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Dad …” Her voice trailed off when she saw his cheek and bloodied shirt. “What happened?”
    He began to unbutton his shirt. “I said, disappear.”
    “Kiss my butt.” She came inside and shut the door quietly. “What's going on? Tell me, or I'll wake the dead.”
    “I had a run-in with some sleaze named Tony Stoddard.”
    Holly stiffened. “Oh.” She reached backward for the doorknob, but Hunter was across the room before she could get it open.
    He put his hands against the door on either side of her shoulders, trapping her. “Hold on. You know about him and Raina, don't you?”
    “It happened years ago.”
    “But you knew and you never told me.”
    “You should go talk to Raina about this.”
    “I
have
talked to Raina.”
    Holly's knees turned to jelly. “You did? When?”
    “I went to see her after Tony and I mixed it up in a parking lot.”
    “What are you going to tell Dad? He'sgoing to go nuts when he finds out you've been in a fight.”
    “You leave Dad to me. Right now, I want to know why you never told me about Raina and Tony.”
    Holly peered up into her brother's face. The gash looked superficial, but it was red and swollen. His expression was angry and condemning. “Raina's my friend. And friends don't tell each other's secrets.”
    “But I'm not just anyone. I'm your
brother
. I suppose Kathleen knows too.”
    “She's also Raina's friend.”
    He hit the door hard with his fist, making her jump. He pushed away, paced the floor. “What a cozy little conspiracy! You knew how I felt about Raina! You knew! And you said nothing. Thanks a lot, Holly.”
    She wanted to make him understand. “Listen, Hunter, friends keep secrets for each other. When you two started dating, I was glad for both of you. You don't know what Tony put her through. Just to be mean, he spread lies and rumors about her. It was awful. She couldn't wait to get out of middle school and leave that crowd behind. And when we heard that Tony had moved during the summer before high school, we were jumping for joy. But then he came back this year and he's been lying in wait for Raina ever since.
    I'm glad you punched him.” She paused. “You did slug him, didn't you?”
    Hunter stopped pacing. “I slugged him, but this isn't about Tony. It's about Raina. And you too, for never telling me about him and her.”
    “Well, excuse me for being loyal.”
    “Your loyalty should have ended at our front door. It's not right, Holly. You should have told me.”
    “It wasn't my story to tell. It was between you and Raina, so don't try to lay a guilt trip on me.” She didn't understand why Hunter, who was usually so quick to forgive and who prided himself on doing the right thing, wasn't grasping her explanation. What was so hard? She was glad Hunter had hit Tony—Tony deserved it— although it was totally out of character for Hunter to get into a fistfight.
    Hunter crossed to his bed and jerked the covers to the floor. “Go away, Holly. Leave me alone.”
    “Don't throw me out. We should talk about this. Raina's the one who got slammed.”
    He ignored her, went to his desk and jerked open his Bible. “I told Pastor I'd lead the youth service in the morning, and I've got stuff to do.”
    “You sure you're up to such holiness?” He glared at her, and she felt bad about the dig. “You want some concealer cream to help hide your cut?”
    “No. I'll just say it happened at work. What's one more lie among friends?”
    “You really shouldn't be taking this so hard. It's not the end of the world, you know.”
    “Good night,” he said with a forcefulness that closed the subject.
    She left his room, still wondering why he was so wounded by something that had happened to Raina a year before he had ever met her.
    Holly woke Kathleen the next morning at seven to tell her the news. Kathleen shook the sleep from her brain to listen. “What a creep,” she said.
    “Who? Hunter or Tony?”
    “Tony, of course.”
    “It goes without saying