Chapter 1: “This Is No Place for a Girl”
I’d been working at R&J Auto Repairs for nearly four years by the time she walked in.

The garage was a grease-stained haven for misfits like us — guys who didn’t mind sweating through their shirts in the summer or freezing our fingers off in the winter. We cursed, joked, blasted rock music, and didn’t care much for corporate nonsense. And while we weren’t saints, we had our rhythm. Our routine. Our hierarchy. Our “tribe.”

That’s why when the boss — grumpy old Roger with a limp and a heart of brass — walked in with this woman trailing behind him, the room went dead silent.

“This is Samantha,” Roger announced. “She’s joining the team starting today.”

No one said anything at first. Wrenches stopped turning. Tools dropped. And then, of course, it started.

“A girl mechanic?” Rick muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. “What’s next? A raccoon running diagnostics?”

The others chuckled, but it didn’t stop there. Jay, who was always the loudest in the room and the last to clean up, smirked and elbowed me. “Bet she doesn’t know the difference between a carburetor and a catalytic converter.”

“She gonna braid the engine wires too?” someone snorted.

I kept quiet.