Page 12 of Off-Limits

“What I always used to do before I escaped that shithole.”

“You’re going back?”

“I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all.”

It tookme an hour to get my bags packed into my 1979 dark green Corolla. I’ve had this car since I was sixteen, and although my girl is old and rough around the edges, she’s mine.

“When are you going to upgrade this fucking deathtrap?” Arrie grouses from the driver’s seat as she shifts between gears because she insisted on driving us home.

“Don’t you knock Betty, asshole. Don’t listen to her girl, she doesn’t mean it.”

“Yes, I fucking do.”

“I can always drive?”

Arrie groans. “So, my father called me the other day.”

Uncle Damon…

I force myself to pretend I’m not affected at the meremention of him. I haven’t seen him since graduation, yet even still, he has this hold on me, and all he had to do was care for me like he did his own daughter all those years ago.

He adopted Arrie when she was two. We were joined at the hip growing up, and Uncle Damon always made sure to include me in their activities and outings, even after he broke up with my cheating aunt.

“Oh?” I ask, bringing myself back from my memories.

“Yeah.”

“Ok?”

“He’s been riding around Australia on his Harley. Remember?”

“Of course.”

I try to stay in the moment and not think of his thick tattooed thighs straddling that steel horse of his, but it’s fruitless. The man has aged like fine fucking whiskey.

“And you know he still has his garage.”

“Well, I assumed he did. But you haven’t spoken much about it.”

“He wants me to take over for him.”

“He’s not coming back?”

“You know as well as I do, that he hated that place. He only stayed because of my mother and me.”

Even though he didn’t have to.

As if reading my mind, Arrie says, “Even though I’m not biologically his, he confessed he didn’t want to leave me withthat snake of a woman—his words.”

Images of my aunt surface and I feel my face scrunch up.

“Yeah, I feel that way about her as well.” Arrie laughs, clearly catching my reaction to her mother.

“So, are you going to take him up on it?” I counter.

“I have the restaurant to think of.”

“You do. But there is a but coming?”