Page 45 of A Moment for Us
“Would you want to live there?”
“Hell no,” I say with a grin. “I love Amelia, but that can’t be fun twenty-four seven.”
“He said he woke up yesterday and found a mangled doll staring at him.”
I burst out laughing. “I want to feel bad for him, but . . .”
“It’s Oliver.”
I nod. “If anyone deserves this, it’s him.”
“Right, with all the practical jokes and hell he caused when we were kids, I’m enjoying this torture.”
“Plus,” I say after I swallow a bite of pizza, “he likes to go on and on about how everyone in the family loves him the most.”
Alex leans back in the lawn chair with a sigh. “Still, it’s going to be cold here soon, and I’m not looking forward to that.”
“Yeah, but we have a pretty good setup.”
He looks over at me. “You think living in a portable home is a good setup?”
I shrug. “Do you think about settling down at all?”
Alex shakes his head. “Not really.”
“Maybe we should look for a place that’s more of a home than an RV.”
Maybe then Alex wouldn’t feel so out of place. If we had a place that was ours, it would give us a sense of normalcy.
“For who?” he asks.
“The three of us. You, me, and Oliver. We could find a much nicer cabin if we go in together.”
“I hadn’t thought of it.”
In a way, we’ve all been in denial that we actually moved back here, so it isn’t shocking that one of us thought to actually buy a place. I don’t want to live in a shithole, and Willow Creek is a strange area to buy. You have the insanely expensive homes or the small ones that no one wants to share.
Yet there’s something about buying a home with my two brothers that has me hesitating. I don’t want to be this guy. The one who lives forever with his brothers because it’s easier that way. They should get married, have kids, be happy.
“Don’t you want a family?” I ask.
“Me?”
“Come on, Alex, we both know you’re not like me. You’ve always been more like Gray.”
He laughs and lets out a long sigh. “I guess. I want kids and all that, but my life’s a fucking shitshow right now.”
“How?”
He shakes his head quickly. “Nothing, it’ll be fine. I don’t know that I want to rush into anything, and buying a house sort of locks us into staying here.”
“I think opening the resort did that,” I say with a laugh. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Alex shrugs. “Then you buy a big house, and Oliver and I will live with you.”
“Gee, thanks,” I say with sarcasm.
“Well, you’re never getting married or having a family.”
