Waking Up To Love (Lakeside Porches Book 4) (32 page)

“No, of course not. Even though we had a whole year together before I took the new job, the subject of marriage never came up. There’s a great deal we need to know about each other. About our expectations of marriage. And so much I need to learn about his life here, which is very different from my own.”

“Would you live with him here in Cornwall if you married?”

“We haven’t talked about it, but I believe we’d make this our home. Right now, though, I do have a job in Tompkins Falls for a couple more years. I suspect we’d be back and forth a good deal even after the job finishes, as my family is there.”

“Your work is important to you, is it?”

“I love teaching. I think I was born to it. My time in London showed me that there are many venues for teaching, not just the classroom. I have no doubt I can teach wherever I’m needed.”

“Passion is very important in life, I’ve found. Mine was my husband and our son.”

“I’d like to have known your husband. Is that a photo of him?” Lyssa pointed to a highly polished silver frame with a faded photo of the Penningtons on their wedding day.

“Indeed. Kyle may look like me, but he has his dad’s wit and musical talent and love for the land and the people of Cornwall.” She chuckled. “We never had any idea where his genius came from, but we welcomed it and nurtured it in the ways we thought were best. We wanted to be perfect parents for our late-in-life gift. But we made mistakes, in spite of our good intentions. You and Kyle will make mistakes, too, I suppose.”

Lyssa sat quietly while Moira gazed at the portrait. Her lips moved, as if she were having a silent conversation with her husband.

Suddenly her gray eyes, so much like Kyle’s, looked deep into Lyssa’s. “What questions do you have for me, my dear?”

“I suppose I’d like to understand what you’ve done for the women and children on the Pennington estate and in the community. And, honestly, I don’t know much of anything about Kyle’s role or how I could assist him with that.”

“In that case, Lyssa, we have a great deal to talk about.” Moira sank deeper into the pillows. “But right now I need to sleep. We’ll talk again, several times, before you catch your plane on Sunday.” She patted Lyssa’s hand. “Would you mind switching off the lamp?”

Lyssa did as she was asked, then kissed the old woman’s cheek and tiptoed from the room.

Chapter 11

“Have you ever walked on this willow path?” Justin asked.

“Never, sir. You?” A frigid wind buffeted them. Rand locked his jaw in a futile effort to control his shaking.

“Gianessa and I walk here every Sunday, all year round. We open up about things that are bothering us way below the surface. But,” he said with a wave of his leather-gloved hand, “that’s neither here nor there. I don’t have any deep-seated issues with you, and I assume you have none with me?”

“That’s correct, sir.”
And a huge relief
. “Still, I doubt we’re out here just for the exercise.” He forced a smile.

“That’s discerning of you. I wanted us to talk in public without anyone overhearing our conversation.”

“What about, sir?”

“Let me begin by asking what you know about Marie Tully’s arrest last evening?”

Rand’s stomach took a dive, and he struggled for the next breath.
Why does he think I know anything?
There had been nothing on the news or online
.
How did Justin know?

“Take your time,” Justin said, his voice so kind Rand wanted to weep.

Instead, he sucked in air and forced it out, creating a huge cloud of vapor that made him laugh. “All I know is Jim Tully called me early this morning to cancel our usual Saturday afternoon squash at the club. He’d been up at the border most of the night, talking with the authorities. He brought the kids home with him.”

“The children must have been traumatized,” Justin said, his voice harsh.

“How did you hear, sir?” Rand asked. When Justin squinted at the question, he wondered if he’d made a tactical error.

“The authorities informed me because one of my faculty was stopped at the Lewiston-Queenstown border crossing. Marie was caught on the American side, with her two children and forty cartons of Oxycontin.” Justin shoved his hands deep into his pockets and shook his head. “What would make someone take that risk?”

“I don’t know, sir.”
Does he know this involves me?

“I can’t help wondering if Jim Tully knew anything about it?”

Careful
. “I can’t imagine he did. Jim’s a real stand-up guy.” He cleared his throat.

“Rand, this has probably rocked your world.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s sad news for the college, too. Marie is a long-time, tenured professor who has done good work for the mathematics program, particularly for freshmen with math deficiencies. She’s irreplaceable.”

Rand’s chill gave way to a slow burn. “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“She’ll have her day in court, no question, but at the moment it looks bad for her and for the college.”

“You’re firing her without a trial?”

Justin stopped on the path and leveled Rand with a hard stare. “I’m not saying anything of the kind. You’re probably aware that, when we fired more than a hundred faculty and staff a year or so ago, it was for cause. At the same time, we revised the policies related to tenure and causes for dismissal. They’re quite visible to faculty and staff on the college intranet. Have you reviewed them?”

“No, sir, I haven’t. Should I?”
Stay cool
.

“Everyone should. In a nutshell, convictions for felonies are cause for dismissal, as are confirmed drug use on campus, possession of drugs on campus, drug dealing on campus, and various offenses that involve students or minors. You’ll see for yourself, the language is plain and the process is straightforward.”

“So where
does
she stand?”

“The process states that someone in Marie’s situation will be placed on administrative leave without pay, pending resolution of her legal status.”

“And Jim?”

“I’m not aware the policies pertain to Jim in any way. He’ll have his hands full with Marie’s defense and with caring for his children. I don’t envy him.”

“Why are we having this conversation, sir?”
He’d bet anything Lyssa had told Justin about the box in his trunk the day they went apple picking. And maybe more since then.

“Why do you think?”

“Because I’m friends with the Tullys,” Rand answered with a shrug.

“I only started the conversation by talking about the Tullys because it’s breaking news that might be upsetting to you. My main purpose for the meeting, which, as you know, I scheduled before any of this happened, was to talk about your tenure dossier.”

The change of subject rattled him. Rand looked left and right on the path. The wind had strengthened, and willow fronds whipped above his head. They might as well be slapping him in the face. He’d been awake all night, expecting the police to knock at his door. Was Justin aware of his involvement with the Tullys’ drug smuggling and about to throw out his dossier?

Or maybe there were just deficiencies in his dossier.
Keep it together.
He stuffed his hands in the pouch of his sweatshirt. “What do you think of it, sir? Is it a strong package?”

“Exceptional. Normally, I would not be having this conversation with someone in your position, but you’ll understand why in a minute. You’re a shining light at Tompkins College, Rand. Your teaching is strong, and your students admire and respect you, not just for your image as a cool, rich young man. Your contributions to the college and to student learning are stellar, and your students recognize that.”

Even as the words penetrated, Rand still worried. “Do you have any reservation about my tenure package, sir?”

Justin answered with a laugh. “What I question is our sanity walking into this wind. Let’s turn around so it’s at our backs.”

Rand did an about-face. Now the wind bit the backs of his ears. He tugged up the cowl of his sweatshirt and yanked the drawstring tight above his chin.

“Much better going this direction, eh?” Justin said heartily.

The only improvement Rand detected was the sun warming his shoulders. A shudder passed through him as he collected his thoughts. “You were about to share your reservations about my dossier, sir.”

“If I have any reservation at all it’s that you’ve done far more to promote your students’ talent than your own. I assume your hesitation with your own poetry is that the content may be a bit controversial for an untenured, undergraduate professor?”

“That’s fair to say.”
Where is he going with this?

“And I suspect you’ve waited to publish and promote your own work until you’re tenured. It has always bothered me that young faculty feel they have to keep their most passionate work under wraps until they have what they perceive as the iron-clad protection of tenure, when in fact all academicians have academic and intellectual freedom, regardless of tenure status.”

Justin looked over at him expectantly.

Rand sorted through the speech to the part that might pertain to him. “Sir, it’s very common for untenured faculty to hold back anything that might be controversial. May I ask why you’ve brought it up? Are you warning me that my dossier is too weak without more publications?”

“On the contrary. And I must ask you to hold the rest of our conversation in strict confidence. Will you agree to that?”

“Yes, sir.”
Spit it out, Justin
.

“Last week, the board of trustees acted preemptively on three tenure bids. Yours was one of the three. Effective January 4
th
, you will be a tenured professor at Tompkins College.” Justin stopped on the path and turned to Rand with a smile.

“What? Why?”

Justin raised his eyebrows. “I expected a smile or a shout at the news.”

Rand gaped in disbelief.

Justin smiled, shook his head, and resumed their walk. “Your reaction confirms what Dr. Sekora and I have observed. Distress among the newer, untenured faculty has increased exponentially since the start of the fall semester. It seems to be angst about tenure, which we attribute to the large-scale dismissals of the recent past.”

“You’re correct, sir. Plus, no one was given tenure last year, although two faculty were eligible. There are rumors that, well, there are all kinds of rumors.”

“Thank you for sharing that perspective. We are hopeful it will alleviate some of the angst to have a few early tenure decisions on record. The three of you who are receiving tenure in January have dossiers that are completely outstanding and entirely non-controversial.”

Rand’s stomach relaxed and the tension in his shoulders let go.
Wait until Pris hears that
. He silently congratulated himself that he’d successfully duped this wealthy, erudite man into thinking he, Rand Cunningham, was outstanding and non-controversial. He smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

“I know you’ll want to celebrate this with your loved ones over the holidays, but please refrain from telling colleagues. And, by the way, there is a media blackout about Marie Tully’s arrest for at least ten days while the authorities investigate. From the college perspective, that gives us breathing room to get through final exams and the close of the semester. You’re, of course, expected to keep what you know about the Tullys to yourself.”

“Yes, sir.” They neared the parking lot, and Rand imagined cranking up the heater in the Miata. He asked, “And the two others receiving tenure are the two who were eligible last year?”

“I can’t say. Again, this is in strictest confidence. You will honor that?”

“Of course, sir. Was there anything else, sir?”

“I simply ask that you do your usually outstanding job for our students and colleagues going forward. Can I count on that?” Justin held out his hand.

Rand shook on it and gave the president a smile. “You can count on me, sir.”

Justin’s gaze was penetrating and his voice deep as he pressed Rand’s hand in both of his. “And stay out of trouble.”

“Sleep well?” Kyle asked, his voice tender.

They sat at the table in the morning room with a breakfast of cheese, fruit, toast, and coffee before them.

“When you let me.” Lyssa’s smile warmed the whole house on this gray, sunless morning. She topped off his coffee. “This is our last leisurely breakfast for a while.” They’d be off to the airport before dawn tomorrow.

“But we’re back here in a few weeks, remember. I’ll work on getting our plane tickets. You don’t mind if we have different flights?”

“That would be okay.”

“That’s my brave girl,” he said with an easy smile. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

“You mean, about what it would entail should I marry the lord of the manor, holder of lands, responsible for the welfare of tenants, prominent in the community and in the county of Cornwall?”

“That, and going from penny-pinching to wealth.”

She cleared her throat. “Nervous. Very unsure. My belly is calm, but my hands are shaking.”

“Mum has given you a great deal to think about. You do know she was not trying to scare you off?”

“She seems to want me to take this on. But I do need to think about it, Kyle, all of it. I need to be sure it’s something I can handle.”

Past the garden, six red deer grazed under the plane trees.
Perhaps our children will play there
. “It’s something you’d grow into, no question. But is it what you want to be doing with your life?”

“Why do you say that?”

“You can have an academic career, if you want, a tenured position at any institution you choose. Name your focus and do as much or as little research as you care to. I know that’s what you planned when you pursued the doctorate.” He spread butter on his toast and topped it with marmalade.

“It’s all I could imagine when I was twenty.”

“I suppose so. But this work would be very different. Helping me run the estate, watching out for the people and the community, managing the finances, researching how to preserve the land along the coast and protecting the natural habitats, strategizing for the future. And it’s demanding enough that, most likely, you couldn’t maintain a full-time academic position in tandem, even at a distance.” When she looked away, he apologized. “Now I’ve scared you.”

“A little, yes. Tell me something?”

“Anything, sweetheart.”

“Lately, it has sounded as though you plan to hand off your network security business entirely and concentrate your efforts here. Tell me about that.”

“How would you feel about that?” He took a big bite of the toast. Marmalade made with Seville oranges. Fiona had stocked his favorite jams for the winter. He’d have to thank her.

“I honestly don’t know,” Lyssa answered. “You seem unsure about it yourself.”

“It’s something I’m toying with. I don’t know yet how much needs to be done here. I just know things have been neglected, and it’s time I stepped up to the responsibility. If I’m dividing my time between Cornwall and Tompkins Falls, I may not have much left over for the business. Geoffrey has ideas about new directions that may or may not make sense. It’s a little overwhelming, to tell the truth.”

“I can identify with that.” Her blue eyes looked deep into his.

“Don’t go getting pregnant right away,” he blurted out.

Her eyes opened wide, and a startled breath escaped her. “No. I can promise you that.”

“Sorry, that just slipped out.”

“What else are you holding back, my darling?” she asked him.

“I like the sound of that.”

“What?”

“‘My darling’.”

“Really?” Her cheeks grew pink.

“There is one thing I need you to do for me. When you get back to Tompkins Falls, break it off with Rand. Justin will have to be okay with it. Please, luv. I want him out of our lives. If you need to name me as the reason, so be it.” At her nod, his shoulders relaxed.