Waking Up To Love (Lakeside Porches Book 4) (33 page)

“I wonder if Rand knows I’m here with you.”

“We’ve both been noticeably absent this entire week. I suspect people are putting two and two together. It’s lucky your students have been so comfortable with you just checking in through Skype.”

“Anything to get out of class,” she said, and they laughed.

When her smile faded, he asked, “What’s troubling you?”

“It will be crazy when we get back. End of the semester. Finals and grades for me. For you, keeping an eagle eye on grade posting and everything else you oversee.”

“But we’ll see each other. Openly. Whenever we can. You’re my priority. If you need anything or need to talk about anything, you have only to ask.”

“Good. That helps.”

His gaze took in her well-fitting corduroys and blue turtleneck, topped by his own flannel shirt. Another of his neckties held back her curls. He grinned. “We’ll go into the town today, will we? Chat up the shopkeepers, have a pub lunch, and pitch some darts with the locals. Drive round the estate, meet some tenants. What do you say to that?”

“Rand
laughed
when you told him to stay out of trouble?” Joel asked with a shake of his head.

“He did.” Justin poured them both coffee. “Smart of you and Manda to have the kitchen set up before you moved everything else.” He handed a mug to Joel.

“Thanks. I believe we learned that from you. It has saved us from divorce several times already as we work through where everything goes. Manda had never seen the family antiques, which had been in storage since I turned the house into the Manse Inn.” At Justin’s chuckle, he added, “Many of them may remain in storage for eternity.”

“Nothing like a good meal to restore perspective,” Justin said. “How do you feel about my pushing through the three early tenure decisions?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Because as Joel Tompkins Cushman you are the heir and the name behind the college. And you tagged me for this role. I need to know your thoughts about this decision.”

“Truthfully, I’m uneasy. Tell me why you thought it was necessary.”

Justin studied the lake, green and choppy this afternoon as a low-pressure system moved through. “Part of what I told Rand is true. The young faculty are apprehensive about tenure, and the rumors are out of hand. Popular belief is that we’re planning to do away with tenure altogether, which is not true. Even so, that would not have led us to short-cut the decision process.”

“You’re stalling. Out with it, uncle.” He sat back, hands folded over his chest.

“I put us in a bind by asking Lyssa to act as our snitch and then insisting that she keep leading him on. Rand, that is.”

“Do you really think he’d have filed a grievance, or were you just throwing your weight around when you made her continue with it?”

Justin frowned. “He might not have thought of a grievance on his own, but there was pressure on him to do just that. A lot of pressure, from tenured faculty as well as new. The faculty regard him as one of the strongest tenure candidates. Rightly so. And they see both Lyssa and Kyle as meddlers. We didn’t do Lyssa any favors.”

“We?” Joel nailed him with a look.

“I. I take responsibility for that fiasco. Although she did turn up valuable information for us.” Justin sipped his coffee.

“How do you know she and Kyle are seen as meddlers?”

“It’s my job to know things like that.”

“Well done.” Joel sat forward and sipped his coffee. “But I doubt that will reverse itself just because Rand gets tenure. And the early tenure may label you as a pushover.”

“What people think of me is not my concern. Still, it’s risky for the college to circumvent the tenure process this way. I felt it was necessary to quell the rumors by awarding tenure a semester early.”

“Did the trustees have objections?”

“Nothing serious. We debated a while about setting precedent, and we agreed it was a one-time exception. They’re playing with the wording, which is why the announcement won’t be made until after the first of the year.”

“Then I’m fine with it.”

“Now to the bigger question. Do you have any regrets about your decision a couple of years ago to have me handle the college in your place?”

“None.” Joel
whoosh
ed a laugh. “Are you kidding?” He shook his head. “Tell me why you cautioned Rand to stay out of trouble?”

“Joel, the man went from a total wreck at the start of our talk to cocky at the end. I was cautioning him that, between now and January, Marie Tully could blow the whistle on him. And we don’t know that his drug activities are limited to accepting the occasional package from the Tullys. I wanted to caution him not to do something stupid on his own.”

“I have an update on that. When Lyssa called for help from New York, while she and I were making her plane reservations for the UK, she said the pilot of the Cunningham’s private plane let something slip, and she’s pretty sure Rand carries drugs on his monthly trips back and forth from New York.”

Justin swore under his breath.

“Not your problem, Uncle.”

They sipped coffee. Joel’s grandfather clock ticked the seconds.

Justin exhaled loudly. “Be that as it may, I’ve given Rand a strong incentive to go straight. And I’ve delivered a warning. That’s the best I can do.”

“Let’s hope he’s smart enough to make the right decision.”

“I’m worried, Pris.” Rand drew the drapes against the sight of wind-driven rain pelting the wall of windows in his loft and switched on a torchiere.

“You think this Marie person is going to name you as part of her operation?”

“Probably not. The Tullys had an agreement. The one that gets caught keeps quiet and the other gets a smart lawyer. She’ll take the fall and clam up.”

“What if they offer her a deal to name all the distributors?”

“If she names me, I’d name her husband, and then they’re really screwed.”

“So why are you worried?”

“Justin Cushman knows something. I think Lyssa told him about the package I picked up at the orchard last fall. And maybe she knows more.”

“Justin wouldn’t have given you tenure if he knew anything about your drugs. And, anyway, what else could Lyssa know?”

“I shouldn’t have flown them to New York in the corporate jet without me on board. She asks a lot of questions, and who knows what your pilot told her?”

“Seriously, Rand? Arnie’s loyal to the family.”

“And I’m the Black Sheep, remember?”

“I can’t believe you suspect him of—”

“Why else would Lyssa have lit out of our hotel room the way she did? She probably snooped and saw the packets of powder in my suitcase. I still don’t know where she went.” He sucked in a deep draft of his joint, held it, and blew it out in a long exhale.

“Look, don’t worry about Arnie. He’s harmless. But I’m telling you for the millionth time, bro, you have to call it quits with Lyssa. Who cares where she went? She doesn’t love you. You don’t love her. If you’re going to get married, at least find someone who’ll be loyal to you, right?”

The marijuana softened his focus. “You’re right. That whole thing was going nowhere.” Rand sighed as he fell back against the sofa pillows.

“Exactly. Listen, now that you have tenure, we need to move full speed ahead to publish your epics. You said you had three agents who liked what you sent them and wanted to see full manuscripts, right?”

“Yeah. What should I send? And to which agent?”

“Send a different epic to each of the three. See who bites and what they plan to do for you. I can feel it, Rand. You’re going to make it big.”

“You mean it?” he asked with a sloppy smile.

“Absolutely. You’ve made one dream happen—your tenure. Now it’s time to chase fame and fortune.”

“So, where were you, Professor Doughty?” Lyssa’s weakest student asked as they packed up after their review session. Several others hung back to hear the answer.

“Were you worried about me, Melanie? Or worried about the final?”

“Both, but I think I can pass it now.”

“Good.” She lifted her gaze to the others who clustered in the doorway. “All of you were very smart to come to these review classes and take advantage of one-on-one counseling with me.”

Jake gave her a crooked grin and elbowed the student next to him. “We just showed up to make you pay for goofing off for a whole week.”

“Truthfully, was it a big problem for you having me gone so long?”

“It would have been if you hadn’t done all this for us since you got back,” Melanie answered.

“I appreciate your telling me. I’ll make it my practice after this to have review sessions and one-on-ones before midterms and finals. You all did well today, and I’m confident you’ll pass.”

“So what happened?” Jake hadn’t moved from the center of the doorway. “We were worried, especially since Professor Cunningham said you’d disappeared in New York City.”

“A family emergency. You know how they are about cell phones in hospitals. It was hard to be in touch with anyone.”

“You look really tired, Professor Doughty,” Melanie said. “Is everything okay now?”

“You’re very sweet to ask, Melanie. Things are stable, and I’m catching up on sleep. I promise to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I grade your finals.”

That brought a laugh, and Jake led the way out of the classroom.

Lyssa turned the opposite direction from the students. She paused outside the provost’s office and closed her eyes.
God, help me out with this meeting
.

The administrative assistant waved her through with an encouraging smile and crossed fingers.

Miriam Sekora opened with, “I can guess where you were for the week, and with whom and why. My concern is the impact on your students at this critical time in the semester. Tell me what you’re doing to make that right.”

Lyssa recounted the thirty hours she had spent in three-hour review sessions and one-hour counseling sessions, since her return from the UK five days ago. “Bottom line, there’s only one student that may fail. Lenora hasn’t taken advantage of any of the help I’ve offered, this week or during the semester, and her performance has been erratic from the start. I will do my best to track her down today.”

“Have you tried to contact her before this?”

“Weekly throughout the semester and daily since my return.”

“I thank you for all your efforts, Lyssa, but my advice is to let Lenora sink or swim at this point. Seniors need to take responsibility, and we don’t do them any favors by chasing after them.”

Lyssa gazed at her fingernails and hid her hands to conceal the chipped polish and ragged cuticles. She willed herself not to cry and promised herself she’d call the spa as soon as she could.

“Lyssa, I can see you’re low on energy. I want you to rest and connect with loved ones as much as possible this week. If you postpone that until the break, you’ll get sick and ruin your holiday.”

Lyssa flashed a smile. “Thank you for your wise words. How did you know I planned to let it slide?”

“I’ve made that same mistake. Now, I don’t want to worry you, but I understand the president is also looking for you. Please check in there before you leave campus.”

Lyssa thanked her and took refuge in the ladies room. Before venturing into Justin’s office, she needed to hear her sister’s voice.

“Hey, Lyssa, how did your summons go with the provost?”

“Better than I thought. I need a good lunch and a long nap. Are you free to grab a salad at the Manse?”

“I would be, but you’re wanted by the elder Cushman.”

“What, did he order an all-points bulletin?” She laughed, and Manda joined in. “I know he’s expecting me in his office, and I really can’t deal with him right now, which is why I called you first.”

“I think he may want to apologize.”

“Not good enough. He’ll have to feed me.”

Manda giggled. “He says he’s got a lunch reservation for the two of you at the Manse. Let’s catch up later at the Happy Hour meeting.”

Justin studied the face across the linen-covered table. The striking cheekbones and intense blue eyes were so like her sister Manda’s and remarkably like Joel’s grandmother, Bridey O’Donohue Tompkins.
There can’t be any connection
. “When is Kyle returning?”

Dark circles under her eyes and a pinch at the corners of her mouth showed jet lag and apprehension.

As Lyssa answered his question, she picked at the hem of her white linen napkin. “Kyle’s flight gets in this evening, and he’s arranged a ride to Tompkins Falls. I offered to pick him up, but he insisted on doing it this way.” The blue eyes looked up at him. “For which I’m grateful.”

Justin took a sip of water. “Kyle knows that sometimes the right thing is to throw money at a problem.”

Lyssa replied with a tired smile. “That would never have occurred to me.”

“That’s why I said it. You sounded guilty. For no reason.”

“I’m also grateful for this lovely meal together, Justin. I’m wondering why you arranged it?”

He sat back and straightened the silverware at his place. “First and foremost, to apologize for entangling you in the security issues on campus, which, as you know, turned into something more.” Marie had admitted using her husband’s account to organize her distribution channels for the monthly supply of Oxycontin from her native Canada.

“I did you a disservice as a new faculty member. I didn’t fully appreciate how much your snitch operation would interfere with your efforts to build collegial relations.”