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“How?” he asked

“Well, clearly you don’t love Vicodin as—”

“No,” Jesse gasped “How can you wake up that way? I wake up and all I think about is the dae I’ve done”

Caleb smiled, sadly “It’s easy Because I’et to cause trouble and write about it I get to eat enchiladas and look at women They don’t look back quite as much as they used to, but I can live with that Every day is a gift, ave it to me”

Caleb limped over and clapped him on the back “Mitch, Dave, Artie—they were soldiers, not school teachers They knew the risks”

“It doesn’t make it any easier to live with”

“Nope” Caleb nodded “I don’t suppose it does But at least you get to live with it”

Caleb hobbled over to the couch then eased himself onto it Jesse’s body buzzed with static electricity, like the air before lightning strikes

“Your niece said you had a girlfriend” Caleb groaned as he lifted his leg up on to the couch “Julia or so”

“Julia,” he murmured He stared out theat the street Girlfriend? What a ludicrous word to apply to Julia

“You’ve got a girlfriend Good-looking dog” He yawned “Crackerjack niece Nice house in a nice town Sounds like a good life to me”

It was It was a good life And it was his He just needed the balls to go after it He’d nearly thrown it all away, and why? Because Ron Adaht he didn’t deserve it

He groaned and stared at the ceiling

He did deserve it And more than that—he wanted it

Finding out that Dave fired first and that Mitch pursued the ene, but Caleb with his injuries and hope…well, it was inspiring

“I’ll do the story,” he said as he turned and caught Caleb with his eyes drifting shut

“The story?” he said “Good, because part one coeles Tiood hand over his face and through his hair “Hey, you don’t mind if I just take a little nap here do you? My driver isn’t co”