Page 114 of Thick & Thin

Everyone in town knows you don’t mess with the Sons of Sinister, but no one ever told me what do when a Son of Sinister messes with me.

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

TABATHA VARGO

On the Plus Side

Copyright © 2013 by Tabatha Vargo

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events or real people are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

On the Plus Side/ Tabatha Vargo

Cover Art by Regina Wamba/Mae I Design and Photography

Editing Services Provided By Cynthia Shepp Editing

Formatting byInkstain Interior Book Designing

ISBN-13: 978-1481870917

ISBN-10: 1481870912

“But, Dev, he hit me first… kind of,” Jenny said as she handed me a socket wrench. I was under the car, of course. Under the hood of a vehicle was my second home.

“It’s not my fault he didn’t protect his balls. Youalwaysprotect your balls. Even I know that, and I’m a chick.” She bit her nails as she talked. I could tell by her muffled voice.

“That’s debatable. Me and Dad aren’t so sure anymore.” I chuckled as she kicked my booted foot, which stuck out from under the car. “Also, could you pleasenottalk about balls with me? I’m pretty sure there’s like a rule about little sisters saying the word balls anywhere in the vicinity of their brother. If there isn’t, let’s just go ahead and put that rule on the books.” I released the old oil from the engine.

It splattered up from the oil pan and landed on my grease-covered shirt. I pulled the rag from my back pocket and wiped my hands so that I could get a better grip on the ratchet.

“I’m assuming the new rule applies to the word cock, too?” She laughed.

“Yes!” I said, a little too loudly. “Thatword is strictly forbidden.”

“Don’t be a little bitch, Dev,” she said as she slipped a new oil filter under the car to me.

“Watch your damn mouth, Jenny. Could you at least attempt to be a lady? Ladies don’t kick boys in their balls because they win a game of Halo. I’d be pissed if I were him, too. You need to call him and apologize. Josh has been your best friend too long—don’t let a stupid game ruin that.”

“First of all, he didnotwin and second, I was raised by two dudes. I’m pretty sure the lady train left the station when I was nine.” She popped open a can of soda and sighed. “Whatever, I guess I’ll run him over some gummy worms later and say sorry. He’s such a baby. It’s just balls. He smacked me in the boob once, and you didn’t hear me bitchin’ and moanin’,” she said as she left the garage and headed toward the back door of the house.

“You said balls again!” I yelled from under the car.

I couldn’t hear her response over the loud smack of the screened door.

I finished up the oil change, and then worked on a dent I acquired at the grocery store. Poor Lucy, my sixty-nine Chevy Camaro, didn’t stand a chance against the wayward grocery cart.

She was a gift from my dad. When I got her, she was just a big heap of junk, wouldn’t even crank. My dad wasn’t one for gifts, but being a mechanic had its perks every now and then. When a customer couldn’t pay for the new transmission my dad dropped in his truck, a trade for the cash was offered and I got Lucy. To me, she was worth every minute we put into that man’s piece-of-shit truck. Dad might not agree with me on that, but what can I say, I got the better part of that deal.

Lucy was the epitome of beauty. You couldn’t buy the kind of character that an old muscle car had these days, and Lucy had it in spades. I’d rather be out there, secluded in the garage with her, than any other place in the world. I’d spent hours overhauling my car, and I’d spend every dime on the project, if I had a dime.

At my age, I should have had a steady woman in my life, but cars were better than women were. They were gorgeous, powerful, and they purred when you handled them. They did all that without the mandatory attachment that women required.

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