Package Deal (61 page)

“Oh.”
Sh
e
does
n’t want C
e
c
e
lia out of h
e
r sight.
Time for
Plan B
.
“What about this w
ee
k
e
nd?
I found some rough spots in my last edit and wanted to go over them with you
—before I send it
back
to the publisher
.
”

“
I wish I could.” She sighed
.
“
Gr
e
g ask
e
d
m
e
if I would show
E
van around.
Th
e
only tim
e
I have
to do that is this
Saturday.
But i
f I can get away, I’ll call you.
”
She reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead when he looked down at her. “I’d rather be with you, but I promised
Greg
.”

“Hm
m
.”
He
nodded and
noticed Evan watching them.

She touched his arm and waited for him to turn
back in her direction
.
“Marcus.
You’re not yourself tonight.
What is it
?”

“
I’m just disappoint
e
d
you
don’t seem to have time for me,
for us
.”

“Don’t b
e
. W
e
’ll hav
e
tim
e
—
e
sp
e
cially aft
e
r w
e
talk to C
e
c
e
lia.”

Plan C.
“Right. Want to ditch this plac
e
early
? I know a gr
e
at porch swing with mor
e
privacy.”

“
I was hoping we could do that, but
Cece wa
sn’t feeling well
this afternoon
, and
I promis
e
d
her
I wouldn’
t b
e
gon
e
long.
I’m not sure it’s a good idea for me to come over tonight.
”

E
van saunt
e
r
e
d
ov
e
r
to Amanda
.
“
Nice
to see you,
Marcus
, old man
.
” He
grinned
and reached for her hand
.
“
C
ome
on,
Amanda,
on
e
mor
e
danc
e
b
e
for
e
th
e
y
close things down
.
”

She stopped him with
a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Ev
an. I can’t. I really have to get home. But thanks for asking.”

Evan leaned down and kissed Amanda’s cheek before
releasing her
.
Marcus
frowned
.
Th
e
man’s
offic
e
had to be
just down th
e
hall from Amanda’s.

As he drove home, he muttered
to himself between gritted teeth.
“I hope you hate that man,
Cecelia,
”
angry at himself for not sticking around to see what else Evan might try.

Saturday dawned clear and cool. The mountains across the bay looked close enough to touch when Evan drove up to Amanda’s house.
When h
e rang the doorbell
, she waited a moment before
she
opened the door.
Cecelia
stood
behind her.

“Come in, Evan. Let me get my
sweater
.” Amanda turned to Cecelia. “Janet will
be here in a minute. She
agreed to take you and Skipper to the dog park, but I don’t want you to stay too long.I’ll call you if I’m l
ater than a couple of hours.
”

Cecelia
nodded and
looked
up
at the
very
tall man. He smiled at her and then
leaned over
to pet
Skipper, who growled a
nd backed away
from him
.

“Skipper, that’s not nice.
” Cecelia
placed
her hand on the dog’s back.

He whined in response, his
short
tail wagging spasmodically before heading for the back door
when
Janet
knocked
.

Amanda bent down
to her daughter
.
“Give me a kiss, Cece.”

She
did so, and
head
ed
in
Janet
’s direction
.

“I’ll be home soon. Have fun at the park.”
She
turned to Evan. “We can go now, but I need to watch the time.”

“You’re the boss.”

Evan
drove
slowly
around town, following
Amanda’s
instructions
. She
pointed out different landmarks
and then
directed him to
ward
the marina where the boats were tied.

“You’ll
like the dinners here.
Their seafood is the best—much nicer than what we used to get in Iowa.”

His
arm along the back of the seat edg
ed closer to her shoulders.
“Speaking
of Iowa, don’t you know Tricia
Becker?”

Amanda
glanc
ed
sidelong
at him as he slowed the car.
“She and I shared
some
classes. Why do you ask?”

“We had some good times together. I was wondering if
you and I
might do that, too
—have some good times
.” He
reached over and covered her nearest hand with his
.

“Tricia likes to
play around.
I don’t.
”She pulled her hand away. “
I’m
not into fun and games. My career is important to me.
And
this is a small town. The kind of playing Tricia likes is
more easily
hidden
on a big campus like Iowa than here at Buckley.” Her smile was tight. “I’m sure you know what I’m inferring.”

“Seattle’s just down the road. Don’t people ever leave this little burg for the big city?”

“
Some do, but
I’m more of a home
body. And Cecelia keeps me pretty busy.”

They turned the corner
,
and he stopped the car where she pointed.

“Come on. I’ll show you the marina. Then we need to head back.”

They walked along the
path
that skirted the
docks and piers
. When the wind blew her sweater off one shoulder, Evan reached up and wrapped
it around her, leaving his hand
on her
arm
a bit too long,
before sliding
it
down her back. Amanda walked faster.

“Amanda
, you’re acting like a scared rabbit. I won’t bite. Wait up.” He picked up his pace to catch up with her.

“Evan,
Greg
asked me to show you around.
” She reached in her purse for her sunglasses. “
I get the distinct impression you
want
more than a tour of the area.”

“You read signals
w
ell
.” He caught her hand and pulled her over to a seat near the waterfront. “What was that?” He pointed to the water
, where a dark head emerged briefly
.

She craned her neck to look in the direction he was pointing.
“
Probably a
harbor seal. We see
a lot of
them
around
here.”

“Back to my signals
—your signals
. Tricia told me to look you up. She didn’t tell me you would be so standoffish. What
’s that about
—or don’t you like men
anymore
?”
Evan
grinned at her.

“What I like or don’t l
ike is no concern of yours
. We are colleagues in the same department.
Let’s just leave it at that.
” She refused to look at him, instead concentrating on the antics of the two harbor seals near the dock.

He sat back on the bench.
“
Then
tell me about the department. Who are the movers and shakers?”

In spite of her misgivings
,
Amanda
began to relax
at that question
. “Our chair i
s a delight—very supportive, and
insistent that we each do our part to offer good courses. You’ve seen the
list of general classes
. You’ll
be doing some of them, as well as th
os
e
in the creative w
riting section
. JJ is one of the senior people here.
S
he may be near retirement age, but her poems continue to appear in some of the best outlets. Be nice to her
. If
you don’t take her opinions seriously, you’ll regret it. Her insights are always on target.”

He nodded. “JJ. You mean Jessica—the one with the gray hair
—wears
it
in
a
bun.”

“Yes.”

“Any others I should be especially respectful to?”

“All of us. We take ou
r work seriously. You know you’
re expected to teach—that’s you
r primary responsibility here.” She pulled her sweater closer. “
But
Greg expects you to
work on those mysteries
and get them published
.”

“Publish or perish?”

“Not
as
much
as elsewhere,
but don’t forget that
those
activities—professional activities
—shouldn’
t be ignored.
”

He reached out for her hand again. “What about
the
social acti
on
?
Or does one have to leave town for that?
”

She
knew
what he was asking
and pulled her hand out from under his
.
Indirection
was not going to work with him. “Bedding a married—or divorced—faculty member
isn’
t a good idea. I—”

“You heard about that?”

She nodded.

“What about
the
single ones
?”

“Make sure they
are
single—and stay away from the students.
You know the rules about that. T
hey were in existence
at
Iowa, too.”

“Such a serious face, Amanda.” He emitted a dramatic sigh.
“You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No. Consider it fair warning. You could have y
our pick here,
but you’ll be out on your ear if Greg catches
even
a whiff of impropriety. He won’t put up with that. Neither will any of the senior faculty or the leadership of the colle
ge. Our reputation is paramount,
and we are in a small town.”