False Enemies

Chapter 6

My cheeks burned with embarrassment and anger and my steps were anything but ladylike as I burst out into the garden fuming, my shoulders tense and my heart pounding. For a moment, I regretted coming straight here instead of sticking my head in the freezer for a moment to cool down but someone calling my name stopped me from leaving.

I turned, finding Dad and my uncle, Garrick, standing off to the side, waving me over. Gathering myself, I made my way over to them. The smile I tried putting on was so forced it hurt.

"Come here for a moment, Lily," Dad said when I got closer. "We need to talk to you."

"What is it?" I asked, then realized this wasn't the nicest thing to say. I turned to uncle Garrick, remembering we haven't really said hello. "Hi, uncle."

"Hi, Lily, He smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm... good," I huffed out a breath and paired it with a grin. "Thanks."

"How do you find Nevada?" Uncle Garrick asked, referring to the state I studied in.

"It's nice, I shrugged. "A bit far, though. Enough to get jetlagged after coming here."

"Big decisions come with their prices," Uncle Garrick said, reminding me of the kind of a motto people embroidered on their throw pillows or framed and hung on their walls. "At least you finally came home."

"Yeah," I nodded. It wasn't the first time I heard it today so I've steeled myself against the formula until it didn't annoy me anymore. "I'm not really on holidays, though. I need to start looking for some summer job tomorrow."

Uncle Garrick tsk-ed. "You come home after a whole year and still you refuse to just enjoy your time here and do nothing," He shook his head with a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Jordan could learn from you. If he didn't like gutting cars so much, he would have given up his job at the garage a long time ago," He said, meaning his son and my cousin.

"At least he's got a passion in life," I countered. "I still have no idea what I'm going to do once I graduate."

"Yes, well, at least you are going to graduate," His mouth tightened. "I still can't get Jordan to apply for university, or at least college. He could use some of your ambition," Uncle Garrick heaved a sigh, then shook his head. "Anyway, speaking of the garage, I might have a proposition for you."

I arched a brow. "And that would be..?"

"You said you need a summer job and I say you need a receptionist at the garage," He explained. Uncle Garrick owned the garage his son worked with – which might have been why Jordan didn't feel the need to move anywhere from there, given how he was never going to get fired or go bankrupt having a man as wealthy as uncle Garrick as his father. "The previous one resigned last week. The boys have been trying to replace her but they're hell with paperwork. You know how it is," he grinned. "all they're good at is tires and engines."

"I'm just here for two months," I reminded him. "So I was thinking more along the lines of selling ice cream or lifeguarding. Does being a receptionist for two months make sense?"

"It would help me find a permanent replacement," Uncle Garrick said. "It's not so easy to find a candidate right away. Your help would be a lot. Plus," he added, speaking louder for whatever reason. "you know this place like no one else. You might come in handy in more cases than just the paperwork."

I thought about it. Given how the garage once belonged to my Dad, I really did know it like the back of my hand. I grew up playing with monkey wrenches and riding up and down on a mobile lift. I've already worked there part-time during the summer when I was younger and I knew most of the team, unless uncle Garrick has replaced them when he took over. Coming back there would be a nice reminder of what the past used to look like. A nice break from the new life I've made for myself back in Nevada.