Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4) (25 page)

Then he paused, appearing to fall into some sort of deeply reflective mood. He looked at me again and rubbed his chin with his fingertips.

“Where were we?” he asked.

I swallowed to relieve the tightness in my throat.

“You were telling me about how your program is full already,” I said, struggling not to wince from having to say it aloud.

“Oh, yes,” he said. “Well…”

I rose from my chair and extended my hand to him. “Thank you, Dr. Eddings, for taking to the time to meet with me. It’s been a sincere pleasure,” I said.

He rose, shook my hand, and said, “Yes, well, welcome to Yale and the program, Mr. Taylor.”

I felt my mouth gaping open.

“I’m sorry, I thought you said---”

“Ranking and placement is often viewed rigidly at the university. Fortunately, we deans have some discretionary latitude available to us. With one so deserving as you, we can always make room for one more,” Eddings said.

He must’ve noticed my perplexed expression.

“You’ll learn that’s simply how some things are done here at Yale, Mr. Taylor; just as it is in the real world outside these hallowed halls.”

“Er, thank you, Dr. Eddings,” I said, still somewhat numb from the swift turn of events.

“Your uncle appears to be a very savvy man,” he said. “It’s nice to meet men like you and him; both passionate about history, as well as focused upon what they want in life. Please convey my best wishes and appreciation to him, won’t you?”

If you only knew…

“Yes, sir, I certainly will.”

I was still in a near-stupor as he escorted me to the building’s entrance and held the door open for me.

“My staff will email you with additional placement information and program registration details, and the admissions office should contact you in the next day or so regarding your initial enrollment,” he said. “Good night, Mr. Taylor, and once again, congratulations.”

Moments later, I found myself standing alone outside in the cool night air, taking a deep breath to attempt to clear my head.

Unbelievable.

I only walked a short distance along a lonely sidewalk when I heard a momentary rapid click of heels, and then Kat was suddenly standing before me.

“Well, how did it go?” she asked excitedly.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.

She looked down at me expectantly.

“I’m in,” I finally managed to say.

She enveloped me in her arms, nearly squeezing the breath from my lungs.

“I’m so very proud of you, my love,” she said.

“Really, it was nothing,” I said dryly.

Nothing I did, anyway.

Chapter 21

Caleb

We boarded a return flight to Atlanta later that night. Apparently, Alton had exclusive chartering of our plane, which must’ve cost a small fortune.

There seemed to be a lot of small fortunes being spent on my behalf lately.

While I settled in with Kat in our cabin, Alton was still outside the aircraft and hadn’t yet boarded the flight.

She reached out to grasp my hand in hers, and then leaned over to kiss me. Her stiletto clad foot once again lightly traversed up my left leg.

“Are you excited about going to Yale?” she asked with a glint in her eyes.

I grinned. “Who wouldn’t be?”

She turned as the cabin door opened to reveal Alton, still looking amazing in his fitted designer suit.

“We’ve taken on an impromptu passenger who’ll be staying on for Miami after we deplane in Atlanta,” he said.

“Really? Anyone we know?” Kat asked.

“Hm, I think you’ve met,” he said. “Does Sabira ring a bell?”

“Sabira?” she said. “Yes, she was an Arabic vampire from the Slovene conference.”

She looked at me with an inquiring expression. “I’d like to go say hello, if that’s okay with you.”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

She exited the cabin as Alton settled into the free seat on the opposite end of our short row of four.

My thoughts immediately jumped to my meeting with Dr. Eddings. After a moment, I rose and moved to the empty seat beside Alton’s.

“You’re welcome, my boy,” he said with an easy smile.

I blinked and stared into his hazel eyes. “Why?”

He frowned slightly. “Why, what?”

“Why did you do this, Alton? Why go to all this trouble for
me
? You purchased a museum just to get me into Yale. You’ve spent a small fortune flying us here and back to Atlanta,” I said.

“Don’t you think yourself worthy of going to Yale?” he asked, cocking his head to one side with a quizzical expression.

“Yes—I mean, no; not at such a high cost,” I stammered. “They—the students—are way out of my league.”

His eyes flashed bright hazel and he laughed.

A second later, his eyes narrowed and his features hardened. “So, the poor, abused boy from Columbus, Ohio, doesn’t think he deserves to be at Yale? Is that right?” he demanded. “You’re from humble roots and that makes you more stupid and worthless than all of the snot-nosed rich kids; those favored sons and daughters of powerful CEOs, senators, and congressmen?”

“Stop it!” I shot back. “Don’t go there.”

“No, you stop it. You’ve been beaten down so much in your past you’ve bought into the ridiculous rhetoric, dogma, and stupidity of fools,” he said. “You’re already twice as intelligent, capable, and worthy than half of the spoiled, foolishly entailed students in Yale, yet you’re your own worst enemy.

“Consider that many of your soon-to-be fellow students are steeped in pretention, primarily gracing those halls because of whom they know or where they came from. I know you can best most of them in so many ways, if you merely assert yourself and try.”

My jaw muscles tightened.

“You listen to me, right now, and you listen well, my son,” he said, power virtually emanating from him in waves. “I’m from a time when power was inherited, usually from the pampered and the favored. I’m also from a time when a good man with a strong arm who can swing a sword and comport himself with honor is worth ten times his weight in gold.

“I’ll stake my life and limb on just one honorable peasant’s boy over a hundred grovelers, manipulators, and political sycophants…every—single—time. Give me ten humble, ethical, sincere souls and I can build a kingdom; give me a hundred and I can rule an entire nation.

“Do you want to know who I see when I look into your eyes; when I divine the depths of your soul? You’re one of those sons of so-called commoners who could lead an army and be worthy of it; who could be king, and be worthy of a crown,” he said.

His hands darted out to grasp the sides of my head between his strong fingers. “You may not believe me now, but relatively soon those things I said are going to become self-evident to you, even if I have to flay the world bare and then set fire to parts of it to prove it to you. I’m going to
make
you see the truth, and then you’ll believe; because once you do, you’ll be nearly unstoppable.”

I felt awed; completely speechless.

“When I purchased a hospital wing to be able to perform live-saving surgery on you, you were worth it then. When I purchase a museum to give you a fair opportunity that you should by all rights have access to in the first place, you’re worth it. When you discover your tuition to be prepaid at Yale, you’re worth it.

“In all the things I have done for you or may do for you in the future, you’ll accept both my grace and my gifts as I deem them so, and you
will
be worthy of them. Do you understand me?”

I was speechless. Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before.

I tried to nod my head but his grip precluded it.

“But I—I could never repay you for all your generosity,” I said.

“Oh, you will, son. You most certainly will,” he said. “You’ll bear the weight of all those who’ll look down upon you when they deem you unworthy. You’ll excel in your studies, and believe me, I’ll be watching closely to see that you do. You’ll act in good character, even when you see an easier, less noble path before you. You’ll shine when the darkness falls upon you. You’ll hone your skills and you’ll harness your courage, and you’ll do it, not only because I demand it, but because it’s who you are, deep down inside where it counts most.

“And finally, I’ll speak to things I’ve seen and heard recently between you and Katrina. When a certain, red-haired woman lays her heart, soul, and body at your feet, you’ll accept her, honor her, and cherish her; because she has deemed you to be worthy of her, and you will move heaven and earth to prove that she’s chosen well. Am I understood?”

Immediately, Kat’s visage appeared in my mind’s eye, even as Alton’s words echoed in my mind.

I didn’t know what else to say except, “Yes. I’ll do those things, as well.”

“Good,” he said. “It appears there’s hope for you yet.”

He inhaled a breath and let it out slowly, and released me. Then he patted my cheek with his open palm.

“Thank you, Alton,” I said, nearly dazed.

“You’re welcome, dear boy,” he said. “Now remember what I’ve said and ruminate upon it.”

I stared at him as he once more sat back in his seat as though nothing extraordinary had just transpired between us.

I felt stunned; my world had just been rocked, long-held illusions cracking around their raw edges.

That was something entirely new for me.

Then something ironic that he’d said struck me.

“You know, it’s not easy at times when that same red-haired woman demands to be the alpha in the relationship,” I said.

His look of amusement spoke volumes. “True. Therefore, you may instead find yourself being the one at
her
feet, but if you do the other things I said, things will be splendid between you.”

“Charming,” I said dryly.

It just stands to reason, I suppose.

“Don’t worry, I know you have it in you,” he said. “So few men do, actually. In truth, it makes you stand out even taller among others.”

“Short of stature, large in character,” I said wistfully.

He chuckled. “Yes, something like that.”

“Alton?”

“Hm?”

“Why Yale?”

“There’s a number of perfectly logical reasons, actually,” he said. “However, there’s one in particular that supersedes the others. Don’t worry, when the time is right, you’ll discover why. Actually, I think you’ll be quite intrigued.

“For now, accept that as far as seeking an academic position, the prestige of hailing from Yale has quite an impact on prospective employers, even today. Then there’s the advantage of having you closer to the east coast, making travel between there and London easier,” he said.

I conceded the logic of each.

“But enough of that; let’s focus on getting you settled and through the thesis selection process for your dissertation, shall we?”

He was right, of course. There were a host of things needing to be addressed in the near future.

I looked sidelong at him with a curious expression.

“This evening, you introduced yourself to Dr. Eddings as my uncle,” I said.

“It made matters so much easier to negotiate,” he said.

I did my best to repress a growing look of surprise. “So, are you adopting me?”

He regarded me with an amused expression, and my eyebrows rose in silent query.

“You could say that. We’re family in every way that matters now,” he said. “And I suppose you may call me Uncle Alton if you like. For all intents and purposes, I declared that this evening out of need, if not for equal reasons of sentiment.”

I smiled. “Thanks, uncle.”

It was a thoughtful gesture on his part, and I marveled over the novelty of once again having a family to be a member of, even if it wasn’t by birth.

Who could ask for more?

The satisfied expression on his face was likewise unmistakable.

The cabin door abruptly opened and Kat stepped inside. As soon as she closed the door and turned around, she frowned at us.

“You two look rather suspicious. Did I miss something important?” she asked.

“Hardly,” Alton said as he gazed into my eyes. “We were merely discussing my expectations for my nephew, Caleb, now that he’s been accepted into Yale.”

“Nephew?”
she asked, her gaze alternating between us like a tennis match.

* * *

Alton ordered a chilled bottle of champagne for us on the flight. Between the spirits and the late hour, by time we landed back in Atlanta, I was feeling both relieved and decidedly relaxed.

However, I still marveled over all that had taken place in the span of only a few hours. My life was in a whirlwind.

Ethan and Paige met us as we exited the plane; Paige jumping up and down with a big grin on her face. She rushed up to wrap me in her arms as soon as I cleared the exit area.

“Congrats, kiddo!” she said. “You must’ve made a kick-butt impression.”

“Well—” I said, sparing a glance at Alton, who gave me a hard look. “Actually, yeah, I charmed the hell out of ’em.”