“Try not to be.”
She grinned. Then her face sobered. “You don’t have anything to say? I mean, about yesterday and well, everything.”
He grinned and shook his head. “Oh, darlin’, I have a lot to say, but I’ll keep my mouth shut because I’ve learned that anything that starts with the phrase, ‘don’t take this the wrong way’ has a zero percent success rate.”
She tried to hold back a grin. “I appreciate that.”
“I will say this, though. You mean something to him. I don’t know the story of whatever went on between you years ago. He won’t talk about it. But I do know he’s happy you’re givin’ him another chance.”
“Thanks for telling me that.”
Then Ghost leaned closer, bumping shoulders with her and teased, “So, when he did you last night, I hope he showed you just how really, really grateful he was.”
She blushed, and he turned back to the lake, taking another hit off his smoke.
“I should be the one that’s grateful. I’ve caused him so much trouble. I never meant to bring my problems to him. He was so angry yesterday.”
Ghost turned to look at her. “Maybe Shades isn’t the most subtle guy, maybe he can be a little demanding…
“A little?” She laughed.
“And maybe he doesn’t have my awesome sense of humor…” he paused to smile at her, but then he got serious, his eyes capturing hers. “But if your life’s in danger…he’s your guy.”
Skylar thought about his words as Ghost went back to quietly smoking and studying the lake. Her life was in danger, and there was no one she trusted to protect her more than Shades. My guy. That’s what she wanted, she realized, more than anything.
“Ghost?”
“Yeah, darlin’?” He turned back to her.
“What do you know about Ashley?”
He let out a huff. “Ashley, what a waste of boobs.”
Skylar couldn’t hold back the giggle this time. “That so?”
He looked over at her. “Just sayin’, she’s not just crazy, she’s bat-shit crazy. She’s beyond bat-shit crazy, something’s not right in that girl’s head.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, if she were a guy, I’d be wondering if there wasn’t someone locked in her basement. That kind of crazy.”
“Eeww.” Skylar made a face.
“Exactly.”
“So why do you guys let her come around?”
“She’s got a rockin’ body. It’s not any more complicated than that, darlin’. Guys take a taste and throw her back. Eventually, that’ll get old, and we’ll run her ass off.”
“God, that sounds cold.”
He shrugged. “Way of the world.”
She huffed out a laugh. “No, it’s not.”
He grinned. “Correction. Way of the MC world.”
“That’s pretty jaded. Don’t you ever think about these girls’ feelings?”