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“On it,” Alex said, helping Ani slide safely off his back. He came over to give me a quick kiss. “I’m so glad you came with me.”
Bram and Alex went quietly out the back door, and Liz gestured for me to sit at the kitchen counter.
“I don’t know how many jobs I have around the house to keep them occupied, but if I need to, I’ll make some up,” she said conspiratorially to me. “Would you like some coffee?”
“I’d love some,” I replied.
“We all do that,” Ani said to me, pointing at the back door.
“Do what?” Liz asked.
“Leave Bram and Alex alone to bond,” Ani said, shuffling through a basket on the counter and pulling out two little individually packaged snack cakes. She set one down in front of me and opened the other.
“I was more concerned with getting the two of them out of the house before you all woke up the baby or scared Sarai off,” Liz said drily. “But yes, I guess I do try to give them some time to themselves.”
“I can’t believe they’re identical,” I said, taking my coffee from Liz with a smile. “They look like brothers but not like twins.”
“Right?” Ani said around her mouth full of cake. “They look totally different.”
“They were a lot more similar as boys,” Liz said, leaning her elbows on the counter, her hands wrapped around her mug of coffee. “But you could always tell them apart by the expressions on their faces. The scowl was Bram and the smile was Alex.”
“That’s sad,” I blurted out. I immediately felt like I’d said something wrong, but Liz just smiled.
“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “Bram has always seen the world a bit more cynically than his brother. It’s not a bad thing, just a difference in personalities.”
“I’ve got wood,” Alex announced as he pushed the back door open with his foot. He was carrying an armful of dried firewood and had a huge smile on his face.
“Nice,” Ani said, nodding.
My mouth dropped open in surprise as his mother scolded him.
“I’m pretty sure he’s her favorite,” Ani said to me as we watched Liz swat at Alex with a hand towel, her face completely lit up with happiness. “But none of us mind.” When I glanced over at Ani, she was smiling. “Alex is everyone’s favorite.”
“He’s my favorite, too,” I murmured as Alex tripped around the kitchen laughing as he struggled to keep the firewood stacked in his arms while avoiding his mom’s towel.
Chapter 9
Alex
I loved being home. I liked Missouri, and I enjoyed my job most of the time, but there was something about the way the air smelled and the sound of my dad’s knees cracking as he dropped into his recliner that instantly made me feel at peace. I’d joined the Army at nineteen, excited to see the world and spread my proverbial wings, but nowhere else had fit me like my parents’ property in middle-of-nowhere Oregon. Bringing Sarai there to experience all of it heightened the feeling of home—like a missing puzzle piece that I hadn’t realized was missing.
I looked around the kitchen happily. This, right here, was exactly what it was all about. Life, the universe, our purpose—it was all wrapped up in family. The people you chose to spend your time with, who made you comfortable and happy, they were everything.
“Dipshit,” Ani said, elbowing me in the side. “I’ve been talking to you for like five minutes, and you’ve completely ignored me.”
“I was figuring out the answer to the meaning of life,” I said calmly.
“Yeah, whatever.”
“The meaning of life, Ani,” I said importantly.
She looked at me as if I were an idiot. “Dude, do it on your own time.”
I laughed and wrapped my arm around her head, pinning it between my biceps and chest.
“It never ends,” Bram said to Sarai, nodding at us.
“Liz said they eventually calm down,” she replied, her lips twitching.
“This is calm,” he said with a small laugh, taking a drink of his beer.
“Why did everyone leave me sleeping in the damn chair?” my dad asked, ambling into the kitchen with a drowsy Arie against his chest. He came to a stop when he saw Sarai. “Oh, excuse me.”
Sarai waved off his apology.
I let go of Ani, who hadn’t even bothered to fight my hold, and stepped forward.
“Alex,” he said, smiling. “Good to see you, son.”
“I’ll take this,” Ani muttered, reaching out for her daughter. “Hey, princess. Did you have a good nap with Papa? I bet your diaper is soaked.”
I wrapped my arms around my dad and slapped his back as we hugged.
“That your girl?” he asked quietly in my ear. “How’d you manage that?”
“Dumb luck and persistence,” I replied, pulling away.
Dad laughed.
“Sarai, this is my dad, Dan.”
“Nice to meet you, Sarai,” my dad said, walking over to shake her hand.
