The sky looked like a sheet of bruised tin.

I watched the fuel gauge hover near empty on the dashboard.

The heater blew lukewarm air against my shins.

We passed the turnoff for the co-op and kept going down the long county road.

“The bank transfer went through yesterday,” I said.

“The deposit is ready if we need it.”

Luke kept both hands on the wheel and watched the solid white line along the side of the road.

“Tom Barrett capped us at a hard number,” Luke said.