“Second cup?” I asked.
“Nope. First.”
I nodded. “New pain medication working, then?”
“Seems to be.”
I walked over to the coffee pot and reached for my mug. Which was really a small bowl. I never could get enough coffee in my system first thing in the morning. I poured out the straight black liquid and went to sit by my brother, who was having a hell of a time keeping his mug from trembling every time he lifted it or set it down.
“Need help?” I asked.
He snickered. “I should ask you that same question.”
“The hell does that mean?”
He nodded toward the hallway. “They asleep again?”
“Yep.”
“Must be lazy asses, then. Didn’t hear a damn peep from any of you.”
I chuckled. “Oh, ho ho. I see how it is, Mr. Can’t Get It Up.”
“Hey, those are the pain meds talking. I get it up when it counts.”
“I’m sure you and Lefty are very happy together.”
He snickered. “So do I dare ask?”
I took a long pull from my coffee. “I know you will.”
He nodded. “How’d things go with Dad yesterday? He have a job for you? Or paychecks?”
“Both. Checked my account half an hour ago. Payments hit.”
“Good. Because the mortgage is due.”
“How many more payments do we have on the thing?”
“Seven more. The end is in sight.”
I sighed. “Fucking finally.”
“What was the job?”
I shot him a look. “You know we’re not supposed to talk about that kind of shit.”
He shrugged. “We do anyway. What makes this different?”
And when I didn’t respond, John drew in a deep breath.
“What’s wrong with this one?” he asked.
I shook my head. “You know how my gut is.”
“You don’t know what’s wrong, you just know something is.”
“Yep.”