Chapter 4 — The Mechanics Lesson

Theo Ashcroft

The smell of motor oil and warm asphalt hung in the air as Theo Ashcroft gripped the wrench in his hand. The dealership’s service bay wasn’t exactly an ideal classroom—its sterile, impersonal rows of tools and equipment clashed with the kind of hands-on, community-focused space he often dreamed of—but it would have to do. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, glinting off the polished cars parked outside. Faint noises of tools clanging and the hum of an air compressor underscored the quiet tension between him and Calla Merritt, who stood stiffly a few feet away, her arms crossed over her neatly pressed blouse.