Touching Ghost

Chapter One

His first thought upon seeing Sadie Ballew after all these years was that she looked like a blast of sunshine. A million memories, like fine wine, drifted through his mind. Intoxicating. Yeah, he could get drunk just watching her as the Key West sunset lit her curly ginger hair, framing her to perfection, as she fiddled with the stem of her glass, sipped her drink, and glanced nervously toward the boats docked along the Florida shoreline. Ren Ramsey stood at the perimeter of the picturesque outdoor restaurant on Sunset Pier and drank her in.

How many years had it been? Ten? Twelve? Recollecting back, Ren figured she’d been a sparkly-eyed twenty year old with her whole life stretching out for her like a romantic movie where the heroine always got the perfect life with the perfect man and two or three beautiful, well-adjusted kids. He’d been…well, best not go there. The bottom line was she’d been a friend when he’d most needed one. Steadfast, loyal, sweet, and funny. That was Sadie.

Unable to believe she was here in the flesh, Ren tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Truth to tell, Sadie had always represented light and happiness to him when the reality of his world, both present and past, was pretty much as dark as the pits of hell. Members of SEAL Team Arapahoe would shit a brick if they could see him now and could read his doubts and insecurities. Ghost—big, tough badass, linguist, spy, infiltrator—acting like a coward over a woman.

They’d arrived stateside after a bloody-as-hell mission in Afghanistan a day or so ago, and the whole team had hightailed their asses to Key West for a well-deserved break. Dane Gregory, code name Dagger, had an actor buddy who was filming in Spain and, lucky them, they’d been given carte blanche to stay at a top-notch mansion while they were catching a breather. The place was spectacular and way more than what this poor Oklahoma boy was accustomed to, but he wasn’t about to complain about that. Once the eight members of the team stowed their gear, each had headed off to parts unknown to spend their time in pursuit of great food, some booze, and off the charts sex in no particular order.

They were closer than brothers and overdue for a little hell raising.

He’d hitched a ride with a couple of the guys and now stood outside the driver’s door of a borrowed SUV. Jesus Rodrigo Calderon, aka Zeus, sat in the passenger seat and sent his intense gaze over the occupants of the outdoor café. As astute as it got, he’d no doubt spotted Sadie. A tiny smile pulled at his lips.

“That her?” Miguel Cruz, code name Coyote, slapped a massive hand on his shoulder. “Cute.”

“Yeah.”

“What the hell are you waiting for? Go get her.”

“She’s just a friend.”

Coyote grunted. “Whatever you say, Ghost. If this little reunion   doesn’t pan out, look us up in the bar over there. I’m in the mood for a cold drink and a hot woman.”

“Okay. I’ll probably meet up with you later. Zeus, take it easy, man.”

Ren figured he and Sadie would have their reunion  , relive a few stories from the ‘old days’ back in Oklahoma, and then he’d join the others for what was left of their R and R before they were called back to Afghanistan or wherever Uncle Sam chose to send them. When Coyote and Zeus took off, he returned his gaze to this sweet little blast from his past. Without warning, she saw him and her bluebonnet blue eyes widened. Her hand went to her throat just as her pink-tinted lips formed his name. That damn lump in his throat got tighter, but somehow he managed to put one foot in front of the other as he moved into the restaurant.

Sadie wasn’t so subtle.

She jumped to her feet, placed her hands over her heart, then wove through the cluster of tables and launched herself into his arms.

“Ren! Ren! Oh, my God!”

Ren wasn’t an idiot. He wrapped his arms around the softest, sweetest curves this side of heaven and breathed her in as her lips found his throat and jaw. “Hey, Beautiful.”

Sadie stepped back, took his face in her hands, and just stared at him. “You look good. No, no let me rephrase that. You look incredible. Different but incredible.”

“I’ve packed on a few pounds in the past ten years or so.”

“Pounds of solid muscle maybe,” she teased. But Ren noticed the slight darkening of her eyes when she sent her gaze down and then up his body. His cock twitched behind the fly of his jeans, and, no siree, that wasn’t a good thing. They were just friends. Right? Finally, she grinned and reached for his hand. “Come on. Let’s have wine and dinner and talk. Oh lordy, how I want to talk with you. You have to tell me everything.”

There was no way he could tell her everything because so much of what he did was clandestine but sit with her? Hell, yeah. Sudden curiosity about her life since he’d last seen her consumed him and he wondered if he’d get a peek at those deep dimples that popped out each time she grinned or if her laughter would be as he remembered. There had been many a lonely night, camped in the rocky hills of Afghanistan, when memories of her had kept him alive and hoping to regain the brightness he’d known so long ago.