Page 41 of Ghost

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You really gonna sit there and pretend you don’t got a thing for this girl?”

Memphis knew me better than most. I knew there was no point in lying to him, but lying is exactly what I did. “Not like that. I’m just doing the job I was assigned to do.”

“Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that.” A somber expression marked his face as he admitted, “I don’t know how to make any of this right, and Antonia’s all in her head over her father. I don’t know what to do or say to help her.”

“Then figure it out, ‘cause she was there when you needed her.”

I could still see the wheels turning in his head.

His chest rose and fell, his breath uneven as the words sunk in.

I leaned against the bar, looking him dead in the eyes.

“You’re right again.”

“I usually am.”

Memphis didn’t respond. He just stood up, gave me one last look, and headed out of the bar. I grabbed the bottle of whiskey and turned it up, taking a long drink before slamming it back on the table. I was surprised when I heard a woman’s voice say, “Whoa. Looks like someone’s having a rough start to the day.”

I turned and found Bridget walking towards me. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Anything I can do to help with that?”

“Not this time.”

“Hmmm.” She walked behind the counter and stood in front of me. “Seems that’s happening a lot lately.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“First, it was Grim.” A soft smile spread across her face, and it was like she was referring to some fairy tale as she said, “When he met Jenna, that was it. He lost all interest in anyone else. Andthen, the same thing happened with Memphis when Antonia came into the picture.”

“What are you gettin’ at?”

“Just that Whitney’s as good as any girl who’s ever come through here, and she deserves to find her slice of happiness.” She leaned her elbows against the counter and propped her chin on her hands. “I really hope she finds it.”

“You and me both.”

Without saying anything more, Bridget turned and walked out of the bar, leaving me wondering if what she’d said was all bullshit or if there was really something to it. Either way, I wasn’t going to find my answer at the bottom of that whiskey bottle, so I got up and went to find Whitney.

When I walked by the family room, I spotted her and Kay huddled up on the couch, and they were carrying on about something. They were an unlikely pair, and while I couldn’t make out what they were saying, they both seemed engrossed in whatever they were talking about.

I was curious what had them both so excited, so I started over to them. When I got closer, I heard Kay say, “I’m telling you, we could totally do it.”

“You really think so?” Whitney bit her lip like she wasn’t sure if she was ready for a change or just afraid of what might come with it. “It’s pretty dark.”

“Absolutely.” Kay reached over and ran her fingers over the ends of Whitney’s hair, assessing it like she was on some kind of mission. “It’ll take a little time, but we can definitely go lighter.”

“Oh, that would be great!” Whitney laughed, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and the entire room lit up. “I know I can’t go back completely natural, but even a little lighter would be amazing.”

Seeing that look of hope in her eyes hit me like a damn freight train. There was something about when she was likethis—talking, open, vulnerable—that made her seem even more beautiful. She had been through hell, yet here she was, talking about her hair like it wasn’t a big deal. It was nice to see her so excited about the possibility of a fresh start.

“Well, then let’s do it.” Kay sounded almost as excited as Whitney when she said, “We’ll need to get someone to run to the beauty store and grab us a few things, but we could do it today.”

“Oh, that would be amazing!”

“We need to get a list together, so we make sure we get everything.”

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