“Did you know Ghost?” Mary said bluntly, interrupting Glory almost rudely and she wasn’t intending to be mean, but she wanted to know what this guy thought of him. “Were you stationed with Ghost in Afghanistan?”
Karen’s husband looked up and hesitated.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
He glanced at Karen curiously as if to say, ‘What do you want me to do?’
“Don’t look to her for answers,” Mary said sharply, feeling cornered and manipulated. “Look at me and just tell me what you know about him. I need to know what I’m getting into with this scheme about emailing some mysterious stranger.”
“Mary…” Karen said gently, setting down a cup of coffee for Glory and taking a seat.
“I don’t think it’s a scheme,” Karen’s husband said quietly. “And yes – I do know Ghost. I actually just got home back from there. My buddy has the bunk about three down from me in the barracks. Nice guy, very quiet, and we always joke that he is the optimist in the group.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s always upbeat, smiling, and happy. If Pollyanna was a man… it would be him. I don’t think he’s ever had a bad day, and I’ve never seen him angry, upset, or frustrated. I’ve never met anyone who was so focused on finding a silver lining in everything,” Jace, Karen’s husband, chuckled then nervously and smiled. “It’s a little nauseating sometimes, only because he’s so dang nice.”
“Thank you,” Mary said hoarsely, processing what he said.
Upbeat, smiling, never angry… always finding something positive?These were attributes that had long ago been squashed within her – and something she yearned for in her life again.
“Of course,” Jace smiled. “He’s a great guy, a bit shy sometimes, but once he relaxes, he can talk your ear off if you are discussing Dr. Who or Star Trek. I swear I could see that geek going to a convention with some Spock ears on. He reads a lot – and it’s usually those books.”
Mary couldn’t help the smile that touched her for the first time in forever… because she herself was a Trekkie.
Enterprise and Voyager were two of her favorite go-to’s on television, because she could be whisked away to another world, another time, and by the end of the show? Whatever was wrong, always got repaired, and everyone was satisfied with the result. It was so far from real life that she enjoyed it.
Dr. Who was also another favorite series – but she was only a fan of a few Doctors: Ecchleston, Tennant, and Smith… and oh, how she adored their outgoing personalities. Joe would tell her how stupid the show was and shut off the television, but she loved their outgoing vivaciousness for life.
She looked at Karen, then at Glory, and back to Jace, before taking a sip of her coffee.
“I’ll write him,” she said simply.
“You know,” Jace began openly, looking at Karen who nodded, smiling at her husband with such pride and love on her face that it was a little intimidating to see it there shining between them. “I hope I’m not overstepping boundaries, but if you have any problems or ever need anything – we are right next door. Me and my buddies believe in sticking together and taking care of our friends. So, if it’s to borrow a cup of sugar, change a flat tire, or fix a problem you’d rather not talk about…” His voice trailed off knowingly.
“Then just say the word, because you aren’t alone – and we don’t like bullies. None, of us do… and that includes Ghost.”
Mary felt her nose burn as tears threatened.
She nodded silently, feeling ashamed and intimidated by the open invitation that kept being extended to her by people she barely knew. They were all so nice, so protective, and so genuine that she only hoped that this mysterious person was as kind as they were claiming he was.
* * *
Hours later,Mary clicked send on her email – and let out a desperate prayer that she wasn’t opening herself up to yet another mistake.
CHAPTER3
GHOST
Jax hesitatedwhen he opened his email and saw there were a few emails from Hot Cakes, Valkyrie, and Firefly… and one he didn’t recognize.
Opening the first one, he began to read.
* * *
Hey Ghost,