The Heart You Carry Home Read Online Free

lost cause. You showed up that night—now, stay with me, ’cause I’m talking metaphorically. You, Sergeant, were present.” Reno shoved his index finger at his own temple. “Up here,” he said. “And in here.” He beat his palm twice against his chest. “That ain’t nothing.”
    Ben knew that if he nodded, he’d vomit again. He felt waves of nausea rolling over and over him, in huge swells.
    â€œAnd frankly,” Reno kept on, “to be in your general condition and
still
to have shown up means—and I have a particular intuition about these things—that you can unfuck yourself.”
    â€œJesus Christ.” Ben moaned. Reno had suddenly veered off the road and onto grass. They bounced along on the spongy surface before stopping short. Ben threw open the door and retched.
    â€œWe’re here!” Reno announced.
    Ben heard crickets. His vision was fuzzy, but it looked as though Reno had driven them into a field. “Where are we?”
    â€œGet out and you’ll see,” Reno said brightly. He unbuckled his seat belt. Slowly, Ben followed. They were in a meadow surrounded by slopes of trees.
    â€œThere’s nothing here.”
    â€œExactly. See, on the way out here, I came up with something. It’s called the Reno Caruso Veteran-Unfucking Program.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Ben sagged, nearly fell to his knees.
    â€œHere’s what I’m thinking, Ben. You went off and got yourself fucked up. You didn’t plan for it. It’s not your fault. But you’re home now and you’re newly married, and it just so happens—and I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of this fact—that you love the person you’re married to. So now the question is, what part of you is going to win out? The part that’s loving or the part that’s fucked?”
    â€œPlease,” Ben groaned. “Crawl back into whatever hole you came from. Becca’s told me all about you.”
    â€œBecca knows me
so
well.” Reno chuckled. “What’d she say? Cavorting, drinking, fucking? Truth is, Ben, I grew out of all that a long time ago. I’ve got a business. And I’ve got to look out for your father-in-law.”
    â€œ
You’re
looking out for
King?
”
    Reno nodded solemnly. “He and I were in-country together. You know what that means.”
    Ben nodded and the world tumbled over itself. He rested his head against the car and let his body go limp.
    â€œI help him, even when he’s not interested.”
    â€œWhat’s that got to do with me?” Ben could barely manage a whisper.
    â€œKing believes in you, Ben. He believes in the
two
of you.”
    â€œSo do I.”
    Reno laughed and shook his head. “I’m going to pretend that we’re on the same page about all of this.”
    Ben slid his face down to the window. The glass was soothing and cool. He’d be all right if Reno would just shut up.
    â€œSergeant, we want to give the loving part of you a head start over the fucked part. Welcome to the Great Smokies, Tennessee side. Specifically, to a section of country I like to call the Dry Isle.”
    Ben realized how far east they’d traveled, how far he was from Becca, and his heart sank.
    â€œTrue to its name, the Dry Isle is a thirty-square-mile region where you will not find a single ounce of purchasable alcohol. Trust me on this. No liquor stores, no bars. If you wandered around long enough, you might trip over somebody’s still, but I’m guessing you’d get eaten by a bear before that happened, or get shot for trespassing.”
    A throbbing sensation suddenly announced itself on the side of Ben’s face. He touched the skin and winced. “Yeah, that’s gonna be nasty by the morning,” Reno said. “Sorry.”
    Ben finally gave in to the pain and dizziness. He dropped to his knees and shut his eyes. He