Secrets of the Fall by Kailin Gow

Aunt
Sookie’s son. That I could be closely related by blood to Summer. Mom never
confirmed it, and Aunt Sookie never mentioned it, even on deathbed.
    Dad,
well, he said there was a possibility. When Dad and Mom first married, they
couldn’t have a child for a while. They were desperate and looked into adoption
agencies. They were young, too, and barely starting out in their careers. Well,
one day Dad heard from Mom that she had a baby boy to adopt from a mother who
was single and didn’t have the means to raise the baby. Mom knew the mother
very well and could vouch for the health of the mother. When they saw the baby,
they fell in love with the baby boy, and didn’t care who gave birth to him as
long as he was theirs. So, Dad never did cared or realized who my real mother
was. Until now…if there was a possibility that Summer and I were blood
relatives, then for sure, we could not be together.
    I
didn’t know until the night before I took off for the mission and found a
harmonica from someone named Suzanne to me. My father had kept it for a while
along with some of his most valued possessions. I wouldn’t have found it if I
had not been searching for one of the codes, which only Dad had, but had given
me access to, too.
    Of
course I was devastated when I thought of the possibilities. Could I still have
a future with Summer if we were related? I don’t know. I was such a stickler to
tradition and doing what was right…by society’s rule. If she was my first
cousin, could we get married? Could we have children?
    All
I wanted to do was to answer “yes” to all of these questions. To screw
society’s expectations and norms. I loved this woman to death, and I want her
entirely including sexually. I didn’t want something like our love becoming
some kind of perversion.
    Yet,
deep down inside, I knew it was the right thing for her to know…even if there
was a possibility…so she could decide whether being together would be worth the
scorn, worth risking everything for, worth the taboo or for her to move on,
maybe find another love without those extra challenges.
    To
move onto Drew, whom I knew deep within me, Summer also loved. The heat between
them was undeniable, and if she chose him rather than me, I knew for certain, I
could not bear to see them together, at least for a while. Yet if she chose me,
there were going to be challenges for us. Biologically, we may not be able to
have children together, which if she does choose me, I know I would like to
consider with her.
    So
Drew had told her. I wonder how that made him feel. Was he able to tell her
without gloating to her about it, and then quickly stepping in to replace me? I
was jealous just thinking about Drew and Summer being together. If they were
together, I’d move far away from them, live on some kind of remote island so I
wouldn’t even have the possibility of bumping into them.
    I
heard a buzzing and turned to my phone. A message had come in through the
remote voicemail. I had just set up.
    JOHN: I am free. Walking to meet Major Jones at the nearest location where they have
taxis. See you soon at our hangar.
     
    My
heart lifted, and I let out a deep sigh of relief. “Thank God!” I yelled
punching the air. I almost had tears in my eyes, I was so happy and emotional.
A whole wall of worry lifted from my shoulders, and for the first time in
weeks, I was able to really smile.

 
     
    Chapter 10
     
    Summer
     
    D rew and I were called in for an emergency
meeting at Donovan Dynamics shortly after we left the Donovan Mansion. From the
look on Drew’s face, he didn’t know what it was about, either. Whatever it was,
I was trying to prepare myself. Sometimes mentally preparing for some news
could help with stressful news, but I knew whatever the news was going to be, I
would be deeply affected.
    I
loved Drew with a passion, loved being with Drew physically like the way we
were, but I still loved Nat, no matter what we were. Again, there was no
closure.