Waking Up To Love (Lakeside Porches Book 4) (17 page)

“You what?” Her hand pressed against her breastbone.
Don’t let him hear your hysteria
.

“That British guy, Pennington. He’s the one that broke your heart before you came here, isn’t he?”

“Rand, what are you talking about?” His silence worried her until she heard him suck hard.
If he just lit a joint on Lakeside Terrace, Joel will have a fit.
She wished she had two phones so she could call Manda and Joel.

“You know he’s universally hated on campus, right? Why else would someone slash his tires?”

“Slash . . .” Lyssa’s heart stuck in her throat. She stroked it with her hand.

“He’s a cold prick. That’s why I came to his rescue and gave him a ride to a very dark place.”

“You what?” She shrieked the question.

“He broke your heart, remember? I won’t let him do it again. I’m protecting you, Lyssa.”

“Rand, you’re out of your mind.” There was no disguising her hysteria.

“I finally realized that it was Justin who set you up for the job in the UK at his
alma mater
. And again for the job here. It stood to reason he’d also set you up with your boyfriend in the UK, his buddy Pennington. What is it, Lyssa? You can’t figure out how to live your own life? Or are you taking Justin for all he’s worth? Cushy that way, isn’t it? But when are you going to grow up and declare your freedom?”

“Rand, I’m hanging up and calling the police.”

He let loose a raucous laugh. “They’re already here.
Ciao
, baby.” An engine revved outside.

She pounded down the stairs to the darkened entry and peered through the lace-curtained sidelight. A police cruiser had wheeled around the cul-de-sac at the top of Lakeside Terrace, and now it backed to the guardrail. She opened the outside door and scanned the street, brilliantly illuminated by the cruiser’s headlights. No other car was visible, but Lyssa saw taillights come on at the bottom of the street before a small white car turned right onto the highway.

A cold hand clutched her elbow.

She screamed.

“What’s happening?” her sister asked.

“Ohmigod, Manda, I didn’t hear you come out of your apartment.”

“Who was out there?” Manda’s face puckered with worry.

“Rand. He called me and said he was outside and wanted to come up. He was pissed when I said no. I’m pretty sure he lit a joint while we were talking. He was rambling on and on, hateful stuff, and I’m afraid he’s h-hurt K-Kyle.”

“Well, before that, he tried opening the front door, and it activated our security system. Joel’s away, so I called the police. Let’s go talk to the officers, together.” Manda tugged at her sister’s elbow.

A tall, dark-haired officer emerged from the cruiser. “Hi, Officer Shaughnessy,” Manda called. “Thank you for getting here so fast.” To Lyssa, she said, “That’s Peter, Gwen’s husband. His partner is Sara’s boyfriend Sam.”

“Any time Joel’s out of town, we’re here in a flash when you call us, Mrs. Cushman. You can sit in the cruiser as we talk, if you don’t want to get wet.”

“It’s just a sprinkle, thanks.” She gestured to the front door. “Someone tried to open it, maybe with a credit card, and that’s what triggered the alarm. Then he sat in his car and harassed my sister on the phone.”

“In the white car? Do you know who it was?”

“Yes, to both questions,” Lyssa answered, her voice less shaky. “His name is Rand Cunningham. He called me, sounding crazy, and I think he was smoking a joint. When he sucked, it was harder than for a regular cigarette. He said he’d driven my friend Kyle to a very dark place and left him.” She choked on the words.

“Your name, miss?”

Manda answered for her. “Lyssa Doughty is my sister. She lives on the third floor.”

Officer Shaughnessy’s calming voice said, “Ms. Doughty, why don’t you try calling your friend Kyle right now and see if he answers his phone?”

“Brilliant. Where is my brain?” She pressed Kyle’s number, put the phone to her ear, and wrapped her other arm around her middle, shivering in the chilly wind off the lake. “Answer, Kyle.” She bent double and breathed along with each ring. After four, his voicemail answered.

She shook her head at Officer Shaughnessy as she left a message. “Kyle, Rand has just told me he’s dumped you somewhere, and I’m scared to death you’re hurt. Please call me right away.”

Manda had her phone out, too. “Gianessa, I’m so glad you’re there. Please tell us if Kyle is there or if— Thank you. I’ll tell Lyssa to stop worrying.”

Lyssa’s fingers dug into Manda’s arm. The sprinkles increased to a steady rain.

“He just got back to Justin and Gianessa’s, Lyssa, and he’s all right. Let’s go inside.”

Instead, Lyssa dropped to her butt on the wet pavement, hugged her knees, and sobbed.

Chapter 6

Kyle stood at the counter with Gianessa sipping hot tea and debriefing from his misadventure with Rand. His thumb was on the speed-dial for Lyssa when Justin returned to the kitchen with a jovial, “Look who’s here.”

His host ushered a bedraggled Lyssa ahead of him into the Cushman kitchen.

Wet, curly strands of hair stuck to her face. Her sneakers were soaked. She must have run, in the dark, from Lakeside Terrace through Overlook Park.

“Lyssa, I was just—”

“Kyle was just telling us about a flat tire or two,” Justin said with a hearty laugh.

The relief Kyle had seen in Lyssa’s eyes gave way to fiery anger. Her voice hard, she said, “Rand called me and told me your tires weren’t
flat
exactly. They were
slashed
.” Her breath came in gasps.

Kyle worried at her high color and panicky voice.
Dear God, she’s terrified
.

“Like with a knife or a razor, Justin. And Rand just
happened
along to offer him a ride. Isn’t that more like what
really
happened?”

“Lyssa, luv, don’t be worrying about the tires.” He reached out for her, but she backed away.

“I’m not worried about the bloody tires.”

He stood there stupidly.
God, tell me what to do here
.

Justin took command with a calm, uncompromising voice. “That suggests that Tully may have lured Kyle to campus after classes and activities had ended. Possibly Rand did the slashing, and then waited for Kyle to need a ride that only he could provide. What do you think, Kyle?”

“Yes,” Lyssa answered, her voice hard, “and left him in some dark place with no light.”

“Left me in Justin’s driveway, to be precise,” Kyle said. “I discovered I have a flashlight app on my phone. And I think you’re correct, Justin. Tully and Rand planned it, like naughty schoolboys.”

Justin chuckled. “I know you’ve had many encounters with mean-spirited schoolboys in your private school days in the UK. I have no doubt you can handle their pranks.”

Lyssa tapped her foot and glared, arms crossed over her chest. Gianessa—
God bless her
—enfolded Lyssa in a warm hug and said, with a gentle voice, “I’m as upset as you are, Lyssa, but remember we have babies sleeping.” She glared at her husband and Kyle. “I think the two of you need to consider that Rand or Tully or both may be among those involved in misuse of the system.

“Their role may be to interfere with Kyle’s work through harassment of Kyle and, apparently, of Lyssa, though I don’t understand why. So, what’s the
next
step in their campaign?” she asked Justin and then looked pointedly at Kyle. “And what should be
your
next move?”

Kyle nodded to both his hosts. “Good thinking. Let’s Justin and I both sleep on it. Right now, Lyssa and I need to talk.”

Gianessa whispered to Lyssa, “Right answer.” She slipped out of the kitchen, ushering Justin ahead of her into the living room.

Kyle smoothed the hair away from Lyssa’s rain-streaked face and ran his thumbs over the quivering muscles in her jaw and cheeks. Her whole body trembled. With his voice gentle, he said, “We’ll find something warm for us to wear and walk down to the water’s edge and back, so we don’t disturb the house.”

At her nod, he called goodnight to the Cushmans and led Lyssa down two flights to his suite. He grabbed a flashlight and two warm sweaters before directing her out through the patio door.

Enveloped in Kyle’s too-big wool sweater, Lyssa stood a moment on the flagstones and inhaled the night air. The rain had settled into a misty drizzle. He paused, too, and inhaled the fragrance of ripe chestnuts and berries and fresh-mown grass.

Kyle stood with his eyes closed for a moment. Lyssa watched him, while a light wind cooled the tears on her cheeks. When his gaze met hers, his face lit up with a wide, warm smile, and he reached out his hand.

She took it and squeezed. “You said something on the way down the stairs, Kyle, and I couldn’t make it out.” Her voice was low and steady now. “I apologize for the hysteria a few minutes ago. This whole thing has me unhinged. I pictured you injured or dead somewhere. And for what? This is insane, what we’re doing.”

“Exactly. What I said on the stairs is, this has gotten out of hand and I hate that it’s tearing you up inside. I naively assumed I was coming here to do a security audit, which is always a tense undertaking. But I’ve done dozens of them, never surrounded by the animosity and venom I’ve experienced at this college.

“Really, is that true?”

“Oh, Justin casually mentioned that the trustees had fired a third of the personnel last year, but that did not begin to prepare me. I would never have walked into this if I’d known.”

“But then we wouldn’t be together.”

“I would have waited until Geoffrey could take over for a couple of months and come here just to be with you. That was Plan A, and it’s what I should have done. And would have if I hadn’t been missing you so desperately when this so-called opportunity arose.”

“That would have been much better, yes. We wanted this to be a time for us to explore our relationship, and, instead, it’s been a nightmare for both of us. I’m constantly afraid you’re going to run screaming back to Cornwall, and I’ll never see you again.”

Kyle took her roughly into his arms. “That’s not going to happen, luv. If I decamp, I’m dragging you with me and never letting you come back to this place.”

She laughed.

“Ah, there’s that sweet laugh I love so much, like songbirds at dawn.” She laughed still more.

“Let’s run away, Kyle. Let’s leave right now and camp out at the airport until we get a flight.”

His mouth closed on hers and he kissed her until she was breathless. “I’m convinced we belong together. We just need time to know it will last. To be sure it will work for both of us.”

“That’s exactly right. And there’s so much we need to talk about.”

“Where do we start? Let’s walk while we talk.” They turned their faces to the wind off the lake, and he held her hand as they strolled downhill toward the shore.

“Something Rand said is burning a hole in my brain.”

“And what’s that, luv?”

“He made me wonder if I should be doing this job at all. I mean my grant and my courses at Tompkins College.”

“You’re not thinking of quitting the job?” The light from his flashlight bobbed on the grass.

“No, I like what I do and, aside from all this insanity, it’s going swimmingly. But Rand’s phone call just now made me question myself, my ability. He was being mean, but he may be right.”

“What exactly did my good friend Rand say to you?”

Lyssa told him about Rand’s hateful remarks about Justin arranging her jobs in London and in Tompkins Falls and arranging her relationship with Kyle. “What do you know about all of that?”

“Well, it’s true that Justin let me know about the soiree and urged me to attend and to look around for you. I rather think
we
took it from there, though, don’t you?”

“Yes, except . . .”

“Except?”

“That business with you not touching me, or whatever it was you agreed to with Justin. What was that?”

“He asked me not to bed you. Sorry, sleep with you. He said you were young and vulnerable, which you were.”

“He didn’t tell you I was new in recovery?”

“You mean your alcoholism? No, you told me straightaway. Was that his reason all the time?”

“It might have been.”

“I read too much into it, I think. And, as I tried to say in my letter, I didn’t want to make a mistake that either of us would regret. You were too precious for that.” He gave a dry laugh. “Only I do regret keeping so much distance for so long. And I especially regret that I hurt you by doing so.”

“Thank you for that.”

“Are we all right?”

She tugged at his hand. “I might need the occasional kiss to be sure.”

His arms enfolded her, and he touched his lips to her earlobe, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her lips. “Is this helping?”

The laugh in her throat spurred him to kiss her deeply. The flashlight thumped to the ground. Loving hands stroked her sides and cupped her buns, drawing her tight against his hardness. “Better?”

“Very much.”

They stood for a moment, locked in the embrace, with the mist floating around them and the heavy flashlight on the ground rolling slowly downhill. A bump in the lawn caused it to jump, and Lyssa noticed the flash of light.

“Our torch is heading for a swim.” She chased it.

Kyle caught up and took it from her hands. “And I distracted us from our talk about your job. It was important.” He swept the light over the lawn ahead. “We’re nearly at the shore. Lovely cove to our left.” They strolled forward, hand in hand, and Kyle urged her to say what was troubling her.

“What do you know about Justin arranging both my jobs, in London and here?”

“Nothing. It sounds like nonsense. Rand claimed that’s what Justin did?”

With a nod, she said, “But if it’s the truth, I must be going about this career thing the wrong way. Justin certainly told me about the fellowship possibility at the London campus, and I applied and got it over the half-dozen finalists. You don’t think he could have fixed that, do you?”

“How might he have done that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, made a huge donation with strings attached, something like that?”

Kyle thought about it. “He has the money to do that, but I think he’d have considered it a good move for you to apply and to final, whether you got the position or not. Did you have other offers?”

“Yes, from UT Austin and Baylor. But for straight faculty positions. Research and teaching economics courses.”

“Then I say you’re going about the career very successfully on your own merit. I think your problem in the UK this past spring and summer was applying after all the faculty positions were already decided. If you like, though, I can put the question to Justin myself.”

“Um . . .”

“Talk to me.” He squeezed her hand. “What’s the hesitation?”

“I don’t want Justin to think I’m ungrateful.”

“I’ll do it tactfully, with that in mind. No worries, eh? He does owe me about the mess between us.”

“Then, yes, please ask. It will help me to know how much I can trust him.”

She tripped on something, and he steadied her. He played his flashlight over the ground. “Big stone, probably bubbled up from the earth of its own accord.”

“Kyle, Rand plays with my mind.”

“I can see he absolutely terrified you tonight. That harassment infuriates me, far more than the prank with the slashed tires.”

“He knows how to get to me, and I can’t always shake him off. I hate being such a ninny.”

“He tried it with me, too, the devious little twit.” He posed with his hands on his hips. “Did you know he plans to marry you next summer?”

Lyssa barked a laugh, then looked quickly back at the house.

“I’m sure they can’t hear us down here. Even that unladylike bray.”

She leaned into him, giggling, and he tightened his arm around her shoulders.

“Would you want me to stay in Tompkins Falls, luv, for the rest of the school term if I could?”

“Of course I would.” She slid her arm around his waist. “But how could you, with your work in London?”

“I think I could manage. In confidence, we’re expecting the CIO Craig Marone to resign, and it’s possible the provost will ask me to fill his shoes on an interim basis for the balance of the year. I think Miriam would agree to my spending the odd week in London, with conference calls and the like.”

“You mean until January or next summer?”

“If I were Miriam, I’d want someone through the spring term to set things right before bringing in the permanent person.”

“Would you want to do that job, given the way things are?” They had reached the edge of the lawn. Grass gave way to a wall of boulders down to the water’s edge. Kyle switched off the light. In the dark, they could only sense the turbulence of the lake. Offshore, waves collided and the wind moaned. Breakers rushed the rocks near their feet. Lyssa shivered, and he pulled her tighter to his side.

“I’d do it only if the venom and vermin were removed. Then, yes, I’d be willing, partly to help Justin make a go of the college and mostly to have the time with you, to see where we’re going.”

“That would be grand, if it doesn’t take away from your real job. But what about your mum? I adore her, you know. She’d be lost without your visits.”

“She’s a treasure. I can visit her whenever I’m in London, and she loves a handwritten letter.”

“Shall I write to her as well?”

“That’s sweet of you.” He kissed her temple. “She’ll cherish your notes. As for my business, it’s running smoothly at the moment, and I’d actually like Geoffrey to spread his wings a bit more.”

“Okay then.”

“So you’re not looking to be engaged to Rand in the year ahead?”

“Be serious. Not ever. I can’t believe you gave even a tiny amount of credence to that.”

He drew her into a tight hug and then stepped back and held her at arm’s length. “Do you want us to spend our year together as an engaged couple?”

Lyssa squeaked and swallowed hard.