After a reenactment weekend, Goose Tucker inadvertently brings home Civil War soldier Jefferson Eaves’ diary and is shocked to discover Jefferson’s spirit has come along, too. Through the diary, Jefferson tells Goose about his true love, Calvin, who was a former slave who fought for the Union. With no record of Calvin’s death or service found, Goose figures Jefferson might not want to cross over until Calvin receives due recognition. Jefferson also speaks of an acorn planted as a sign of commitment to their future. When reenactment leader Patrick O’Hanlon calls looking for the diary, he tells Goose about his plans to return down south to protest the chopping down of an old oak tree. Is this the tree that grew from Calvin and Jefferson’s acorn? Goose, with Jefferson in tow, decides to go with Patrick to find out. What happens between the four men once there is a lesson in healing and love.

Ghost Writer

I was doing it again, going off on a five-minute tangent to avoid what still felt like a mind fuck. Breathe in. Breathe out.


It certainly is different than that old Tennessee house.


“Okay. So, I assume you can hear me.”


“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I struggled with the bedspread, trying to cover my love handles and private parts, then got up and put on a fresh pair of boxer briefs before finally settling on the floor with the diary in my lap.


“Good to know. I’m bashful, I guess. Plus, hearing and seeing is one thing. If you can feel through the diary, laying it on top of my exposed co—di—pe—in my lap would have felt inappropriate. I should put on a shirt.”


What more of a compliment would someone desire? It’s very appealing to not look sickly and too thin.


Chapter 22