Read Buzz (The Riley Brothers Book 1) for Free Online

head. “No, really. If I'd gotten signed, I'd have been moving all over the country, never seeing you guys... I mean, I missed it here a lot.”
    “You've barely been home,” Dad agreed.
    “Yeah, and that sucks. I mean, the money doesn't, but then all the guys blow it on...” Hookers and cars and anything that won't show up on a test... “You know, just empty stuff. Nobody banks it away.” I would have.
    “That's not a good lifestyle to be around if you don't want it,” Thomas spoke up. Youngest or not, he was a voice of wisdom sometimes.
    “No, exactly. What, are your bank coworkers partying too hard?” Cameron teased to take some of the attention off himself and find out a bit more about his younger brother. They hadn't properly talked in so long.
    “No,” Thomas laughed, then grew a little quieter. “No, but things are kind of sucking there, too. The new branch that opened up, where I'm working now-- uh, by the way, I transferred...”
    “Yeah, I know.” Jackson had filled Cam in on Thomas's transfer. He'd switched branches last month to move to a brand new branch downtown, and Cam felt bad that he'd had to be filled in on something that big.
    “Okay. Um, things are pretty harsh there. The new boss is bad, and we don't have any loyal regulars yet. There isn't the atmosphere I liked,” Thomas admitted, pushing his wine glass around. “I've thought about transferring here.”
    Their mother was concerned but growing tired. She tried to hide her drooping eyelids, but Cam spotted it. She'd been working all afternoon on supper. “How about we go out to the bar and talk about it?” Cameron suggested. I gotta talk to them about the houses, too.
    “Yeah, good idea,” Jackson smiled. “Mom, Dad, you can get some rest. Now Thomas is in town, he'll be getting us all up early for family bonding time...”
    “Shut up,” Thomas laughed. “That was one Christmas.”
    Mom interrupted with a wave of her hands and a laugh. “Go on, all of you. We'll get the dishes.”
    “We can--” Jackson started, but Dad shook his head.
    “Just buy us dinner next time,” their father teased. “I'm sure you boys can manage that.”
    “Oh, yeah, of course,” they all clamored to agree. They all got to go out together so rarely that there'd be a fight to pay.
    “Go on, scram. Let us get some peace, then,” Dad added.
    After the obligatory hugs and kisses, all three brothers set off for the bar.
    ***
    “So, I had an ulterior motive,” Cameron confessed over his beer, pulling out the folded real estate booklet.
    They were all settled around a table in their favorite bar. It was the one Jackson had taken Cam to when he turned nineteen, then Cam had taken Thomas to last year on his nineteenth.
    I wonder how they'll take this.
    “You're looking at real estate now?” Thomas exclaimed while Jackson choked on his beer.
    “Just look at the ad.”
    Both men leaned in across the table and Cameron pushed the ad towards them. It took a minute before it sank in.
    “You're thinking... the three of us?”
    “I'm not pushing you,” Cameron hastened to tell them. “Thomas, you can always transfer back to your old branch, but if you were serious about wanting to come here...”
    Thomas's eyes had lit up, and Jackson was beaming.
    “No way, man,” Jackson exclaimed. “You're serious?”
    Cameron drew a deep breath and let it out. “Well, it's worth investigating.”
    “We never thought you would wanna move back here after a taste of the big life,” Thomas murmured. “Jackson and I even talked about splitting a duplex before...”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah,” Jackson laughed. “But, man, this could be perfect. Thomas, do you think you can get a transfer again so soon?”
    “I can swing it somehow,” Thomas nodded. “Pull strings if I have to.”
    “I'd have to go home and get the other place cleared out and all that,” Cameron shrugged. “But if we're serious... We can help take care of Mom and Dad when they need it,