Ryder strolled through the barn in the quiet hour before anyone else arrived for rehearsal. His boots struck the polished floorboards with a soft, steady cadence, spurs giving off a faint metallic whisper with each step. He ran his hand along the cool glass of the new windows, tugged at the brass fixtures where the plumbing lines gleamed, tested the fresh electrical outlets set into timber walls. In the back corner, the new dressing room stood neat as a banker’s office—shiplap walls, its ...