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CHAPTER1
Mark Lane
“I can’t believe you’re doing this. And you haven’t even discussed this with Mom?” Christopher said, mouth gaping wide open as he stood in my room.
He was talking as though he’d have done anything different. We loved our parents, but when it came to letting us live our lives, well, mom was a bit overprotective, and opinionated. You’d think that would’ve been our dad since he worked for Homeland Security.
“I’m about to turn twenty-three. I don’t need their approval to make a career change,” I explained.
He laughed. “Glad you think that. I have a feeling mom is going to think differently.”
It wasn’t as though my parents had paid for my education. They easily could’ve, but they believed that people appreciate things more if they earned those things themselves. They were right. I, was graduating early with a bachelor's degree in science and still had a grade point average of 4.0. Just because I nailed my courses, didn’t mean it was the field I wanted to pursue.
“She’ll understand when I decide to tell her and explain why,” I replied.
“And what about Uncle Logan? Does he know you decided not to go to medical school?” he asked.
“Like I said before, no one knows.”And I regret telling you.Christopher and I had always been close. He was only two years younger than me and we stuck together. Even though we weren’t twins like Robert and Linsay
“You expect me to keep this a secret for how long?” he asked.
“Just until after the family reunion.” The last thing I needed was the entire Henderson family telling me what an idiot I was for not following in my uncle's footsteps.
“Our cousins might be more understanding than the elders, but if you do something that comes in the way of Christmas week on the ski slopes, they might think otherwise. I mean, so far this reunion has been drama-free. It’d be nice to keep it that way,” he stated.
“Trust me, if they don’t find out, then the reunion will be perfect. So, I suggest you keep this quiet,” I warned. There was more I could share with him, but that would only lead to more questions that I wasn’t ready to answer.
“I won’t say a word, but I suggest not telling Robert. You know he’ll tell Lindsay.”
It had to be a twin thing, but those two shared everything. I didn’t mind Robert but telling Lindsay would be like taking out a billboard ad because she wouldn’t just tell everyone, she’d put her own twist on it. And somehow that always made things worse.
There was a knock on my bedroom door and I called out, “It’s open.” One thing about being home from college for the holidays was my mother continuously checking in to see if I needed anything.Please don’t be coming to ask if I’m hungry again.
Sure enough, she popped her head inside and asked, “Just checking to see if you guys need anything.”
“Nope. We are just finishing packing,” Christopher said, shooting me a side glance.
Don’t even think about it.If he so much as grinned, Mom would suspect something was up and start the interrogation.
Mom walked into the room and looked at me. “I don’t know if I’ve told you before, but I’m so happy you and your cousin Nicholas suggested this reunion. I have no idea why we haven’t done this before.”
Even though our motivation isn’t the same, I am excited too.I shrugged. I replied with what she could relate to. “It beats all of us trying to squeeze in time together. At least now we will all be at the same location instead of going from one house to another.” And I could do what I really wanted to for Christmas, and it wasn’t skiing.
Our lives had changed drastically almost fifteen years ago when we were introduced to our long-lost family, the Hendersons. Granted, I got along great with my cousins, but my uncles were a different story. They were friendly and welcoming, but each one got the same look in their eyes the moment you started to ask too many questions about the family. It was like there was a huge secret, and nothing was going to make them tell. I mentioned it to my mom once, and guess what? I saw that same damn look in her eyes. She told me she never wanted to look back, and only forward. Also gave me a stern lecture on how I needed to respect her and my uncle's privacy. No problem. I just wanted that respect extended to me as well. And once my secret came out, I hoped I got the same respect they expected.
Mom smiled and said, “Very true. I just wish everyone could be there.”
“I thought they were. Who can’t come?” I asked.
“Uncle Colton and Aunt Annabella won’t be there,” she sighed. I could see the disappointment in her eyes.
Before I could ask, Christopher did. “How come? I thought they were the last people who wouldn’t show.”
“They are traveling with her parents for the holidays and won’t be back until after the reunion,” she said.
I knew she had wanted her twin brother there. Even though they hadn’t grown up together, they had become close since reconnecting six years ago.
“I’m sure he is bummed that he can’t come too,” I said.
