Grease Monkey Business

The intake manifold came loose on the third turn of the wrench. For Phoebe Locke, that moment, bolt resisting, then giving, was the story of her entire life. Forty-seven years after the first Locke turned a key in a rusted Buick engine, Phoebe stands alone in the family garage, hands calloused, brow damp with the weight of a legacy most people don't understand and fewer still want to save. Locke Motors wasn't supposed to survive this long. Her father Gus Pemberton built it on stubbornness and faith in the American road; her sister Rachel Locke wants to sell it for scrap value and never look back. Now, with one final call on the shop line and Sheriff Jim Harper nosing around about permits that may or may not exist, Phoebe has weeks to prove that her way of life still matters. The regulars count on her: Vic Sloan with his perpetually broken Cadillac, Hank Reeves and his ancient diesel, Dez Martinez and the crop of hot rods she's been nursing since high school, and the mysterious Tomas and Joon, who always pay cash and never explain. As Phoebe digs deeper into what the last call really means, repair order, confession, or threat, she finds that some engines run on more than gasoline. Some run on memory, loyalty, and the quiet stubbornness of women who refuse to let the lights go out.