Chapter Six
On the Road — Middle of Nowhere
3 months & 1 week until the election…
“And you think it’s going to take at least two days to get the new tires in?” Maverick asked the bus driver as we all stood on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere—also known as rural Missouri.
On either side of the two lane highway were green fields dotted with round bales of hay that looked like something out of a postcard. In the distance there were also the faint edges of a tree line that sloped up into a forested hill.
It was picturesque, but it did little for the frustration that the entire group was feeling.
Nearly an hour ago I’d been hanging out in the living room area watching Zeke sweep in a game of Uno with a deck of battered cards that looked as if it had been through hell and high water with the team, and then a tire burst nearly sending the bus into a tailspin.
For a brief second my life flashed before my eyes as an Uno card with a suspicious brown stain flew by my face… and now I was standing on the side of the road sweating buckets while I watched my security detail lose their minds.
The bus driver, Reggie, was a sweet older man who used to drive my mother’s tour bus during her first presidential election.
Now he was just watching the men waffle for a moment before shrugging his skinny shoulders. “It is what it is, boys, so you best figure out next steps ’cause you all can’t stay on this bus in this heat and I have to turn her off until the mechanic gets here.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” The words seemed to rumble out of Brooks before he could catch them.
“Watch your language, young man,” Reggie scolded as he had any time someone let an expletive fly in his presence. “And no I am not. We aren’t going anywhere ’til this tire gets fixed and our guy is halfway across the county dealing with engine trouble on the VP’s bus.”
“Where the hell did you guys get these buses?” Dallas snapped, seeming to not care about the man’s dislike of rough language. “Temu?”
Reggie ignored his outburst, instead turning to me with a soft, almost grandfatherly expression. “Darlin’ you’re probably going to want to hang out on the bus where it’s cooler until these gentlemen figure out the next steps. You’re looking prettyflushed and I noticed you haven’t been drinking much water today.”
I tried quickly to think about the last time I’d even seen my sparkly blue emotional support water bottle and blushed because it had at least been an entire day and I had no clue where it was.
Reggie, seeing my suddenly sheepish wince, just grinned and gave my shoulder a pat. “Go on in and look in my ice chest. I’ve got some ice cold Gatorade in there—you’re partial to the white cherry, yeah?”
Blinking with surprise, I nodded. “How did you know that?”
“When your grandaddy was running for vice president you used to beg me for it. Your daddy used to call you cute as a button—”
“But as manipulative as a starving puppy,” I finished for him, the memory rising to the surface like the bubbles in champagne. It brought a smile to my face.
Taking Reggie’s hand, I gave it a squeeze. “Thank you, Reggie.”
The old man’s eyes wrinkled in the corners as he gave me a bashful smile before jerking his head toward the bus. “Go on in and make sure you grab one, young lady, I’ll be counting them when I get back in there.”
Nodding, I turned toward the bus.
“She always refuses us whenever we try to help her,” Brooks said from behind me, his voice almost sounding like a whine.
“That,” I shot over my shoulder as I took a step onto the bus, “is because it’s Reggie. Maybe age about forty years and grow a handsome mustache and I’ll start listening to you.”
Reggie’s laughter followed me all of the way back into the cool confines of the bus and I dutifully dug through his ice chest until I found a small bottle of Gatorade.
Itwasnice, I had to admit as I chugged the almost too-sweet liquid.
Too bad I didn’t have time to truly enjoy it because my phone was buzzing in my back pocket with a call.
I already knew who it was before even looking at the screen.
“Hi, Mom,” I answered with a heavy sigh.
“Lennon?” My mother’s voice was barely audible due to the cacophony of noises in the background. She was supposed to be giving a speech in Detroit right now, so I was surprised she had even been able to call me at all. “Are you all right? Agent Wright just told me your bus’s tires popped.”
