Love a Woman Right (The American Soldier Collection 17)

When will the pain stop? When will I stop being so afraid? Why can’t I have a normal life? Please. Oh God, please.

Chapter 2

Ghost Brazos sat in the cab of the truck and watched the people walking by. The dark, tinted windows deprived them of seeing him watch them and knowing he was there. He didn’t like to socialize, and hated even coming here to pick up his brother Laverty, but Laverty’s truck was acting up and needed some work done to the engine. That’s what Ghost had been working on earlier in the day.

He rubbed his eyes. He was tired and hadn’t gotten much sleep, as usual. His mind lingered on his nightmares and the feeling of always being on alert and on guard. Even now, as he watched the strangers visiting the family farm, he looked at them with suspicion, like they had bad intentions. He saw the bad in people first, more often than not. It was his mind’s way of being alert and ready. It bothered him to feel this way and to always be on the defensive.

His eyes scanned the few stragglers at the farm when he caught sight of his mom Dora coming out of the small grocery shop. He almost looked away when one of his dads, John, appeared and held open the door for someone. The long blonde hair, the thin figure. Surprisingly, she wasn’t wearing a sweater held tightly, which would have instantly given her identity away. It was Lois Willow, their neighbor.

Immediately, his body reacted to seeing her. His belly clenched, his heart began to hammer inside of his chest, and he got that uneasy feeling he had since meeting her months ago. Lois had become the topic of conversation in their house for months. His brothers had all met her, and she reacted to all of them the same way. Like they had some sort of disease. Ford complained about her lack of response to any verbal conversation with him and how she looked so scared all the time. She was engaging in conversation with his parents right now. He wondered what her deal was.

Evan, particularly, was losing his mind wondering how he could get close to her and make her see he didn’t mean her any harm. He really liked her a lot, but she kept pushing him away despite the fact that Kenny, her son, seemed to like Evan.

Lois always put Kenny first, and Ghost had heard all about her fears and sadness on the first day of school. He’d also heard about her chocolate chip cookies and how good they were.

He stared at her as she descended the small set of steps leading down to the walkway and dirt road. She looked really pretty, as usual. She wore a pair of Capri pants in beige and a pale blue, short-sleeved shirt. It was pretty warm out today for pants, but that seemed to be her style. At least she wasn’t wearing a sweater. She seemed to wear one more often than not and was always pulling it tight like she was hiding. She held a set of books in her hands and waved at his parents as both of them smiled. Then she walked a little ways down the path toward a blue bike. She placed the books into her backpack and then got onto the bike and headed down the path toward the main road. It seemed she was biking the two miles back home.

Ghost spotted Laverty coming his way. His brother opened the door and got inside. He wiped his brow. “It’s damn hot out there. I can’t wait to get a cold shower,” he said and then closed the door.

“What’s with you?”

“Nothing.” Ghost put the truck into drive and they slowly headed down the path past the people shopping at the farm and then to the main road. As they headed down the way, they talked about the truck.

“So, any news on my ride? Looking out of commission for a while or what?” Laverty asked him.

“I think a day or so. I should have it all fixed up quickly.”

“Hey, is that Lois?” Laverty asked as they headed down the long hill and approached.

“Might be. I saw her with mom and John a little while ago.”

“She was on the farm today?”

“I guess so.”

“Slow down and let’s see if she needs a ride. It’s damn hot out there and it looks like she’s wearing pants.”

Ghost slowed the truck down, but he didn’t know why he even bothered. She wouldn’t take a ride. She wouldn’t accept help from them. She glanced at the truck and then kept her eyes forward.

Laverty rolled down his window.

“Hey, Lois, need a ride?” he called out to her.

She looked over her shoulder, seeming shocked, and then looked straight ahead. “No, thank you,” she snapped at them.

“It’s damn hot out here and you’re wearing pants. You got a mile and a half to go before you reach the bottom of the road to your place.”

“I’m fine. Thank you,” she told them.

“Leave her be,” Ghost stated firmly and sped up the hill. In the rearview mirror he saw her peddling a little faster to make it up the hill, and he also saw the sporty Jeep coming up next with two guys in it. Instinctively, he slowed down.

“What’s wrong?” Laverty asked and turned around to look.

“Two guys trying in a Jeep to talk to her,” he said and slowed down more. She kept pedaling and then said something to them. The Jeep slowed down and then sped up and swerved a little toward her.

“What the hell?” Laverty stated and Ghost looked ahead, did a quick U-turn, and headed back down the hill. They were her guardians, even though Lois hadn’t accepted them as such. Just as he rolled down his window, the Jeep sped off.

“Are you okay?” Ghost yelled at her.