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bed.”
    Levi swiped his hands through his sweaty hair and stared his brother down. Dressed in pressed khaki shorts and a bright green polo shirt complete with web belt and leather driving moccasins, his brother looked like he just fell off the cover of Southern yuppie magazine. That he stared at the discarded condom on the floor with a small sneer told Levi exactly what he thought of him.
    “At least I can get someone to share my bed. Even if it is for one night.” Levi wondered exactly how the two of them had sprung from the same two sets of loins. Jude with his manicured fingernails and styled hair. The man never broke a sweat, that Levi could ever remember at least. Always so damned perfect…perfectly uptight. Yet Levi turned out to be the gay brother. Go figure that one.
    “Bar trash. Looks like she tried to beat the shit out of you. I assume trying to get away.” A malicious sparkle entered his brother’s amber eyes. The smile he turned on Levi was the same one Levi saw in photos of himself. Just not quite so…lawyerly.
    “Don’t you have any ambulances to chase?” Levi stood up, letting the sheet fall. He didn’t care if his nudity offended his brother. This was his house, and Jude could go fuck himself.
    “It’s Saturday. I was going to go play a round of golf as soon as the storm passed.”
    “But retrieving my car got in the way. Sorry, bro, you could have just said no. I’d have gotten to it sooner or later. Which makes it your problem, not mine.” Levi found the suitcase he was living out of and searched through for a change of clothes. A pair of cargo shorts, wrinkled but April fresh. He grabbed a workout T-shirt and a clean pair of briefs, then started to head for the bathroom but Jude stepped in his way.
    “I came to ask if you would like to play with us.” The lawyer mask fell away, and Jude was just Levi’s little brother. The same one that tagged along and made a nuisance of himself when they were kids. He was just about the only family that Levi had left. “And to find out why you didn’t show up at football camp this week.” And right back to being an asshole.
    “I fear that I would have been escorted from the facility by armed security. I believe the press conference yesterday made it abundantly clear that I’m persona non grata in New Orleans.” Levi pushed past his brother and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. But Jude was already in the door so it bounced off him instead of closing. Levi shrugged and leaned over the toilet. If the man couldn’t take a hint then he could damn well watch while he took a piss.
    “Not that camp, Levi. The one in town. High school. The one you went to. Ring any bells? I sent you about a million text messages regarding the situation.”
    “And I ignored every message you sent.” Levi shook and flushed. He turned on the shower and cursed the low water pressure.
    “Dammit, Levi, I got you that job hoping it would snap you out of this malaise you’re in. So you won’t sit around on your ass—“
    “I’m such a God damned burden to you, Jude? How do you qualify that? I put your ass through law school. I bought the land your mansion is sitting on. I made sure you had as much as I could give you after I left home. If I want to sit around on my fucking ass, I am damn well going to do it.” He flung the cheap plastic curtain aside and stepped into the fiberglass garden tub.
    “Levi, that’s not what I meant.” Jude flushed the toilet, causing the water to practically shut off.
    “Fuck, Jude, get out. I’m tired of listening to you for one day. You sound like our father. I never listened to him. What makes you think I’m going to listen to you?”
    “Because sitting out here in this relic isn’t good for you. It’s not about money; it’s not about being a failure or a burden. It’s about getting up and getting out and doing something. Something that doesn’t involve beer and pain pills and self-pity. I love you, Levi,