Chapter 3
Chapter Three
RILEY
My first twenty-four hours as manager of Stewart’s Auto Shop (we really need a new name for this place) is spent cleaning every nook and cranny.
During those twenty-four hours, it’s just me and a recovering Jimmy who complains about his bad back every forty minutes.
Like clockwork.
However, on the second day, three of my four mechanics show up.
“Hey, I’m Riley Carter.” I extend a hand to the shorter, more heavy-set man with the full, black mustache and oily hair. He’s wearing a pair of dirty over-alls that haven’t seen a wash since a decade ago and has drowsy brown eyes. “Your name is…”
He lets the silence stretch before filling it in with his name. “Carlos.”
“How’s your mother doing?”
“My mother?”
“You had to take your mother to the hospital yesterday, right?”
“R-right. Uh… my mom is great. She’s fine.”
“That’s a relief. What did the doctors say? What kind of medicine did they prescribe?”
Carlos’s palm turns sweaty and he slips his hand out of mine. “N-no medicine. I mean, her tests were… I mean, she just needs to rest more.”
“What a relief. I’m so glad your mother’s okay. I hope she remains healthy and you don’t need to take any more days off without properly informing me first.”
His cheeks turn splotchy and his gaze hammers the ground.
I turn to the younger one with the long, shaggy black hair, tattoos and baggy pants that are far too large for his slim frame. “And you are?”
“Blade.” He looks me up and down with a leery grin. “Blade Courtney.”
“Cool name. How long have you been a mechanic, Blade?” The kid looks no older than sixteen. What are the labor laws in this town?
“I graduated trade school last year.” Blade steps forward, winking at me. “Where’d you go to school?”
Unlike Carlos, whose hand I held firmly to make a point, I quickly release Blade’s hand. “I attended—”
“Are you really a mechanic?”
I open my mouth to answer.
Again, Blade talks over me. “‘Cause I know for a fact, if you went to my school, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Not one bit.”
Following Blade’s example, Carlos gives me an appraising once-over too.
I feel Jimmy bristling beside me. “Now, look-ee here—” the old man wags a gnarled finger, “don’t be—”
“It’s okay, Jimmy.” I touch a hand to the old man’s shoulder.
He deflates like a puffer fish returning to normal size, but his eyes still cut into the other two.
I smile dryly. These mechanics have no idea who I am and I don’t blame them. It’s not like I’ve introduced myself properly.
“I’ll answer your question, Blade.” I pull my hands behind my back, widen my legs a shoulder-length apart and push out my chest. “My uncle was a military maintainer and at fifteen years old, I was logging informal shop time, cleaning parts and assisting inspections.”
I take up room. I belong here.
Chin up.
Voice loud enough to be heard, but soft enough that I’m not shouting.
“At eighteen, I enrolled in the most prestigious aviation maintenance school in the country, graduated near the top of my class and passed the general, airframe and power plant exams,” I pause for dramatic effect before I say, “my first time.”
None of the mechanics look impressed by that, which is mildly disappointing because it was a huge deal. It’s very rare to pass all the exams on the first try.
But I power on, walking slowly in front of them. “I had offers from some of the biggest airlines, but I went to an understaffed operation instead, working night shift line maintenance, gaining early turbine exposure, trouble-shooting avionics—”
“How much longer is this gonna take? I need a bathroom break,” Blade says, yawning into his hand.
I smile tightly. “I took too long to answer your question, Blade. I apologize.”
He rolls his eyes.
I move forward, gaze trained on him.
The kid scrunches his nose, leaning back uneasily.
I stop just before entering his personal space, tone quiet but firm as steel.
“Long story short, I’m the manager of this auto shop.
And I’m here to show you that if you work harder than everyone, study longer than everyone and take up the crappiest jobs no one wants, you’ll be on this side of the floor, answering questions from rookie mechanics about why you deserve to be here. ”
Blade’s cocky smile fades and he gives me a look filled with disdain.
I maintain eye contact.
Establish dominance. Show everyone that you won’t be taken lightly.
I’ve done this song and dance more times than I can count. It never gets easier, but at least this time, I’m up against two mechanics instead of a classroom full of men who either want to bully me or flirt with me to the point of harassment.
Blade’s stare turns to the ground, and I breathe out in relief.
Until he mumbles, “If you’re such a big deal, what are you doing here in crappy Lucky Falls?”
The poisoned-tipped arrow of his words slices through the air and into the target right inside my heart.
Bulls-eye.
I stiffen, all my confidence seeping out like the old brake fluid Jimmy and I found oozing from the bottom of the barrels yesterday.
“If anyone would like to leave, please tender your resignation now. But if you intend to work here,” I gesture to Jimmy who hands over a mop and a broom to the men, “we’re on cleaning duty until this place is sparkling again.”
It’s quiet. Too quiet.
Are they going to storm out and leave me down to one mechanic?
To my surprise, both men accept the cleaning products. Although, I do hear one of them cursing under his breath as he does so.
“What are we cleaning?” Carlos asks.
“The customer waiting area. Blade, you fix the shelves.”
The young man sighs heavily as if I’ve asked him to move heaven and earth, but he obediently walks to the power drills.
Are they actually listening? I thought it would be harder than this.
Jimmy sees my expression and explains, “They ain’t got a choice.” He lowers his voice. “If they could get a job anywhere else, they would have been long gone just like the others.”
“The others?”
“All the mechanics worth their salt took off ages ago.” Jimmy snorts. “But those two? Where else would they get a job?”
The information plays in a loop in my brain. I don’t mind rooting for the underdog, but it’s not a good sign if the only people working here are the ones who couldn’t hack it anywhere else.
Talk about playing the game on hard mode.
I put those troubling thoughts aside and focus on cleaning. Around three p.m., I look up and notice that Jimmy is out for a smoke again.
Carlos has joined him.
At four on the dot, Blade leaves for a ‘break’ and doesn’t return. At all.
At five p.m., both Jimmy and Carlos clear out of the mechanic bay so fast all I hear is a faint ‘bye, boss’ and the slam of the door.
I stop scrubbing the floor and arch my back, feeling an ache in the very depth of my bones.
Day one is done. Sort of.
As far as first days go, it could have been worse.
You’ve been at ground zero before, Riley. You can do this.
Three months ago, I never thought I’d walk into a shop again. I thought it was over. But thanks to Rebel, I have a shot at turning my life around.
Just then, my phone rings.
It’s Rebel.
I answer immediately. “Hey, Boss.”
“Oh gosh. Please don’t. Just call me Rebel,” she says. Loud, muffled music blasts in the background. Beneath the noise, I hear children laughing. “Are you still at the garage?”
“Of course.” I check my watch. It’s six thirty. Where else would I be on a Friday night?
“You should come to the town fair. We’re running a booth here, but most of the items have sold out so we’re going to walk around and enjoy the sights. April and Cordelia are here too.”
I was too tired to meet the other female mechanics yesterday, and I’m even more exhausted today.
I peruse the workshop that still has so much work left to be done.
To socialize or to clean, that is the question.
I don’t particular want to do either.
“Please?”
I give in. Rebel Hart is my boss and if the boss wants me to come to a town fair then, well… I’ll go.
“Okay.” I agree.
I drive home to shower and change into a simple green tank top and jeans and then I head to the fair.
The grassy parking lot is packed with vehicles.
The sun is starting to set and it blazes an orange trail across the sky.
A large Ferris wheel cuts through the horizon and children squeal from high above the ground.
I close my eyes as the wind ruffles my hair and the scent of corn dogs and buttery popcorn calls to my growling stomach. There’s an undeniable energy in the air. A buzzing, hopeful stir that I can’t quite put my finger on.
But I like it.
I like Lucky Falls.
On the outside, it might look like an ordinary small town, but for me it’s a fresh chance. A memory wipe.
Forget the past, forget the last few months of failure and hopelessness.
I get to write a new chapter.
No, I get to write a new book.
Smiling, I open my eyes.
And then my blood freezes in my veins.
Because I’ve somehow turned the page so far that I’m right back at the beginning of the book. Where it all started.
With him.
Nathan Campbell.
The one person who could make my stomach twist with nerves. Make every small gesture feel monumental. Make every smile feel like the sun warming my face.
Choking on a breath, I whirl around and scurry into the crowd, praying desperately that he hasn’t seen me.