Page 3 of Broken Brothers

But…

I struggled. The answer had come to mind immediately, and if humans had not had a verbal filter, I would have spilled it before she had finished saying the word “secret.”

I feared what would happen if I said it. It was no secret that the town all held the Hunts in high regard—hell, much of thebusiness world held us in high regard. Everyone knew the name, everyone saw the name, and even if they tried not to, they heard the name. “Hunt” was as synonymous with business deals and negotiating as any other name anyone could produce.

And if she found out I wasn’t actually a part of it?

OK, yes, the Hunts called me son and I called them Mom and Dad and I called Morgan my brother. But we all knew the truth—or at least, we meaning everyone under that roof.

I was no Hunt.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what I was. My earliest memory is of me winding up in a foster home, the face of a woman peering at me as if I were a lab subject more than a human being. The Hunts, thank God, had taken me in, though to this day I have no idea why—it’s not like I had the blood of nobles in me or the brains of an academic. Their support made me look smarter and more successful than I was, but I knew the truth.

And if that got exposed to Sarah? What would she think? The Hills weren’t on the level of the Hunts, no one was, but they were still a rich family… could I be accepted still?

But Sarah, I felt sure, was different. She didn’t look at me the way she did because I was rich and the next business magnate Hunt. If she wanted that, she would have seduced Morgan. If she wanted money, she would have gone for my brother. But she didn’t want that. I could tell she wanted a fun person, and while Morgan had many things going for him, he did not have the sense of adventure that I did.

“You really want to know?”

It felt like an hour had passed in my head, though the lack of confusion from Sarah suggested not that much time had passed.

“If I’m going to go skinny dipping, yes,” she said, but she said it with a smile, not with malice. That was all I needed to hear.

“I’m adopted.”

“You are?” she said, her face dropping.

Oh no. No, no, no, please no. No…

“I,” I said, swallowing. I had crossed the point of no return. There wasn’t anything I could do now except own it and hope that this was just a temporary shrug to her. “I got adopted by the Hunts at age three. They… they said they wanted another boy in the family, and so, well, here I am.”

“Oh,” Sarah said, her face still having not returned to that cheerful smile that had adorned it just moments before.Please, no. Don’t hurt me like this, Sarah. You know what you mean to me.

“What’s wrong?” I said, beginning to grab at straws. “Hey, I kept my end of the promise, now you gotta—”

“Chance…” Sarah said. Her eyes began to well up. I knew now, all too sadly, that this was not just some momentary shock she would get over. This was something… more serious. That dreaded word.Serious.“My father… he said I have to be with someone who understands our life. Who has the kind of power—”

“I’m a Hunt!” I said.

But even when I finished saying that, I knew the strength of my voice and the weakness of my facial expression gave the truth away. No matter how much I said it, no matter how much I tried to believe it, I just wasn’t a true Hunt. I was as much of a Hunt as the family dog, maybe barely more since I could speak with the Hunts, but not by much.

“You just said you were adopted,” Sarah said, doing her best not to cry. “My dad said…”

She couldn’t finish her words. She didn’t need to. The damage had already been done, and there was no reversing it. It wasn’t like I could go back in time and change the fate of my genes to come from the Hunts instead of my real parents. It wouldn’t have done any good to keep it a secret for now—it would have come up anyways when we got…serious.And theHills would have rejected me with even more shame and force then.

“I’m sorry, Chance,” she said, and without warning, she began walking back.

For a few seconds, I stood dumbfounded. The Hunts had always given me a good life, and while that had not changed, I had gotten almost used to life being perfect. Great school, a great brother, a beautiful girl… even if I wasn’t a Hunt, I had the benefits of being a Hunt.

And now… because I’d been honest… I had lost the girl of my dreams.

“Sarah!”

My shout did not bring her back. It did not make her turn to face me.

“Sarah!”

My cry, more strained and emotional than the one before it, did not stop her either. I had a feeling only her father could stop her, and her father would only stop her from seeing me ever again.