"You didn't just ride this," she muttered, finally looking up. "You cared for it."

She offered a number that wasn't just fair—it was enough for Jax to finally put a down payment on that adventure bike he’d been eyeing for his cross-country trip. As he signed the title over, he realized he hadn't just found a buyer; he’d found the one shop in a fifty-mile radius that knew the difference between a machine and a memory.

The neon sign for "Miller’s Power Sports" flickered, casting a rhythmic blue glow over Jax’s 2021 Yamaha YZ250. He had spent the morning Googling "places that buy dirt bikes near me," and this was the third stop on a list that felt like a treasure map leading nowhere.