“Be nice,” Charlie said with a scoff, her hand lifting to swat gently at Luke’s arm. Mack was about as harmless as they came.

“Hi, Anna.” Her lips pressed into a tight smile as she saw the cop approach the truck, tensing up slightly. The last time Charlie had seen Anna, she was trying to pull her away from Sam’s body. Or maybe it was the funeral. Despite not having occurred long ago, it seemed like a fog that she couldn’t remember clearly. Charlie thought she was at the funeral, though she supposed everyone had been. The whole town had turned up at one point or another… Sam had told her once that knowing everyone was a perk in the Valley, but she hadn’t really seen it that way. Particularly when everyone knew her business and was nosey as fuck.

“How’re you holding up?” Mack was a bit older than her, likely in his late 30’s, and had made very pointed visits to their farm every quarter. He and Sam had talked frequently, often sitting around the table talking about possible hydroponics and how many head of cattle they could sustain if he did x, y, and z. 

“I’m alright, Mack.” She wasn’t sure that the concealer under her eyes did the job of hiding that she was, in fact, not doing alright. 

“Listen, I’m sorry about Sam. He was a great guy, great farmer.” Another forced expression found its way onto Charlie’s face. “You plan on staying? I’ve got plenty of people that would be interested, if that’s what you want to do.”

“I think Luke is going to stay awhile, try to figure out if it’s doable to keep it running with the two of us.” She didn’t delve into her concerns about Luke’s stamina, or his ability to function in the full capacity he needed to for some of the work required on the farm. Her eyes flickered to Luke and Anna, watching the tension that never left his shoulders and her ever present smile. Then the touch to his chest. 

She didn’t have the right to feel jealous. She’d told him that he needed to go out, date… hell, she’d even told him to ask Anna out on a date. “No problem, just wanted to offer it to you. I know it can’t be easy, going through what you have, and I can make it a little easier if you want to part with it.” Mack readjusted his stance, the clink of his gun touching against the truck’s panel. 

“And if you need anything, you just let us know. Anyone. I’m sure I have a card here somewhere…” The man moved again, rooting around in one of his vest pockets for a card. “Not sure Sam kept any of these around, but here you go.” He put a hand on the door mirror, another reaching out with the card. “You just —“

Luke’s voice could have been heard across the whole valley. In a moment, Charlie put her knees in the seat and hung out the window, glaring at him. “He’s not doing anything, Luke. Chill the fuck out.” Her voice lowered and she relaxed a little bit, looking back at Mack with a roll of her eyes. “Acting like the fucking truck has feelings or something, goddamn.”

A smile landed on Mack’s bearded face, blue eyes brightening as he looked up at her. “He seems like quite the handful, as per usual.” If he didn’t take a few steps back from the truck on his own, Luke would make sure he managed to stop ‘assaulting’ the vehicle in one way or another. “Listen, Char, if you ever need a break, get out of the house for lunch or something, you’ve got my number.”  

“Thanks.” [I]I guess[/I]. His eyes lingered for only a moment before he stuck his arm back into his vest. He motioned again to the card, which Charlie took, before he held up his hands as if in surrender to the approaching vet. “You good, man?”