Page 64 of Ghost

“Sounds like she belongs on a race track,” I said.

“I’ll drive her from work from time to time,” he said. “Watch people drool over it. Other’n that, she’ll be out at the track, racing for side bets.”

“Well, you’ve got the shifting down. All you might need is a few suspension tweaks.”

“Know anyone who can tweak a suspension?”

“Other than me?” I asked.

He laughed. “Should have known.”

We took the next exit ramp, and drove back to his house slowly, and without incident. Through the quiet neighborhood he lived in, the car’s exhaust turned a few heads, which George seemed to like.

When each person looked, he waved like a politician on parade. Seeing his joy couldn’t have pleased me more. When we came to a stop in the garage, he turned off the engine and looked at me.

“Set the bullshit aside, Porter. What do I owe you?”

I opened the door. “Stack of pancakes.”

After getting out, he peered over the top of the car. “I’m not fucking around,” he growled. “I need to pay you something. You did in two weekends what I couldn’t do in years. I got quotes to build this thing, and after everyone saw that box of loose parts, the numbers were in the ten-grand range. Couldn’t ever seem to afford that much. Let me give you a couple grand, at least.”

“Wouldn’t even consider it,” I replied. “Friend of Abby’s is a friend of mine, and this is what friends do for one another.”

He shook his head. “You’re one of a kind.”

I laughed. “So are you. I thought on the day we met that you were going to be a prick. But you’re all bark and no bite.”

“Oh, believe me,” he said. “I bite, and bite hard. Abby’s got a damned good head on her shoulders, and if she thought you were a good enough man to come into my diner, I knew I needed to give you a chance.”

“I appreciate it.”

“She’s a special girl,” he said. “Hard to understand what drives her to do what she does, but she’s driven. Can’t help but respect her.”

I opened the car’s hood. “You mean the YouTube stuff?”

“No, I was meaning the charity. She’s not one to brag, but I sure brag about her,” he said. “Last year she had a fundraiser for raising drug awareness amongst teens. Said she’s match two dollars for every dollar donated. Damned girl gave four million of her own money to charity. Year before she did the same thing for breast cancer. Year before that was to build a soup kitchen for the homeless. And, all she can do is talk about how I have that pancake fundraiser. She acts like I’m a saint. Truth be known, that girl is a gift from God if there ever was one.”

I forced a smile and ducked under the hood. “She’s a gift, alright.”

He leaned over the fender. “Say something to offend you?”

I shook my head. “No, why?”

“If there’s one thing I learned to do after fifteen years at war, it’s how to read people. Something I said tasted foul.”

“I’m not a big God person, that’s all. Don’t care if you are, I’m just not what I’d call a believer.”

“Everyone needs something to believe in.” He gazed at the engine for a moment, and then looked up. “In boot camp they asked, ‘Are you catholic or protestant?’ I said, ‘Neither.’ They said, ‘You’re one or the other, pick one. So, I picked protestant. I always struggled with God’s existence, at least until I was in combat. I found God one afternoon when I was on the receiving end of a Kalashnikov in Afghanistan. Kalashnikovs don’t jam for what it’s worth. Ever. His did. I don’t know who he was praying to, but my God answered my prayer.”

He let out a long breath. “He went on to meet his maker. That night, while I was staring up at the stars, I somehow came to believe. Ever since, I’ve been a believer.”

I felt like laughing but didn’t dare. “No offense, but having a guy’s gun jam made you believe in God?”

“I think I was just looking for a reason,” he said. “On that day I found it. If a man doesn’t believe in God, he’s left to believe he is God. I’ve got news for you. You’re not.”

I chuckled. “Never thought I was.”

He turned away, returning in a moment with two beers. He handed me one. After I accepted it, I tilted the neck of the bottle toward him. “Here’s to fast cars, battlefield miracles, and having something to believe in.”