The problem with having an epiphany so late at night was that he had no one to help him work through it. Kyle did everything in his power to work it on his own, but he was exhausted and running out of time. He needed manpower, and asking Wes to help was out of the question right now. Instead—after wrestling with his insecurities for a good fifteen minutes—he texted the one person he knew he could rely on.

Rather than explain via text message, Kyle called and filled his brother in on the situation. Brandon knew about the hospital closing and then not closing, but he didn’t know about the newest development or the idea Mrs. Hartford had prompted.

“So you think this will save the hospital? Actually save it?” Brandon asked.

“Honestly? I don’t know, Bran. But I’m not going to just roll over and take it.”

There was a pause on the line, then his brother said, “Katie’s asleep. Why don’t you come on over? Bring a laptop or a tablet or something and we’ll sort this out.”

His MacBook was still stashed in his car, so Kyle made his way almost immediately over to Brandon’s, stopping to get some iced coffee for both of them first.

He reached Brandon’s house around three, and the porch light was on and waiting for him, the front door unlocked. Moving as quietly as he could into the house, he greeted his brother with the intention of telling him thank you. Brandon pulled him into a tight hug instead.

“How are you? Can’t imagine going through that rollercoaster,” he said, drawing back.

“I’m…” Over three days, no one had asked him that. “Not great. But I’ll be better if I can put together a plan.”

Brandon nodded and the two of them got to work, taking up residence on his large couch. The TV played something quietly in the background—one of the shows Brandon had watched too many times to count, he explained, and something he just left on for some white noise—and the brothers scoured the internet, starting with the article Kyle found the last time he’d done this.

It took several hours and a refill on coffee that Kyle was all too happy to duck out and get, but they managed to find information on what it would take to turn Hidden Creek Memorial into a Critical Access Hospital, and how they could convert some of the beds for long-term use, hiring on the staff needed to establish a skilled nursing facility.

“So what does all of this mean, exactly?” Brandon asked as they bookmarked and printed out several pages.

“Right now Hidden Creek Memorial is designated as an Acute Care Hospital. We don’t have the resources to keep patients for more than a few days, sometimes as much as a week. Emergent and triaged cases make up the bulk of our patient spread, and the people who come in for those services tend not to have great insurance, which puts the hospital at risk financially,” Kyle explained. “CAH designation would allow us to keep our trauma designation while expanding our long-term care options. Some of the acute care beds would get turned into long-term care beds, and as long as we met the qualifications, we’d be reimbursed for participating in Medicare.”

“Okay,” Brandon said with a quiet laugh, “I’ll pretend like I understand all of that. What I’m getting is this will help the hospital out financially while still letting you keep the ER open, right?”

Kyle smiled at his brother. They were both exhausted, and Brandon had nodded off several times already. “That’s the gist, yeah. Instead of cutting back, we expand.”

“What do we need to do to make this happen?” he asked, stifling a yawn.

“You need to go to bed. I’m going to print out some more things and brainstorm a bit more.”

But Brandon shook his head, reaching for his coffee. “No. I’m in this for the long haul. Even if you weren’t my brother, I can’t risk something happening to Katie and then taking an hour to get her to a doctor.”

Were he not so tired, Kyle might have argued more. As it was, he just nodded and filled Brandon in on the rest of his plan. They worked for another couple of hours, until the sun almost threatened to come up.

With the absence of coffee, Brandon had cranked the AC so they could both keep awake, but Kyle’s limits were quickly being reached. He’d let Vivian know he needed to start his shift a bit late. After staying at the hospital for so long the past few days, there was no way he could function on another sleepless night.

But as he was getting his things together, Brandon had one last observation to share.

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask Dr. Monroe for help on this.”

The mention of Wes shot a pang of longing through Kyle. He missed the man. He missed how things used to be. And honestly, if he wasn’t so focused on this, he would’ve spent all night tossing and turning, worrying about Wes.

But there was too much at stake, and Wes wasn’t his to worry about anymore. Maybe he never had been.

“I’m not exactly sure Wes is into talking to me right now, even about that.”

Brandon’s brow furrowed, his concern obvious even through the fatigue. “What happened? I mean, you two were involved, right? And you worked really, really well together, at least where Katie was concerned. Seemed like a perfect fit to me.”

It had, before all this mess, though Kyle could admit he’d had on a pretty effective pair of rose-tinted glasses.

He explained everything to Brandon, though. Wes’ inability to trust anyone—including Kyle, sometimes. His own dismissal of Wes’ breakdown, an admission that made his heart ache more fiercely than he anticipated. And that wasn’t even mentioning the fact that some part of him wondered if Wes had just been the very different rebound from Rebecca.

Brandon listened through all of this, his features pinching more and more. He’d never been good at hiding his emotions when they were kids, and it seemed he still retained that trait into adulthood.

“Kyle, I want you to know I say this with love, but you’re being an idiot.”

Kyle blinked at him, caught off guard by that. He’d expected commiseration. Maybe a gentle talking to. Not a flat-out statement of his stupidity.

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me,” Brandon said. “Look, I know things are difficult right now, but if you don’t fight for this, you’re going to regret it.”

Guilt stabbed at Kyle, his lack of familiarity with Brandon’s adult life rearing its head again. “Is that what happened between you and Katie’s mom?”

Brandon shook his head, a sad smile on his lips. “No. This was before I met Dani. Before Katie was born. I was with somebody I knew was my soulmate, and I let a stupid fight be the end of it.” He drew in a breath, and before Kyle could even ask, he said, “but this isn’t about me. This about you and Wes. Maybe I have no idea what I’m talking about, but the way you looked at him and the way he looked at you… I’ve seen that before. I’ve felt it. And I know it’s worth fighting for.”

Kyle swallowed the lump of emotion that suddenly rose in his throat. Emotion he’d tried so hard to suppress since everything went to hell. The hospital had to be his priority, but… what about after that?

Could he really live with himself, knowing he just threw in the towel on a future with Wes? And that wasn’t even counting the fact that he was effectively making the decision for the other man, something he swore he’d never do after Rebecca did it to him.

He looked at his brother and that guilt rose again, along with a sharp sadness he hadn’t expected. “Bran… you’ve always been amazing to me, and I know I haven’t done the same for you—”

Brandon held up a hand to stop him. “Nope. Not going there.” His expression softened, a smile blooming on his lips. “We were kids, Ky. You don’t owe me anything. Though… actually…” His gaze moved skyward as he thought on it for a second. “Yeah, you do. Get the hell out of my house and go save the hospital. Once that’s done, you talk to Wes.”

Kyle could only laugh. “Okay, okay. But I need some sleep first.”

“Fine. Bed, then you save the hospital. And talk to Wes.” A raised brow made it clear that he was deadly serious, though the smile killed it a bit.

“I will,” Kyle said, and this time, he initiated the hug, giving his brother a tight squeeze. “Thank you, Brandon. For everything.”

Dawn was breaking by the time Kyle finally drove home. He showered and prepared himself for what would only be a power nap, at best. Clothes changed and Vivian called, there was only one thing left to do.

Kyle looked dubiously at his phone as it sat in its charging cradle. There was so much he wanted to say, but none of it could be said through text messages.

So he climbed into bed and grabbed his phone, composing a message that said only one of those things.