Page 53 of Guarded By the SEAL
Quiet and cold.
Wyatt shook his head to clear it, forcing himself to focus on Ghost as the other man moved to his side, staring out over the rows of graves just as Wyatt was doing. “You kept her safe,” said Ghost. “Her and her little sister. You did a good thing.”
“Stop trying to make me feel better. Ralph wasn’t prepared to go on that mission, and he died because of it.”
“Then I’m the one at fault here. I’m the one who sent her to you, who expected you to drop everything and help her, no matter what. And you came through for me. You did exactly what I knew you would do. Does that mean I wanted Ralph to die?”
“Of course not.” Wyatt hung his head. He knew what Ghost was trying to do, but Wyatt didn’t deserve to feel better, just as Ralph hadn’t deserved what happened to him. “But you didn’t know what you were asking. You didn’t know exactly who needed my help, the specific mission I would need to give up, the practice and preparation that had gone into it. But I did. I knew, Ghost, and I chose to leave them anyway.”
“And if the situation had been reversed? If Ralph had gotten called away at the last minute, would you have filled in for him?”
“You know I would’ve.”
“And if you’d gotten hurt filling in for Ralph,” Ghose closed the distance between them and pointed a finger at Wyatt’s chest. “If you’d gotten killed, would you be sittin’ in the hereafter for all eternity, thinking the fault belonged to anyone but you?”
Wyatt rolled his eyes, their surface stinging with tears he struggled to keep in check. He would never place the blame for a botched mission on anyone but himself. “That’s not the question.”
“Then what is?”
“How could I do something so terrible, so awful, so devastating to the lives of so many people, and not even see it coming?”
Ghost’s mouth formed a flat line. “You’ve just learned the hardest truth of all, Bulldog. You’ve finally realized you aren’t in control. That bad shit happens to good people. That sometimes it doesn’t matter how good you are, or how hard you’ve prepared, or even if you’re smarter than the bad guys.”
That was it, the truth in Ghost’s words crystalizing every emotion Wyatt was feeling and making him see them in a different light. Ralph’s death had exposed Wyatt’s humanity, his vulnerability, his weakness. “If Ralph could die like that, so could I. So could you. So could we all.”
Ghost walked past him and looked out over the cemetery. “It’s a hell of a lot easier to believe you’re alive because you deserve it, isn’t it? That all those other people are dead because they screwed up, because they weren’t prepared, because they didn’t know their enemy like you did.” Ghost shook his head. “For me, it was Tel Aviv. We were trying to rescue eleven people being held hostage by a terrorist group. Eight of us went on that mission, but only five of us returned. Strong, talented soldiers, every one of those men.”
Wyatt stared at the open grave, a pile of fresh dirt beside it and the casket already lowered into the ground. Its polished wooden surface was marred with several handfuls of dirt. He moved to the pile and scooped a handful of cool earth into his palm, then threw it on top of Ralph’s casket.
Goodbye, friend.
I’m so very sorry for the way it went down.
Ghost and Wyatt walked away from the grave and back toward their vehicles, the men sharing a hug before Ghost got in his car. It wasn’t going to be easy, but Wyatt knew he needed to embrace life, not turn away from it.
Wyatt nodded at Ghost’s girlfriend. “Hi, Rayne.”
“Hi, Wyatt. Teslyn told me you really saved the day. I’m so glad you two got to know each other.”
Ghost furrowed his brow and looked from Wyatt to Rayne and back again.
She ignored him, focusing her attention on Wyatt. “Remind her for me, we still need to do a girls’ weekend when she finds a new place.”
“I will,” Wyatt said, amused when Ghost raised an eyebrow before getting in the car and driving away. Teslyn had clearly been speaking to Rayne about her relationship with Wyatt, and that pleased him to no end.
He took one last look over his shoulder, determined to spend the rest of his life looking firmly ahead.
Each of us gets one life.
Ralph had his, and I have mine.
He started his engine.
I choose to live it.
He felt Ralph’s presence behind him on the hill, and knew his friend would approve. And though Wyatt didn’t know exactly how the rest of his life would play out, he was absolutely sure of just one thing. He wanted Teslyn–and Ivy–to be a very big part of it.
CHAPTER27
