All They Need(52)

After a long moment he dropped his hand and started talking again. “Late-stage patients need twenty-four-hour, seven-day-a-week care, but right from the start Mom has been determined to take care of Dad at home. The way she sees it, the house can be fitted with everything they’ll need, and we can hire agency nurses and caregivers to support Mom. It’s completely doable, and it’s what she wants.”

Mel had a feeling she knew where this was going. “What about your father?”

“He wants to go into a home. He’s even picked one out. He doesn’t want to be a burden. Doesn’t want my mother’s final memories of him being changing his adult diaper or wiping spit off his chin.”

“What did your mother say to that?”

“Honestly? I’ve never seen her so angry. She told him that it was her marriage, too, and that this was happening to both of them. And that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she let someone else care for him. She said that she didn’t care about shit or spit, she cared about him, and she was going to be there with him to the bloody end because she loved him.” Flynn’s eyes were shiny with tears as they met hers. “That’s almost a direct quote, by the way.”

She could see the pride in his gaze, along with the pain. “She sounds pretty cool, your Mom.”

“She’s awesome.”

“So, who won?”

His smile was grim. “No one. Dad got upset. He said that if this was the last chance he had to make decisions, the least we could do was respect them. Mom told him that just because he was sick didn’t mean he got to rule the world. We finally agreed to have a timeout so they could both consider each other’s point of view.”



“What do you think will happen?”

“Mom will win. I think in his heart my father wants her to. The thing is, he loves her too much to want to be a burden.”

Mel blinked away the sudden warmth of tears. It was all too, too sad. When her vision was clear again, she saw Flynn was watching her, a frown on his face.

“I should go. You’re busy. I didn’t meant to show up out of nowhere like this.”

She’d seen him backtrack like this before and understood that he was embarrassed about needing to talk about his feelings. Instinct had bought him here, but pride was about to drive him away.

Men. Sometimes they really drove her crazy.

“Are we friends or not?” she demanded.

He looked arrested.

“Because friends don’t make a run for it when there’s a working bee in process,” she continued.

She tossed him her work gloves. He caught them before they slid down his belly to the ground.

“And friends offer each other a shoulder when it’s needed and don’t make a federal case out of it.”

He eyed her for a moment. She would have given a lot to know what was going on behind his eyes. His mouth turned up at the corners and he nodded slowly. “Okay. Point taken.”

“Good.”

He glanced down at the gloves. “You know, I was jealous when you told me you were having a working bee this weekend.”

“Jealous? Of hauling heavy-ass lumps of wood around and wheelbarrows full of soil?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“You’re a very strange man, Flynn Randall.” She pushed herself to her feet. “But you should know that I am not above exploiting that.”

“Exploit away.”

She started for the door. “You are so going to regret those words tomorrow.”

“We’ll see.”

She led him to the lawn, where the remaining railway ties were stacked. There was no sign of her brother and she moved to the far end of the next tie in the pile.

“Let’s do this, then. On the count of three,” she said, bracing her legs and getting a grip on the end.

Flynn held up a hand, eyebrows raised. “Whoa there. You’re not lifting this thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s too heavy for you.”

She grinned at him. “It isn’t, you know.” She patted her right shoulder with her left hand. “You think these babies are just for show?”

“Mel. These things have to weigh at least a hundred pounds.”

“Flynn, I’ve already carried half a dozen of these today. I think I can handle another one.”

He continued to stare at her. She put her hands on her hips and raised both eyebrows, waiting.