Page 19 of Mr. B

“So you work with her every day now?”

Wes looked at Luke for a moment. “I can’t take Abe, and I might have some trouble with Justin. But you, I can still kick your ass.”

Luke laughed. “I’d like to see you try, old man.”

Justin held up his hands. “How about we play some cards, guys?”

They never played late since they all had work the following day. Wes had pretty good luck with the cards, and he went home at the end of the night with a fair amount of his brothers’ money. They always tried to keep the games friendly, and they capped the betting at twenty dollars. They were all evenly matched as far as skill went, and they all had lucky nights and nights when they didn’t do so well. Tonight, however, was Wes’ night, and when he got home, he put his winnings in a jar in the pantry. It would be his bank for the next game.

He’d been home for twenty minutes and was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when Frank appeared and sat in the doorway to watch.

“How are you doing, Frank?”

Frank yawned and proceeded to lick his paw and rub it on his face.

Wes swished some water around in his mouth, then spit it into the sink. He looked at Frank as he dried his hands and mouth on a towel. “Tomorrow will be a week with Cassandra. I never thought I’d make it.” He stepped over Frank as he left the bathroom. “I guess I’m mature enough to handle the situation. What do you think?” He dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups. Frank sat down a foot in front of Wes and watched him.

“Of course, she hasn’t said much to me since I talked to her about Bailey. I really don’t think I overstepped.”

Frank yawned again, apparently bored with the push-ups. He sauntered over to his black, furry bed in the corner and plopped down on it.

“Okay. Thanks for your input.”

When he hit fifty, he lay on his back and did fifty crunches, then set his alarm for 5:30. He got into bed and picked up the book he’d been reading. It was already eleven, an hour past when he normally went to bed, but he’d read for a few minutes to relax. Tonight, however, he was having trouble concentrating. His mind kept wandering to Cassandra and the fact that it had been a week already. He thought about her short, bouncy hair that looked like she’d just gotten out of bed. But in a good way. A sexy way.

“Whoa. Don’t go there.” He closed his book and set it on the nightstand. Obviously, she’s a very beautiful woman. But you don’t need to be thinking about her bouncy hair.

He turned off the light, punched the pillow a couple of times, then lay down. “I don’t care how good you look. As Milo said, you’re still the wicked ex of the west.”

Cassandra rolled over and looked at the red numbers on the alarm clock. 1:00. Thirty minutes later than the last time she had looked. It was his fault that she couldn’t sleep. Why did he have to look so damn sexy sitting behind his stupid desk, wearing his stupid tie, and looking at her like she was evil incarnate? She wasn’t evil. Even back then, she was just young and confused. Mostly, though, she was in love.

She threw the quilt back and sat on the edge of the bed. “How can he still look so damn good?” The man was nearly forty. “At some point shouldn’t he lose that boyish…” She sighed as she got to her feet. Maybe a cup of tea would help her fall back asleep.

She walked through the dark house to the kitchen, then switched on the light above the stove. She filled the kettle, then leaned against the counter after lighting a burner under it.

Bailey came into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. “Mom?”

“Sorry, honey, did I wake you?”

“I don’t know. I need some water.”

Cassandra filled a glass from the water dispenser in the refrigerator door, then handed it to Bailey.

She took a drink. “Did you sign my permission slip for camp?”

“Yes. I gave it to Polly on Monday. Are you sure you don’t mind me going?”

Bailey shrugged. “No. I thought it would be weird having you at school every day, but it hasn’t been. I’m sure you’ll be cool at camp.” She looked at Cassandra. “Right?”

“The coolest. You’ll hardly know I’m there.”

“Does this mean you and Mr. B. are getting along better?”

“We tolerate each other.” She smiled. “I’m kidding. Everything is fine.”

“I still think it’s crazy that you dated my principal.”

“It’s just one of those weird coincidences.”