All Chapters of High Octane Hearts: Chapter 11 - Chapter 14

Part One- By the time summer settled fully over town, Carter’s Gas & Repair had become louder, brighter, busier, and far more crowded than Rae preferred. Which was saying something, because Rae preferred approximately six people total, and three of them were dead. The station was now open before sunrise and rarely slowed before dark. Truckers stopped for fuel because the pumps worked again. Farmers came for repairs because Mason’s work was solid and his prices were fair. Families stopped because Darlene had convinced Rae to add a hand pie and cold lemonade by the register. Teenagers lingered because the new string lights, which Mason hung under the awning, made the place look cooler than it had been right to. Rae complained about every improvement. Then quietly defend them if anyone else criticizes one of them. Which meant everyone in town knew exactly how doomed she was. At six-thirty on a blistering Tuesday morning, Rae stood behind the counter doing invoices while Mason lea

Part One- Summer settled over the town as it intended to stay. The days grew long and bright, thick with humidity and the smell of cut grass. Cicadas screamed from the tree lines. The underheads built dramatic towers every afternoon, then often wandered elsewhere without apology. Carter’s Gas & Repair thrived. Rae still found that suspicious. Business started before sunrise most mornings. Farmers came in for diesel. Contractors lined up for patches and oil changes. Travelers stopped because the sign glowed warm at dusk and looked trustworthy in a world of chain stations and fluorescent indifference. The breakfast sandwiches sold out daily. The coffee no longer tasted like regret. Even the bathrooms had become a point of pride, which Rae considered morally dangerous. Mason’s contracting crew had grown too. He hired two local guys fresh out of high school, one retired electrician who swore constantly, and a single mother named Carla who could outbuild all of them while chewing gum.