In early spring, Beth walks toward the lambing field and reflects on why the season has always mattered to her. The sight of the lambs makes her think of Bobby, whose love for feeding orphaned lambs and grief when they were sent away show how deeply farm life shaped him. These memories give the scene a tender, mourning undertone before the day’s work fully begins.

At the field, Beth finds Jimmy listening to the Beatles and sees Frank returning from the lower end of the pasture. Frank and Jimmy inspect the ewes with practiced ease, checking which sheep are close to birth and talking in their usual contrasting styles: Jimmy gentle and joking, Frank brisk and intent on the work. Their routine establishes a moment of domestic competence and calm on the farm.

The calm breaks when a golden-haired lurcher runs into the field with no owner in sight. Frank tries to stop the dog and shouts for Jimmy to get the gun, but the dog reaches the flock and kills three lambs in a frenzy. Beth runs forward in panic, trying to protect the animals, until Frank pulls her back against him and Jimmy fires, killing the dog and ending the attack.

Almost immediately, a young boy runs up screaming that the dog was his, and then his father arrives: Gabriel Wolfe. Frank explains that the shooting was necessary because of the slaughtered lambs. While Gabriel reacts in shock and then recognizes Beth, Beth ignores him and goes straight to comfort Gabriel’s devastated son, holding him as he cries beside the dog’s body. Beth understands that this violent chance encounter has reopened her connection with Gabriel and set something old in motion again.