Barracuda

Christopher

“That’s for sure,” she snapped. “He was a lousy husband. A woman needs to be treated right. That man didn’t have two nickels to his name. I should have known better.”

“Let’s get a seat up front,” Caleb said, ignoring his mother.

Olin looked at me. “I’ll be up there.”

I wanted to beg him not to leave me alone with the barracuda leering at me. “I’ll sit with you,” I offered.

Olin gave me a look that said that was the last thing he wanted. “Dad, just text me when you’re ready.”

I nodded. I had to remember he was sixteen. I didn’t want to smother him. “All right, have fun. I’ll be close.”

“Well, I guess it’s just the two of us,” Gina said moving to stand a little too close to me.

I offered her a smile. “I’m going to grab a hot chocolate. It was nice to meet you.”

“Oh, I’ll go with you,” she volunteered.

I hid my grimace. “Great,” I said with a forced smile.

“How have you been doing?” she asked.

“Good. We’ve been enjoying the warmer weather.”

“I’ve always thought about heading