"Something I learned after I got away from this town? Family is whoever you want it to be, not necessarily the one you're born with. Do you think they'd have your back if you really needed them? Not, like, a morning after in the drunk tank need. I'm talking life or death kind of thing."

His eyes stayed firmly on Michael's hands as he said, "Heartbreak kind of thing. Something that really matters."

He'd met guys like that in the service and not always the people he was teamed up with. Sometimes it was just someone who would let him talk about anything or nothing. Those were the guys who stayed in touch as best they could after he was injured.