Page 25 of Ghost

“I get it.”

“Toby’s really doing well here,” she continued.

“You sound surprised.”

“I am.” She watched him make a shot as she explained, “He hasn’t had a lot of men in his life—at least not any that he’s spent much time with.”

“What about his father?”

“He died before Toby was born.”

“Oh, damn. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” Whitney fidgeted with the edges of her book as she continued, "He was in the military, and we met when he was home on leave.”

“I see.”

“I thought we were going to have all the time in the world, and we didn’t even make it six months.”

“What happened?”

"He was stationed in Iraq, and they were doing all these training sessions. One day, there was some kind of freak accident... a mortar misfire or something, and it killed him and two others instantly."

“Ah, damn. Those are the worst kinds of fatalities. You know they could’ve been prevented, so they had a pretty big impact on all of us, especially when it happened to someone in our platoon.”

“I didn’t realize you’d been in the military.”

“Served two tours, and while I was there, I lost some good men. It was tough, and I’m sure it was even harder for you.”

“Losing him certainly left its mark. I just never thought it would happen to him.” Her voice was strained as she told me, “I didn’t find out I was pregnant until several weeks after his funeral.”

“So, he never knew...”

“No... I’ve tried to raise Toby in a way that would make him proud, but I can’t help but feel like I’m failing.”

"You’re doing great."

“You’re sweet to say that, but...”

“But nothing,” I interrupted. “Toby’s a good kid, and that’s because of you.”

“Thanks, Ghost. That means a lot.”

I gave her a nod then said, “I’ll let you get back to your book. Maybe your guy will pull his head out of his ass.”

“I certainly hope so.”

She smiled as she opened her book and started reading again. I glanced over at Toby and Goose, and when I saw that they were about to start another game, I went over and picked up a pool stick. “Mind if I join ya?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Goose finished racking the balls, then stepped back and said, “You break.”

At first, the kid seemed a little apprehensive about me playing a round with them. Hell, he barely said a word. He just watched me like a hawk and backed away any time I got too close.

I couldn’t blame him.

I hadn’t been all that cordial to him or his mother, but after a few shots, I leaned over to him and asked, “Why can’t you trust a burrito?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

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