Mackinnons #02 For All the Right Reasons by Elaine Coffman

Adrian the once over, patting his face as Alex had done. “He does have a sweet face, doesn’t he?”
    Adrian clenched his jaw, feeling his fists itch with the desire to smash Alex’s pretty face. Instead, he turned quickly away from the fence, knowing, even as he turned, that there was something deeper here than just brotherly teasing. Alex seemed angry at him.
    “Oh, do look, Adrian. I’ve made Alex jealous.”
    Adrian turned back, as Karin spoke to him. “Do you think I should ask his permission before I pat your sweet face?” Karin’s tone wasn’t as gentle and teasing as before. Adrian didn’t say anything, but Alex did.
    “Why don’t you behave yourself?” Alex lashed back at her.
    “Why should I? You aren’t.” She saw Alex’s face getting redder and redder. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid Adrian might show some interest in me?”
    “My brother has more sense than that,” Alex said angrily, then stomped off.
    Karin came over to where Adrian was standing. “I really do think you have a sweet face, Adrian. To be Alex’s twin, you two really don’t look anything alike.”
    “We aren’t that kind of twins.” His voice was not cordial in the least. He did not like Karin and she knew it.
    “Adrian, don’t be angry at me.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Thank you, sweet Adrian.”
    Adrian didn’t get a chance to say anything else. Karin leaned toward him and kissed him softly on the lips. “Why waste your time wishing for something you can never have? It’s your brother she wants, can’t you see that?”
    “I’ve got eyes,” he said hatefully.
    “Darling Adrian, don’t be cross. It doesn’t become you.” She gave his cheek another pat.
    Adrian slapped her hand away, then turned, giving her his back.
    After she left, Adrian looked out across the pasture, seeing Katherine was looking at something. It didn’t take long to figure out what. At the crest of a gently sloping hill he could see Alex staring off into the distance, his hands rammed into his pockets, completely unaware that Katherine was looking at him with such longing in her eyes.
    Adrian was never able to understand why Alex couldn’t see how selfish and spoiled Karin was in comparison with Katherine’s gentle and compassionate nature. Adrian guessed it was always the fate of the younger sibling to get the short end of the stick, for that seemed to be the fate he and Katherine were resigned to.
    He watched Katherine until Alex had disappeared from sight and Katherine stooped to pull a flower, inhaling its sweet scent. He saw her close her eyes and wrap her arms around her middle as if she were hopelessly in love.
    As Adrian turned and walked away Karin’s words kept sound ing in his head. To be Alex’s twin, you two really don’t look anything alike.
    That was one of the few things Karin had ever said that Adrian agreed with. He and his brother were not identical, nor were they anything alike. They didn’t look alike, think alike, or react alike. In fact, about the only likeness to be found was in their build and their love for fighting. They were both strong and stubborn, both wanting their own way, and that was a constant source of irritation and friction between them. Of the two, Alex was the gentler, more easygoing brother, while Adrian was too cynical for his own good and prone to be rather opinionated. He was a bit of a perfectionist in comparison with Alex’s sometimes sloppy disregard for the things around him. But the biggest source of annoyance for Adrian was the fact that he was born a few minutes after Alex. He went through life feeling Alex had a distinct advantage over him.
    Needless to say, most of their disagreements weren’t settled verbally. It had taken a strong father and older brothers to keep the two from killing each other in the all-too-frequent fights they had had when they were younger. After their father John and older brother Andrew were killed, the twins were held in check by the remaining three