Don’t nag him, she reminded herself as he managed to shut the bathroom door behind him. He’s gonna be grumpy for a while. He’s in pain, but he’s got to do for himself. Rather than overmother him, she went to the kitchen and finished her cola. She’d just tossed the empty bottle into a sack on the back porch when she heard the bathroom door open, then the sound of Josh hopping to his room. He muttered something under his breath that she probably didn’t want to hear.

Blue whined at the back door and while she held it open, she heard the uneven cadence of crutches hitting the floor as Josh hitched his way down the hall. She was wiping the counter when he paused at the archway leading to the dining room. “Is the car okay?” he asked, leaning forward on his crutches in order to scratch the old hound behind his ears.

“We can only hope. The mechanics at Len’s seem to be baffled.” She held up both her hands, showing him that her fingers were crossed.

Blue grunted in pleasure.

“I think we should get a new one.”

“Do you?” Josh had been pushing for a new car for the past couple of years. “And give up the cool convertible?”

Rolling his eyes theatrically, he nodded. “It would be cool if it wasn’t a billion years old. I think we need something like a Corvette or a Porsche or . . . or a Ferrari.”

“Oh, sure. Or maybe a Jaguar or—”

“A BMW.”

“In your dreams,” she said, flashing him a smile.

“Mo-om!”

“Back to the real world, bud. What can I get you for breakfast?”

“We need a new car.”

“You get no argument from me on that one. I just have to figure out how to pay for it.” She tossed her sponge into the sink. “If you want me to make you something to eat, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

He bumbled his way across the kitchen and half fell into the chair Luke had occupied the night before. “How about a double-cheese bagel?”

“You’re in luck. There’s one left.” She reached into the cupboard and while opening the plastic bag with one hand, she pointed a knife at his bad ankle. “Keep that raised, okay?”

“Okay,” he grumbled and hoisted his foot onto the seat of a second chair. His hair was rumpled and he was still wearing his soccer uniform from practice the day before.

“We’ll have to figure out a way for you to take a shower,” she said as she sliced the bagel and slipped both halves into the toaster.

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Okay, okay. Whatever.” She bit her tongue to keep from saying anything more and scrounged in the refrigerator until she found a tub of cream cheese.