“Blood already taught you how to shoot it, right?”
She nodded.
“I wasn’t too happy about that. Now, I’m glad. He’s a smart man. Guess he saw this coming.”
She glanced around as the wind whipped her hair in her face. She didn’t want to talk about Blood, or her shooting lesson, or how smart the man was. She wanted to know about a gun in a bag in a field. “Why is it hidden out here?”
“Rally point.”
“What?”
“We get separated and you make it out, you come here, get the gun and run if you can. If you can’t, you shoot the shit out of whatever comes after you.”
“Please stop talking.” She closed her eyes.
“Not sayin’ this shit to panic you. Sayin’ it cause it might come to that. If it does, you’ve got a plan.” He was silent for a moment. “Jess, look at me.”
She shook her head.
“Jess.”
She opened her eyes.
“You understand?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” He put the gun back, stood and strode the three steps that separated them.
She looked up at him. “I’m sorry about before, about not trusting you enough to tell you everything. I was ashamed, Ghost. And now I’ve brought all this trouble.”
His hand came up and cupped the side of her face, his thumb stroking over her cheekbone. “We done fighting?”
She nodded, and his head dipped down for a kiss. She went up on her toes, meeting him half way. And then suddenly they were clinging to each other, standing in the scrub, crickets sounding all around them, and none of it existed, nothing but this man. This man who’d always been there for her when she needed him most, and it scared her to death to think of the possibility that that may not always be the case.
She broke from the kiss and hugged him tight. “I’m scared, Ghost.”
He rubbed her back, murmuring in her ear, “I know you are, baby. Couple more days, this’ll all be over. I promise.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Undertaker stood in Ghost’s living room and shoved a white dress shirt at Shades. “Here, put this on.”
“Why the fuck would I put this on, old man?”
“Cause he fucking told you to,” Blood said, stepping forward.
Shades’ eyes moved between Skylar’s father, and his right hand man. “What, is it picture day or something?”
Ghost fought a grin at Shades’ joke, and he took in Undertaker’s expression. The man looked like he was about to crack. He’d told the men what they were all there for, and warned them all that they’d better not do anything to fuck this up. Now he looked like he was the one they had to worry about blowing it.
Ghost knew he had to think of something quick, so he blurted out the only thing he could think of.
“I’m gonna marry Jessie.”
The men all turned to stare at him. Undertaker finally broke the dead silence that followed that announcement, as he played along, apparently grateful to be off the hook for an explanation in this play act they were all putting on.
“Yeah, he’s marrying Jessie, and you’re the best man, so shut up and put this on,” Undertaker insisted.