Wakefield College 01 - Where It May Lead Read Online Free PDF

unfair question.” He smiled, his
eyes lingering on the words Wakefield College —or
perhaps on her breasts, outlined by the forest-green cotton knit. He looked up,
the smile having become crooked. “Truth is, I was thinking just today that I’m a
little sorry I didn’t stay here for my four years. I had an okay education, but
it might not have been the equal of what I’d have gotten here. I went to UW,” he
told her, “and for an undergrad it’s a completely different experience than a
student gets at a small school.” He grinned. “Dad might have been smarter to
sneer at the idea of me applying to Wakefield. Tell me I couldn’t get in. Or
that I belonged at a state school.”
    “A little reverse psychology.”
    He laughed. “Teenagers are dumb enough for it to work.”
    “True enough.” She couldn’t remember smiling so much, or
feeling such a fizz that never subsided. “You notice I don’t work in Admissions.
I work with adults.”
    “I noticed today how young the students look. Maybe we see
ourselves as eternally young, but I couldn’t help realizing I’m not as young as
I used to be.”
    He looked so disconcerted, she couldn’t help laughing at him.
“Kind of like finding your first gray hair?”
    “Something like that.”
    His lips were clean-cut, not too full or too thin. They were
more expressive than his eyes. It was hard not to look at his mouth and imagine
how it would feel covering hers.
    Hoping he hadn’t noticed she was staring, she took a hasty sip.
“How old are you?”
    “Thirty-two. You?”
    “Thirty-one.”
    Their meals came, a curry chicken crepe for her, a burger with
bleu cheese for him. Conversation never lagged as they ate. She told him about
grad school at Duke, about her first jobs in college administration.
    “I had a student job in Admissions here at Wakefield,” she
said, remembering. “I loved every minute of it. I didn’t realize I’d already
decided what I wanted to do with my life by the time I graduated, but I had. I
started out at Carleton College in Minnesota in Financial Aid. I was so cold all
winter, I started job hunting by spring. After that I worked in Admissions at a
small college in Northern California then moved into Development. Begging for
donations wasn’t quite my thing either, but I was getting warmer.”
    His lips quirked. “In more ways than one.”
    “No kidding. When I saw the opening here, I knew it was
perfect.” She leaned forward. “I love the idea of helping alumni feel
connected—of giving them opportunities, either here or close to home, to immerse
themselves in the kind of intense educational experience they knew at Wakefield.
And, yes, to help the college by ensuring those same alumni maintain a financial
commitment.”
    He nodded as if unsurprised, at which she was able to relax a
little, relieved he hadn’t made a joke out of her passion. She hadn’t intended
to speak so strongly.
    Madison made an attempt to prod him into talking about why he’d
gone into law enforcement. “Is it a family thing?”
    “As in, my dad, a cop?” He laughed. “Not a chance. He was a
banker. He actually grew up on a wheat farm outside town. His father was
disappointed he didn’t want to take over the farm. Like with a lot of the other
wheat farms around here, times got tougher and eventually the land was
sold.”
    “Is it growing grapes now?”
    “Yep. It’s part of the Frenchman Lake Vineyard & Winery. It
feels strange to drive by. I’ll think ‘Grandma and Grandad’s place is right
around this bend,’ only it’s not. Yeah, the house is still there, but nothing
looks the same.” He shrugged. “Even Grandad eventually admitted that Dad was
smart to find another way to make a living.”
    “Did Dad ever decide you were smart
to do something else?”
    His lashes veiled his eyes. “He never put it quite that way,
but he claimed to be proud of me. He and Mom were a lot happier when I left the
Seattle P.D. for Frenchman Lake, though.