Page 39 of Mr. B

“It won’t. We’ll be able to have our first night campfire before it starts. Then we’ll spend Monday morning in the mess hall playing games. It’s supposed to clear up by the afternoon.”

“Okay. What kind of games?”

“Something involving teams. Get some friendly competition going. Trivia. Taboo. Something like that.”

Bailey tuned into the conversation. “Mom’s pretty good at trivia.”

“I know.” Wes glanced at Cassandra.

She smiled. “Mr. B is better, honey.”

Bailey returned her attention to her tablet. “I suck at it. Unless it’s about music.”

Wes looked at her through the rearview mirror. “Do you play the guitar, Bailey?”

“No. I always wanted to learn, though. That and the violin.”

“My granddad was a master fiddle player. Played in a local band for years.”

She looked at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. Rocco’s is named after him. The coolest guy ever.”

She glanced at Cassandra. “You’re lucky to have cool grandparents.”

“I’ve never met your grandparents, but I’m sure they’re cool in their own way.”

She leaned forward and rested her hands on the two front seats. “Mom, you never introduced him to Grandma and Grandpa?”

Cassandra turned and looked at her. “They were here, and we were in Boise. The opportunity never came up.”

Bailey leaned back and looked at her tablet again as Cassandra looked at Wes.

He kept his eyes on the road. Distance wasn’t the reason Cassandra had never introduced him to her parents. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and sped up to pass another car.

Once he was back in the lane, he forced himself to slow down. “So, what kind of snacks did you bring?”

Bailey held the bag out to Cassandra, and she set it in her lap. “We have mixed nuts, grapes, apples, and pretzels.”

Wes looked at her. “Have you never taken a road trip before?”

“Of course I have.”

He pulled off at the next exit, which advertised gas and food. “You’re such a novice.” He drove to the minimart, parked the Jeep, then turned to Cassandra. “Bailey, would you like a quick lesson in road-trip snack buying?”

She grinned. “Yes, sir, Mr. B.”

Cassandra scowled. “What about me?”

“You stay here and eat your mixed nuts and grapes.” He got out of the car, and she called to him.

“Fritos.”

He leaned in and looked at her. Fritos had been their go-to snack in college. “Original?”

“Of course.”

Bailey got out of the backseat, and they headed for the store. “She likes you, Mr. B.”