His brother didn’t move. He was staring at the engine — a 350 small block, half torn down, valves like black teeth.
“Hand me the 9/16,” he said, exhaling. midnight auto parts smoking
Jake lit a cigarette, the orange flare catching the grease on his knuckles. Smoke curled up through the beam of his drop light, twisting slow as ghosts. His brother didn’t move
The garage door groaned up into the darkness. Under the single flickering fluorescent tube, the old Trans Am sat on jack stands like a sleeping animal. half torn down
Somewhere a mile away, tires squealed. Late-night racers. Jake grinned, tapped ash onto the concrete, and turned back to the manifold.