Page 40 of Reckless

Then she looks at me.

Then back at Ghost.

Piper looks at me, eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. ‘He learned?’

I nod once. ‘Apparently.’

She glances back at Ghost.

I don’t.

Not yet.

I’ve got a feeling if I look at him right now, every person in this room is going to learn something about me before I do. Piper turns back to Ghost. She slows her signing down, deliberate and clear so that he can follow every word. ‘How long have you been learning ASL?’

Ghost signs the answer without hesitation. ‘Eight weeks.’

Piper’s eyebrows lift.

Mine do too.

Eight weeks? The number lands somewhere deep enough that I actually stop thinking for a second.

Eight weeks ago, I told him, standing in this very clubhouse, coffee in one hand, complaining about airline prices and trying not to sound too excited. I’d told him Piper had finally booked her flight.

Eight fucking weeks.

He started that day.

Not after he met her.

Not after he realized she’d actually be coming.

The same day he found out she mattered to me.

Something presses hard against the back of my ribs, and I don’t know what to do with it.

Piper’s gaze lingers on Ghost, her head tipping slightly to one side. I’ve seen that look my whole life. She’s recalibrating. Whatever she expected when I talked about Ghost, this isn’t it.

Then she smiles and nods once. It’s the sort of nod that doesn’t need words. The kind that says, I see what you did.

The kind that says, thank you.

She turns slightly, signing to him with the beginning of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. ‘Eight weeks. Did you pass yourself?’

Ghost signs back. ‘Entirely level… I’m still learning.’

‘Progress report?’

He smiles. Ghost actually smiles! ‘Better than yesterday.’

‘That’s your answer to everything, isn’t it?’ Piper teases.

He doesn’t blink. ‘It’s usually the right one.’

Piper looks at him for a long moment, and then she signs, slowly and deliberately so he catches every word. ‘My sister said you were quiet.’

‘I am.’