“That sounds good,” he said. “I’ll meet your ferry. We’ll look forward to seeing you on Saturday.” Paul ended the call and put his phone on the charger. “That was the nurse, Hope, who we talked to the other night. She and her son will be out on Saturday to check out the place.”

“And us.”

“And us.”

So much was riding on this, and they both knew it. The only hope they had of keeping their mother at home was if they could persuade a qualified medical professional to come to work for them, and they had exactly one person interested in the position.

“Kinda funny that her name is Hope, right?” Alex said.

“Seriously.”

“So listen… A friend of mine has offered to help out at the store. She has an MBA from Wharton and a lot of retail experience—not in horticulture, but she’d probably figure out what she needs to know. What do you think?”

“A friend, huh? And does this friend have anything to do with the fact that you didn’t come home last night?”

“I called you to tell you I was staying out, and you said it was fine, so don’t bust my balls. Do you want her help or don’t you?”

“Will your Wharton MBA be satisfied with twelve bucks an hour?”

“She’s not in it for the money. She heard we’re in a tight spot, and she offered to help. Nothing more than that.”

Paul eyed him skeptically. “Nothing more than that?”

“Paul… Will you shut the fuck up and answer the question? Do you want her help or not?”

“Sure,” Paul said with a calculating smile. “I’d love to have your friend’s help at the store. Tell her to call me in the morning, and we’ll set up a meeting.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“That’s why you love me.”

“Right, keep telling yourself that. I’m taking a shower. Are you going to be home tonight?”

“Where else would I be?”

“Do you care if I go out for a while?”

“I don’t care, but when you say a while, do you mean a couple of hours or all night?”

“Ugh,” Alex said, grunting with aggravation as he left Paul laughing in the kitchen and went to take a shower. Even though he wanted to punch his brother for being such an asshole, he couldn’t deny that if the situation had been reversed, he would’ve done the same thing.

They’d been busting each other’s balls for as long as they could talk. In fact, ball busting had been at the heart of their relationship until they were forced to come together to care for their mother. It was kind of nice to know that underneath all the drama and despair of their mother’s illness, his relationship with his brother remained intact.