springs.'

Five sticks of spillway culvert: 'Five and flexed'; bent around the Gum tree (lands in 51, 52, 58, 67)

• 51 Southeast Drainage; seven sticks of fifteen-inch culvert
• 52 The spillway set
• 58 'The Gum trees might live actually.'
• 67 'The culvert pipes.' – the next bill

'Is there a Google or something?' / 'a data center plot point' (lands in 51)

• 51 'All the talk these days are data centers.'

'probably kill ten men if they're standing there when it opens up' (lands in 55)

• 55 'I let it seep too long. I almost killed you, man.'

'Lesson one: Learn your lessons.' / the mudslide Rorschach (lands in 32, 55, 58, 72)

• 32 'Accidents come with lessons learned'
• 55 'Lessons learned are the bill'
• 58 'Lessons learned are super, but this one isn't a lesson'
• 72 'he just about learned his lesson for once and for all'

'Cody's pouting still... once he gets a hit tree or some other spiteful shit behind him' (lands in 32, 47, 48)

• 32 The Beechnut, half girdled
• 47 'Cody Norman's the last ring in its history'
• 48 'your spite engine'

Backfill after a bad start: 'the I dare you price'; 'a built in cotton candy maker' (lands in 10, 46)

• 10 'It's the, I-dare-you price, that's for sure.'
• 46 'the GC build includes the dog washing station and the built in cotton candy maker'

'Tanner, just put your thing on that basket.' 'That's your laundry.' (lands in 62)

• 62 'Because you have a basket of my laundry.'

'When are we building the workshop?' 'You imagine a banquet table in there, Devin?' (lands in 47, 59, 66)

• 47 'When the workshop comes though, it'll cover almost all the whole wall'
• 59 'But the workshop has to wait until we get the house done'
• 66 'No, that's for the workshop.'

The red trailer and the white: 'Rusty, Jed move out, and I'm move in.' / Mrs. King, four hundred (lands in 5, 48, 58, 69, 70)

• 5 'I paid Mrs. King rent here since you was no older'n Layla'
• 48 'Mrs. King give us three month rent we come cut that tree today.'
• 58 'a week to get moved into a place where the girls have their own room'
• 69 'He's takin' my trailer, and I'm move the one up the hill.'
• 70 'I'm pickin' up the girls, and we're suppose to move their things in today.'

'Lonnie ranting and raving about someone broke a key off his computer' (lands in 41, 56, 70)

• 41 'Lonnie got it first, and he drop it'
• 56 'I got me a laptop now. Thankee, Yankee.'
• 70 'And who keep pullin' keys off my computer?'

Devin's sister's little Honda spread all over the yard (lands in 42, 69)

• 42 'That's my sister. Cody's right. She lies.'
• 69 'His sister used it because something's wrong with hers.'

Gummies from 'That Michigan man' (lands in 70)

• 70 'a satchel of gummies so big look fake'

Lean burn and the five-wire; HHO 'a bottle bomb' (lands in 70)

• 70 'She'll go forty-fifty mile a gallon now.'

'that stupid moon machine... makes that wha, wha, wha sound supposed to be lunar lander' (lands in 2, 64)

• 2 'It ain't that stupid buzz' – Lonnie on the Hummer
• 64 'Spaceship! Spaceship! Spaceship.'

Claude, the Safe Dams man: 'Free board is right too. Two feet.' (lands in 47, 56)

• 47 'there were feet of freeboard, then rain never stopped'
• 56 'The boss hooks are freeboard now'

'Tanner's my whippin' boy' / 'I bet the injury lawyer'll see it the same way.' (lands in 18, 55)

• 18 'I've been sued a hundred times for stuff I never did'
• 55 'When the hotels got me sued a dozen times'

'this is your dam-Miranda' / 'that's not Miranda, that's Upjohn.' 'Beheler, actually.' (lands in 43)

• 43 'those pancakes, those were your Miranda warning, kid'

'what you really need is an engineer' (lands in 54, 56, 67)

• 54 'not one of us has even the likeness of an engineering degree'
• 56 'Don't need no engineer degree off sharecropper birth'
• 67 'one huge wall with an engineering bill'

Pioneer species: 'Don't build this higher. Ever. It already collapsed once.' (lands in 11, 47, 57, 58, 62, 67)

• 11 The million-year landslide; 'So you're guessing?'
• 47 'Jury's still out on that mudslide guess.' 'Not a guess.'
• 57 Mernie: 'more like an avalanche than a flood'
• 58 'All those Poplars are history though.'
• 62 'young grey Poplars in that whole swath down to the dam'
• 67 'they're called pioneer species'

'The steps. There's a chimney down there.' (lands in 3, 57, 62)

• 3 'There's a stone chimney…'
• 57 'Them steps to nowhere that head up the hillside'
• 62 'There's a chimney stands alone in the field across the street'

'this is the puddle that last one left behind' / 'one or two boss bass' (lands in 6, 52, 70, 72)

• 6 'we won't have a fishin' hole next Summer'
• 52 'They's Bullhead in here, and them Sunnys'
• 70 'Lonnie got a Bullhead, and that shed light go off'
• 72 'Everyone else brought a fishing rod'

Tanner: 'I live over toward Boyd's Creek' (lands in 59, 69, 71)

• 59 'Boyd's Creek's a strange road, two gas stations'
• 69 'He lives off Boyd's Creek.'
• 71 'Just turning off Boyd's Creek now.'

'That last one failed because whoever did it put it in the middle' (lands in 6, 11)

• 6 'where the spillway pops out the back side in the middle of the hill'
• 11 'there is a culvert pipe in it'

'Now tell me about that bridge. That thing is gorgeous!' (lands in 11, 24, 47)

• 11 Peter and the bridge
• 24 'a ten thousand year arch'
• 47 'That bridge fits in, though.'

Chapter 66, February 26, 2024 (21 connections)

Four o'clock, the shed. Abbington, Abby, project manager for a contractor found on Google, drives all the way up and opens with what the land cost and what's wrong with the road: drain tile, springs, a dune buggy hill. 'Abby, check your pockets.' He won't let Michael's men dig the house seat, says it's too close to the drainway, notes there's no permit, and prices the two-bedroom house at twelve hundred a foot, cost plus fifteen, start next spring, with in-house financing. Michael did his own take-off at three hundred a foot. Stef calls; a ride with Clover for antipasto. 'Definitely not, buddy. I'm sorry I wasted your time.'

Connected chapters: 1, 10, 19, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 32, 35, 40, 46, 47, 49, 54, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 72

'Nobody ever drove all the way up before.' (lands in 49, 54, 72)

• 49 'the thing that makes a truck driver assume it's impassable'
• 54 'Holy, he's making a run at the hill.'
• 72 'we've had a few people come all the way up, but that was commitment'

'they better put a drain tile cross that switchback' (lands in 47, 54, 62)

• 47 'I started them on the back driveway.'
• 54 'you two get back to the back driveway and the switchback'
• 62 'Drain tile.' 'What?' 'It's called a tile.'

'got springs runnin clean across the road down in that easement' / 'That hillside's gonna be springs.' (lands in 35, 63, 65)

• 35 'There's springs seeping everywhere.'
• 63 'Lotta springs up there.'
• 65 'Let me know right away if you find springs.'

'Yeah, it's a labor of love.' 'Better be love cuz the money's a waste.' (lands in 24, 27)

• 24 'Labor of love.' 'I see that.'
• 27 'Thanks, It's a labor of love.'

'All them cars park down the road says different.' (lands in 40, 54)

• 40 'Four vehicles parked in the slip'
• 54 'You guys park at the split.'

'Them your boys In the machines?' 'Partners.' (lands in 19, 21)

• 19 'your hires are not your helpers, they're your partners'
• 21 'Do you, Tanner, take Rusty and Cody to be your lawfully wedded partners?'

'you forgot your manners on the bedside table' (lands in 30, 62)

• 30 'The biggest lie of all is the South has manners'
• 62 'She doesn't speak manners either.'

'But Stefanie told me to be nice' / 'Do not scare off the nice contractor man' (lands in 65, 67)

• 65 'Do not scare off the nice contractor man'
• 67 'The contractor was a complete bomb.'

'My men dig the house seat.' (lands in 21, 46, 63, 67, 69)

• 21 'So I gotta dig the house seat.'
• 46 'Our subs won't like fitting in someone else's dig.'
• 63 'Hard time find someone let you dig the hole.'
• 67 'They don't want me digging the house seat.'
• 69 'You dig your own hole?'

'Two bedrooms?' 'I just imagined bigger.' / 'You know that'll never sell, right?' (lands in 1, 54, 63)

• 1 'Six bedrooms, Michael. Six.'
• 54 'Two bedrooms helps though.'
• 63 'Why's a two-bedroom hole so big?'

The survey printed into the bind; 'Closest corner's twenty feet.' 'Needs twenty-five.' (lands in 24, 67)

• 24 'I gotta get a full survey for me with boundaries staked every hundred feet'
• 67 'The survey invoice came in the mail.'

'You're digging the house seat, and you don't even have a permit yet' (lands in 32, 67, 69, 72)

• 32 'So you're building a house without a permit?'
• 67 'I'm digging without a permit'
• 69 'But I get the permit.'
• 72 'digging a foundation without a permit. The universe don't like a brag.'

'twelve-hundred a foot' / 'Our contract runs cost plus fifteen.' (lands in 67, 69)

• 67 'They want twelve-hundred dollars a foot'
• 69 'We do coast plus feefteen'

'I already did the take-off coming and going, and I got three hundred a foot all day.' (lands in 54, 67)

• 54 'the actual house under six hundred'
• 67 'We're evert bit of six-hundred short right now'

'if you don't have the money to build it, we offer financing' / 'No shame in it.' (lands in 10, 67)

• 10 'Oh, hell no' to a mortgage
• 67 'there's no shame in it, not having the money, but they have in-house financing'

'I'm a Project Manager.' 'Now I get it.' (lands in 67, 69)

• 67 'The kid that came was like a project manager or something.'
• 69 'So, Hector – your project manager'

'I live in that shed over there, and I have a lot of time on my hands' (lands in 29, 65)

• 29 'me and Kitty go to the shed at The Drip'
• 65 'me and this cat live in a deep woods refrigerator box'

'Antipasto?' – a ride with Clover (lands in 67)

• 67 'The app just texted me. Your salad is ready.'

Chapter 67, February 26, 2024 (31 connections)

Evening, Karen's and the Hummer. Karen wants him out of the shed; Kitty is the reason he can't. 'Get her back here at a decent hour, Meathead.' On the drive toward the old fire tower Stef hears 'one for three': the dam man good, the contractor a bomb at two point four million, the well man a no-show. Then the books: the LMA mostly untapped, John Deere Financial, sixty-three thousand on the credit card for gravel and boulders, a five-cap of dividends, a thirteen-thousand survey invoice. 'Desperate math.' The salad is ready before they reach the tower.

Connected chapters: 10, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 72

'You really need to cut this out and come stay here.' (lands in 55, 60)

• 55 'I think you should both stay here.'
• 60 'Michael, you need to stop all that and stay here.'

Kitty and Pooty: 'she'd claw Pooty's eyes out of his head' / 'she's not the apex in them woods' (lands in 54, 55, 61, 72)

• 54 'She'd claw Pooty's bug eyes out of his head.' 'Pooty won't bother her.'
• 55 'Can't put a cat door yet. She doesn't know where she is.'
• 61 'you'll be locked in Pooty's crate in Mammy's living room'
• 72 Bad Kitty restless, staring up the ridge

'a little cold won't kill anyone.' 'Not this again.' (lands in 51, 61)

• 51 'Nope. A little cold won't kill nobody.'
• 61 'A little cold never killed anyone.' 'That's exactly untrue'

'Get her back here at a decent hour, Meathead.' 'Yes sir, Mr. Cotter, sir.' (lands in 60, 63)

• 60 'You look like a meathead in that pic.' 'Meathead, ha!'
• 63 'Actually, these are the Cotters'

Warrants: 'Walk in during business hours, Warrant held high, step away from the register, Ma'am' (lands in 43, 65, 69, 72)

• 43 'Not a raid. A tax man's boot to the neck reminder.'
• 65 'I'm in chambers all morning - beg subpoenas and warrants.'
• 69 'We just walk in, get everyone out, change the locks'
• 72 'supervise the evidence collection at the warrant site'

'one for three': the dam man, the contractor, the well man (lands in 65, 66, 72)

• 65 'we got the dam man, the well man, and a GC coming today?'
• 66 'Definitely not, buddy. I'm sorry I wasted your time.'
• 72 'I have an email from the well man says he's coming at 9:00'

'I'm telling you, you're not building this house.' (lands in 17, 54, 65)

• 17 'You're not building the house.'
• 54 'Good try. You're not building the house.'
• 65 'you are not building this house. I will hire from California if I have to.'

'Easy, detective... walk through the details of the allegations' 'Sustained.' (lands in 65)

• 65 'What's Detective Derelict dialing up?'

'His price ain't high – he is high.' (lands in 66)

• 66 'We're running about twelve-hundred a foot right now'

'Oh, my little helper's back.' (lands in 17, 68)

• 17 'Oh, my little helper's in the car... telling me brakes and turns'
• 68 'Driving without my little helper ain't easy.'

'you're going to have to call Maddron' 'He won't do it.' (lands in 41)

• 41 'You won't beg Mike Maddron, so I gotta get moving.'

'Thirty-two months. In a shed.' (lands in 34, 66)

• 34 'You're not living in a shed, Michael.'
• 66 'I live in that shed over there'

'coming up here every two days…' 'Three days.' – the shower at Karen's (lands in 47, 56)

• 47 'where are you going to shower?' 'I guess I'll come up to Karen's every couple days.'
• 56 'the longest hottest shower that modern life has to offer'

'You smell like you rolled around in an ashtray' / 'Was that chain smoking?' (lands in 18, 55)

• 18 The smoking aria
• 55 'She's the only smoking fellowship I have now'

'You drive like a video game.' 'don't GTA the mountain scenery' (lands in 50, 68)

• 50 'I hit a hundred on Pellissippi.'
• 68 'flattened the curves, gunned the straightaways'

'I got the Playstation hooked up today too. The batteries are holding solid' (lands in 59, 61)

• 59 Top-balancing; the Pytes straps
• 61 'I get sun today. We should hit float'

'We gotta dig the hole.' 'I'm digging without a permit' (lands in 32, 66, 72)

• 32 'So you're building a house without a permit?'
• 66 'you don't even have a permit yet'
• 72 'The universe don't like a brag.'

'three benches with four retaining walls' / 'So, flower beds and gardens?' (lands in 32, 46, 65)

• 32 Benches cut
• 46 'that was a legal wall with nothing on it'
• 65 'a ninety-foot bench here at the top of the hill'

'We're evert bit of six-hundred short right now' / 'just today it changed about two-million worth' (lands in 54, 66)

• 54 'I got my pockets turned out over here'
• 66 'I got three hundred a foot all day.'

'Well, Charlie, get to it.' 'Schwab.' (lands in 10, 33)

• 10 'the money's parked in the Schwab account'
• 33 Duran Bunch, 'Brotha-man'

The LMA: 'It's low still. I paid for some materials and the golf cart.' (lands in 10, 33)

• 10 'We front the new place on the LMA'
• 33 'The loan ceiling is like one point three of the two I just deposited'

John Deere Financial: 'We still owe eighty there.' (lands in 19, 54)

• 19 'The loan requires me to have insurance on them anyhow'
• 54 'The machines were two-fifty'

'Leases been a five-cap for twenty years' / 'we grow to income' (lands in 10, 33)

• 10 'Oh, hell no' to a mortgage; our land sale just became our income
• 33 'I need eight thousand a month from you take home'

'Duran and Fatah pay on the first' (lands in 29, 33)

• 29 'the Fatah's wrote an offer'
• 33 'I got a seller's note.' 'That's a good instrument.'

'You owe the credit card sixty-three thousand dollars, Michael.' 'It's the gravel.' 'It's the boulders too.' (lands in 45, 46)

• 45 Landscape boulders, man size or bigger
• 46 'So you spent twenty-thousand dollars on the neighbor's land'

'Desperate math again?' 'That's the shape.' (lands in 10, 22)

• 10 'Nobody's a criminal till the desperate math kicks in.'
• 22 'without learning it at the barrel of desperation'

'Appearances, Michael.' 'Not reality.' (lands in 35)

• 35 'Appearance is reality.' 'And reality is, nothing is what it appears.'

'Duran's and mine. Same passwords.' 'I'll change those.' (lands in 54)

• 54 'You have the same passwords I have – it's close.'

'The survey invoice came in the mail.' 'Thirteen thousand, Michael.' (lands in 24, 66)

• 24 'K, so marked survey and two site plans.'
• 66 'I had the survey printed into the bind.'

'A Thirteen-thousand dollar bounced check is a crime.' 'since my kiting days' (lands in 10, 46)

• 10 'Famous last words of every class-a felony I file'
• 46 'It's not the value of the crime. It's just that it's a crime.'

'So the dam man said you have a good eye – noticing that swath of galvanized grey trees.' (lands in 62, 65)

• 62 'young grey Poplars in that whole swath down to the dam'
• 65 'Those are pioneer species – they fill open space first.'

Chapter 68, February 27, 2024 (29 connections)

Morning. Cody calls from the excavator: a Rottweiler has him treed, let loose by a man in a red beater who says he owns the land next door. Michael leaves his cart in a Food City aisle, flies past the Wye and the storage place with Stef on the phone, and pins the red Mitsubishi in the easement pinch. Kegan, in a seersucker suit; Yulia, Russian, smoking; a two-year-old in the back seat beside the growling dog. 'Mom passed last year.' They had planned cabins and power poles. Numbers traded. Stef runs the scene like a stop: 'Car, Michael.' Patrick's land lookup: October 2022, eighty thousand. 'He was super interested in our electricity.'

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 45, 46, 47, 50, 54, 56, 58, 59, 63, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71

'That's a Rottweiler got me trapped in the ho' (lands in 2, 69, 70)

• 2 'they got two of them Rottweiler dogs too'
• 69 'He kept the dog that murdered his mother.'
• 70 'Ida liked to see the look on your face when that Rottweiler come at you'

'I own this land.' 'Fuck you do.' / 'Says he owns the land next door.' (lands in 2, 7, 24, 45, 63)

• 2 'Like I said, Mama bought it. He livin' with Mama.'
• 7 'a man name of Boyd, picture of evil himself, is the man owns the land marks the only entrance'
• 24 'I guess the lady died. The son owns it now.'
• 45 'you said it belongs to this creeper'
• 63 'We don't know the man, and he's not answering his phone.'

Red Mitsubishi, the beater: 'A Mirage.' (lands in 2, 71)

• 2 'when he saw that red Mitsubishi in the driveway'
• 71 an old IROC-Z with no front hood, pulled in backwards

'Did you call nine-one-one?' 'No.' / 'Are you armed?' 'Honey.' (lands in 9, 58, 71)

• 9 'Does he know you're armed?'
• 58 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?'
• 71 'I have a gun and a gas pedal'

'I'm at the Wye.' 'Wait, a dog attacks your employee, and you stop for smokes?' (lands in 3, 15)

• 3 'There's that gas station at the Wye.'
• 15 'I went to the Wye and I got some Hostess and a pack of birthday candles'

'And he's not my employee.' (lands in 19, 59)

• 19 'your hires are not your helpers, they're your partners'
• 59 'They're not your employees, Michael.'

'Driving without my little helper ain't easy.' / 'Slow down, hurry up.' (lands in 17, 67)

• 17 'Oh, my little helper's in the car.'
• 67 'Oh, my little helper's back.'

The storage place for sale: 'That whole place is ten garages.' (lands in 50)

• 50 'Two full ten by ten storage units full to the rafters'

Pinned at the turn in the easement, the boulders on his right (lands in 45, 46, 47, 69)

• 45 Landscape boulders, man size or bigger
• 46 'We put in almost a hundred man size boulders'
• 47 'Do you see why I did boulders on the easement?'
• 69 'I just had him pinned in at the end of the driveway with the Hummer.'

'Hi, I'm Yulia.' 'Hi Julia.' / 'Actually, seemed Russian.' (lands in 2)

• 2 'Kiddy diddler, mama, immigrant wife, little infant girl, and them two dogs'

A two-year-old in the back seat with the growling dog: 'he's just protecting the baby' (lands in 2)

• 2 'Baby fat and happy in the bouncy-roll-around seat'

'My mom and I bought this place last year with a plan to build a few cabins.' / 'Mom passed last year' (lands in 2, 24, 56, 69)

• 2 'Mama bought it.'
• 24 'I guess the lady died. The son owns it now.'
• 56 'Boyd see that from his mama house.'
• 69 '--- his mother?'

'I saw your survey sticks.' / 'Faded ribbons told me something like that.' (lands in 3, 24, 56, 63)

• 3 'a property pin with deep faded pink ribbon'
• 24 'I saw the easement pins coming up'
• 56 Boyd's paid survey markers
• 63 'I laid out ribbons.'

'We were going to build short term rentals.' (lands in 29, 33)

• 29 'You guys can stay in my short term rental'
• 33 'are you guys getting a short term rental or an RV?'

'Did they plan power poles right along the hillside for you too?' 'We're going solar.' (lands in 13, 18, 63)

• 13 'call Sevier County Electric to cancel the permit'
• 18 'For the first time ever, the holler has power!'
• 63 'the ten power poles and the required fifty-foot-wide swath'

'But let me get your phone number.' (lands in 24, 50, 63)

• 24 'the phone number's no good'
• 50 'I'll have to stop in down there tomorrow and exchange phone numbers'
• 63 'he's not answering his phone'

'Paint me a car.' / 'Car, Michael.' / 'Wheel left, hit gas. You're toast.' (lands in 25, 59, 71)

• 25 'Cop, got her radio status check, reading the MDT screen'
• 59 'I'll key up, 342, and I'll put out the BOLO.'
• 71 'You on Humphrey or Howard?'

'Man that's a blind curve. I almost got hit again backing out.' (lands in 2, 3)

• 2 'He almost smashed right into the back end of that piece of shit Hummer right there at the blind' curve
• 3 'this dude almost parked a pickup... right in' the Hummer

Cody: 'pull a gun, get in the cab, same time – no gun.' / 'No thinkin'. Scared.' (lands in 58, 70)

• 58 'Why carry a gun everywhere if yer gonna be scared?'
• 70 'I's movin' so fast the clock ain't keep up.'

'Suit's weird.' / 'my man in a suit. That's an occasion.' / 'Sears-sucker.' (lands in 70)

• 70 'guy walkin' casual in church shoes'

'When Patrick looked up the land, he said it changed hands in October of 2022, and they paid eighty-thousand.' (lands in 26)

• 26 'before you got Patrick to find land'

'there's a date-of-death-valuation comes with an inheritance' (lands in 24)

• 24 'I guess the lady died. The son owns it now.'

'He was super interested in our electricity.' (lands in 18, 59)

• 18 'For the first time ever, the holler has power!'
• 59 'electricity the ultimate extraction economy'

'now I gotta send the butler for my groceries' (lands in 34, 54, 65)

• 34 'I'm going to have a butler.'
• 54 'I'm gonna need the butler get me some groceries today though.'
• 65 'Butler or no butler it's miserable in here.'

'We slept in the truck again' (lands in 50, 56)

• 50 'if it don't I can get in the truck and turn on the heat'
• 56 'I had to get in the truck with the heater on'

Chapter 69, February 27, 2024 (31 connections)

Midday. Enrique, the Facebook contractor: site plan, house plan, Michael digs his own hole. Spanish both ways – 'self defense with a bad accent.' Cost plus fifteen, six hundred easy, maybe seven-fifty, but Enrique's license covers only two-fifty, so Michael pulls the permit. The dig hits shale tops and blue rock; crumble gets stacked on the old forest road. Cody won't say what he did with his two thousand or whether he got the license. 'You ain't the boss of me, I am.' He walks off down the road. Stef calls: the neighbor is a registered sex offender, and the dog may be one that mauled his mother. Tanner admits Cody talks about him. Michael heads for a rental so the Hummer won't be recognized.

Connected chapters: 2, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24, 26, 31, 34, 35, 37, 40, 45, 46, 48, 51, 54, 56, 58, 59, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72

'Hi, I'm Enrique.' / 'Is Facebook working out?' (lands in 18, 24, 70)

• 18 'my draw is informal Facebook leftovers and their friends'
• 24 'I put some bait out on Facebook, and they wandered right in the trap.'
• 70 'why ain't we just put that Facebook ad again, fix machines on site?'

'You dig your own hole?' 'I do.' (lands in 63, 66, 67)

• 63 'Hard time find someone let you dig the hole.'
• 66 'My men dig the house seat.'
• 67 'They don't want me digging the house seat.'

Spanish: 'It's self defense with a bad accent.' (lands in 10, 17, 63, 70)

• 10 'Did I say it wrong? Prefer Spanish?'
• 17 'School, amigos, oreja.'
• 63 'Hey, pendejos. English.'
• 70 'he's speak Spanish just like them'

'Yeah, they're violent. My wife ees American.' 'Mine too.' (lands in 19, 26, 63)

• 19 'You're little. Why you so violent?'
• 26 'I will beat you to a pulp, a literal pulp'
• 63 'So are two black eyes.'

'my license cober only two-feefty' / 'But I get the permit.' (lands in 35, 66)

• 35 'remodeler's license, twenty-five thousand limit'
• 66 'Permit's the GC problem.'

'coast plus feefteen... Seex hundred easy, so maybe seven-feefty' (lands in 54, 66, 67)

• 54 'the actual house under six hundred'
• 66 'Our contract runs cost plus fifteen.'
• 67 'that's if the house costs six-hundred'

'I'm trying to figure out how to hide Stefanie's bullets.' (lands in 65, 67)

• 65 'you are not building this house'
• 67 'Don't sabotage though, promise?'

'Robby is coming next week to look deeply at the house septic' (lands in 34, 35)

• 34 'You Michael? I'm Robby Giles.'
• 35 'Do you always smell like that?'

Shale tops, crumble rock, blue rock in the second bench (lands in 35, 46, 72)

• 35 'He hit some shale tops... and he hit blue rock in the back.'
• 46 'Under all that topsoil you boys moved is shale, that's class-A soil'
• 72 'as long as you're shale-top-crumbles, stack out the road up there'

'Turn it off and pull all the air filters... Grease the machine and inspect everything.' (lands in 37, 72)

• 37 'make sure you grease the machine once Rusty gets here'
• 72 'Gonna blow the seal on that idler if I don't let off grease.'

Erosion fence, twenty-five hundred feet (lands in 72)

• 72 'Put Devin on erosion fence.'

'Today we meet my landlord and get Rusty setup. We gotta move him.' (lands in 65, 70, 72)

• 65 'Rusty, Jed move out, and I'm move in.'
• 70 'The girls move in tonight.'
• 72 'How's the new place?'

'What did you do with your two-thousand?' 'That's not your business.' (lands in 59, 70)

• 59 'the boy just got two thousand dollars cash'
• 70 'Boy, what that man mean your two-thousand?'

'the license money from sixty-eight days ago' (lands in 14, 15, 48, 51)

• 14 'Why don't you have a license?'
• 15 'Sixteen years old and got his first license.'
• 48 'Is that why you haven't gotten your license yet?'
• 51 'money for a driver's license almost forty days ago'

'You ain't the boss of me, I am.' (lands in 22, 40, 58)

• 22 'I ain't your bossman, you are.'
• 40 'Nope, I'm the homeowner. You's the bosses.'
• 58 'I'm the homeowner, you're the boss.'

Cody walking down the road; two half days (lands in 31, 72)

• 31 'I hear Cody's Chevylegs walking up the driveway'
• 72 'Any bet Cody rides them Legborghinis to work?'

'I just looked up around time to get the girls' (lands in 18, 65)

• 18 'the girls get out at 2:30'
• 65 'I got the girls at 2:45.'

'He's a registered sex offender with a story should have been on the news.' (lands in 2, 71)

• 2 'computer screens got them little red dots all over the map show where these molesters live'
• 71 'every parent's wet dream kids trick or treat in the child molester's neighborhood'

'He kept the dog that murdered his mother.' (lands in 2, 68, 70)

• 2 'them dogs attack her and rip her throat out, and she dead'
• 68 'That's a Rottweiler got me trapped in the ho'
• 70 'Weird he kept them dogs – same dog?'

'We just walk in, get everyone out, change the locks, sticker the doors' (lands in 67, 72)

• 67 'Walk in during business hours, Warrant held high'
• 72 'supervise the evidence collection at the warrant site'

'It's a red dot on a screen' / 'He lives off Boyd's Creek.' (lands in 2, 65, 71)

• 2 'little red dots all over the map'
• 65 'I live over toward Boyd's Creek'
• 71 'Just turning off Boyd's Creek now.'

'You said, the creeper, back when we were doing the boulders.' (lands in 45)

• 45 'you said it belongs to this creeper'

'he wants him to build his house here, like fantasizes about how mad you'll be' (lands in 70)

• 70 'now that Boyd come skull aroun' and he put up a house the only way Lonnie know git into that holler'

'Nope. This is me work.' (lands in 56, 65, 72)

• 56 'That's me work. Nobody gets under that slide'
• 65 'Me work is teaching you to right work, Cody.'
• 72 'That's you work.'

'gotta get a rental' – the Hummer would be known on sight (lands in 68, 71)

• 68 'I pinned him right where you're at.'
• 71 'Stefanie, I'm in a minivan. The windows are tinted.'

Chapter 70, February 27, 2024 (27 connections)

Afternoon, the Norman trailers. Rusty under Meghan's car with Cody on the wire. Rusty called the tax hotline for him: 'It's legit, Cody.' Pedro went to jail for trafficking, not a 1099. Cody saw the Rottweiler before, both dogs, the day the man came up with his mama in her Lexus. Fishing nights with Lonnie in the holler. Lonnie sneaks up from the ridge; he watched the dog miss Cody's foot. Lonnie's thoughts run on the page: the Yankee, the holler, Boyd's house the only quiet way in, the killer dog. The tax reward would come back against their own unpaid tax. Rusty: 'I need this job.' Cody: 'He's a liar.'

Connected chapters: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 21, 22, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 41, 46, 48, 50, 52, 56, 58, 59, 65, 68, 69, 72

'Meghan be pissed we don't get that car runnin'' – the lean burn (lands in 65)

• 65 'All we lack install the five wire.'

Mrs. King and the hood up (lands in 5, 48, 65)

• 5 'I paid Mrs. King rent here'
• 48 'Mrs. King give us three month rent'
• 65 'meet Mrs. King, get the rent set'

The tax hotline: 'Man's a tax evader, and his old lady's a cop.' (lands in 9, 15, 28, 41)

• 9 'You're literally a tax cop.'
• 15 The warrant: fourteen vehicles, a different tax evasion each
• 28 'Tax evasion, and his lady a tax cop'
• 41 'That's definitely tax evasion.'

'They put Pedro in jail for the same thing.' 'Pedro went to jail for human trafficking.' (lands in 21, 28, 38)

• 21 'Pedro literally fired you'
• 28 'Got him trafficking 'n girls 'n drugs.'
• 38 'you go stay with Pedro'

'teach monkeys keep the books' / 'got they fancy computers put a man on the rolls' (lands in 28, 48, 65)

• 28 'they line you up one tax bill atter the other, and they put you on the rolls'
• 48 'It's the record. It's the reference.'
• 65 'Oh, you want more turns at the books?'

'he says it's a two year build' (lands in 48)

• 48 'this man said he's building a place, and it's gonna take two years'

The Rottweiler, both dogs, the Lexus: 'I had all I could do git over the hill and up the tree stand' (lands in 2, 50, 68)

• 2 'they got two of them Rottweiler dogs too'
• 50 'I left the saw in that old hollow Oak just by the tree stan''
• 68 'That's a Rottweiler got me trapped in the ho'

'I'm up thar, get the sang' (lands in 8)

• 8 'I git the walnuts out the holler too, and I get the ginseng.'

Fishing nights: 'Lonnie got a Bullhead, and that shed light go off we gotta split.' (lands in 6, 48, 52, 65)

• 6 'Deddy wanted go fishin' one last time'
• 48 'we hunt and fish up thar, near ever meal'
• 52 'They's Bullhead in here'
• 65 'one or two boss bass'

'Can't fire me.' 'He can fire all of us.' / 'That man's a coward, won't fire nobody' (lands in 21, 28, 32, 50)

• 21 'If you're a partner... there's no firing possible'
• 28 'Coward, slave to they money'
• 32 'You can't fire me…'
• 50 'Coward piss in a cup'

'got some Mexican up there, he's speak Spanish just like them' (lands in 17, 69)

• 17 'I never get tired of watching their face when you start speaking Spanish.'
• 69 'Hablas Espanol?'

'Cody, I need this job. We never had it this good.' (lands in 34)

• 34 'I need this job. I need this job. I need this job.'

'I'm your friend, Cody, and I'll help you cuz we're friends.' (lands in 22, 30)

• 22 'That's what friends are for.'
• 30 'hire men, pay them to be your friend'

'Boy, you need to pay attention, let a man sneak up on you like that.' (lands in 30, 56)

• 30 'Hey.' from behind the camera; 'I'm a sneaky some-bitch too, Cody'
• 56 'Jesus, you scared me.' 'I'm a sneaky some bitch.'

'You was over thar again, wasn't you?' – Lonnie on the ridge (lands in 50, 56, 72)

• 50 'So you set up on that high ridge, and you overlook him?'
• 56 Lonnie on the ridge: 'Cody ain't the only one git up on this ridge.'
• 72 'she's staring up the ridge, turns around wants in the shed'

'Boy, what that man mean your two-thousand?' (lands in 59, 69)

• 59 'here's two thousand for you'
• 69 'What did you do with your two-thousand?'

Lonnie's thoughts: 'expect me I should bend the knee' (lands in 56)

• 56 'Got my boy genuflect, bend the knee.'

'now that Boyd come skull aroun' and he put up a house the only way Lonnie know git into that holler quiet' (lands in 7, 28, 69)

• 7 'Boyd, picture of evil himself, is the man owns the land marks the only entrance'
• 28 'this time come in the back way, get behind them cameras'
• 69 'he wants him to build his house here'

'they's a killer dog, that monster ain't no more'n reflection his owner' (lands in 2, 69)

• 2 'them two dogs, jowls covered in blood'
• 69 'He kept the dog that murdered his mother.'

The reward: 'They just take the reward check against our own unpaid tax.' (lands in 6, 48)

• 6 'I don't pay no taxes'
• 48 'The IRS says you pay taxes, not him.'

'I got four girls keep me from quit. Them three babies all the motivation I ever need.' (lands in 17, 58, 72)

• 17 'I got three little girls... Oldest nine'
• 58 'a place where the girls have their own room'
• 72 'We got the girls set up first'

'all these hundred years ain't nobody never complain how we get by' (lands in 46, 48)

• 46 'Poor communities are the only places left in America where cash even moves'
• 48 'This valley git along just fine a hundred years'

Lonnie's room: 'all I see is the roof of my home and some other man raise his family in it' (lands in 65)

• 65 'I been livin' the red one near all my life, look up a whoever live above me in the white'

'I owe that man two thousand dollars of work' (lands in 59)

• 59 'This is advance pay, but we're writing it as a loan to start.'

Too much grease, the tracks too tight; the idler leak: 'Man wait for parts, man get paid.' (lands in 41, 69, 72)

• 41 'Man gets paid on payday.'
• 69 'Grease the machine and inspect everything.'
• 72 'the track's too tight. Gonna blow the seal on that idler'

'Rusty, why ain't we just put that Facebook ad again, fix machines on site?' (lands in 17, 69)

• 17 'Rusty fix anything. It's got wheels, Rusty fix it.'
• 69 'Is Facebook working out?'

Chapter 71, February 27, 2024 (22 connections)

Afternoon into evening, a rented minivan. Michael won't argue; Stef, in the jail sally port with her paperwork, tells him not to go without her. Ted at the gate asks after the Camry. 'Felonies book.' Off Boyd's Creek, a side road parallel to Chapman: a nineties ring of ranches, his house at the entrance, the only fence in the neighborhood, a dog yard of raw dirt, shades drawn, an IROC-Z behind an Ashe tree, siding streaked 'like a Dali clock.' Three empty houses, no flags, no for-sale signs. The man owns their easement. Stef heads for Karen's to switch cars. 'Come get me. I'm going with you.'

Connected chapters: 2, 3, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 31, 34, 41, 42, 51, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 68, 69

'I'm not arguing.' 'That was my line.' (lands in 17)

• 17 'Hey, that's my line.'

'you're there alone, and that lung. This isn't Amsterdam.' (lands in 3, 17, 34, 61)

• 3 'Yes, I'm smoking, and no, I didn't hurt the lung.'
• 17 'a bag of air the size and shape of a beer bottle on my lung'
• 34 'that bag of air time bomb on their lung'
• 61 'Are we still talking about the bleb?'

'I'm in a minivan. The windows are tinted. I have a gun and a gas pedal' (lands in 9, 68, 69)

• 9 'Does he know you're armed?'
• 68 'Are you armed?' 'Honey.'
• 69 'gotta get a rental'

'Misdemeanor's boo..?' / 'Felonies book.' (lands in 11, 15, 17)

• 11 'Michael's Misdemeanors and How He's Going to Pay For Them'
• 15 'Is this in the misdemeanor's book?'
• 17 'So not in the misdemeanor's book.'

'Deno ain't got shit on these charges, buddy.' (lands in 19, 22, 31)

• 19 'the bank does the work, and Deno does the legal'
• 22 Deno; the amendments; duck fries at Stock and Barrel
• 31 'Deno is my ex girlfriend's uncle'