by Kit Kyndall
Kip frowned. “I want to hear about your problems. I want to know everything about you…the good and the bad.”
With a sigh, she took one of the pillows lined up along the back of the couch and held it to her chest, mainly to keep the temptation of climbing across him at bay. If her hands were busy with the pillow, they couldn’t be exploring him. “Lex broke up with me when he found out about you…and Dalton.”
Kip’s foot stilled. “Dalton?” he asked neutrally, but there was a crease in his forehead that betrayed his displeasure.
Hanging her head, she quickly confessed the situation with Dalton. Then she looked up through the veil of her lashes, expecting anger. He just looked unhappy, which seemed worse. “Why are you sad?” Was it because he was about to withdraw his admission that he wanted to be with her as Lex had done?
“Because I’m afraid he’s not going to treat you right. I’m also sad because you’re sad.”
She bit her lip. “Are you angry that I didn’t tell you?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “It sounds like there wasn’t much to tell until Halloween night.”
“But I never mentioned him at all, and I was talking about Lex and Jonas after the dance. I should’ve said something then. I shouldn’t have tried to hide it. If I weren’t so embarrassed by how he makes me feel, I would’ve been able to talk about it easier, I guess, but that’s no excuse.”
Kip arched a brow. “Why are you embarrassed?”
“Because he’s such an ass to me, and I hate him. I shouldn’t want someone that I hate.”
Kip smiled gently. “I don’t think we get to control our attractions. If we did, there’s no way I’d be sitting here with my seventeen-year-old student.”
Candace flinched.
His voice softened. “I didn’t mean it like that, honey. I’m just saying that I would never choose to be attracted to a student. It’s all kinds of wrong, but I can’t help it with you. I suspect it’s the same for you and Dalton.”
She felt better at his clarification, but it still hurt to know he would choose to avoid this attraction if he could. She sniffed softly before asking, “What should I do?”
Kip shrugged. “That’s up to you. I can’t tell you what to do about Lex or Dalton. You have to listen to your own intuition and follow your heart. Just know that if you become involved with Dalton, I’m still here for you, and I still want to be with you. Maybe Lex will get over his anger in time, and you can fix things with him as well.”
Candace nodded miserably, not believing him. Oh, she believed Kip was still interested in her in spite of Dalton, but she didn’t believe Lex was going to change his mind. He seemed so adamantly angry about the situation that she couldn’t imagine he would find his way to forgive her. He couldn’t even stand to look at or talk to her, so how could he do that?
“Against my better judgment, I want to cuddle with you.”
She looked up at Kip’s words hopefully. “Really?”
He nodded. “Just on the couch, and all of our clothes stay on. Agreed?”
With an eager nod, she stood up and set aside the pillow, moving to the other end of the couch so she could sit between his legs when he parted them for her. She snuggled against him, surprisingly content with just having his arms around her.
His lips ghosted against her neck, and he occasionally kissed her, but mostly they just talked quietly as they laid there together. Part of her wanted to rush through this portion of the courtship and insist she was ready for more physically intimate activities, but another part of her was enjoying taking their time and spending a few hours talking and holding one another without any further expectations.
Chapter Seven
Candace
“Oh, crap,” said Kip forcefully near her ear.
That woke Candace, and she sat upright. The first thing she noticed was the light coming in through the windows, even with the curtains still drawn. It wasn’t strong yet, but it was definitely later in the morning. She glanced at the clock on his wall and winced when she saw it was five a.m.
They must’ve fallen asleep talking, and neither one of them had bothered to set an alarm. She rushed off his lap, standing awkwardly as she looked for her shoes. She slid them on as Kip got to his feet. He was looking distressed, and she couldn’t blame him.
“You have to leave now. I’m sorry, Candace. I don’t want to rush you out, but…”
She nodded, moving forward just long enough to press a brief kiss to his mouth. “I totally understand. I’ll see you in class later.” Without looking back, she went to his back door and let herself out.
She stood there for a moment, evaluating the cottages nearby. Daylight was just starting to appear, so it was still weak and hazy. With luck, she would be little more than a shadow to most people if they happened to be outside and near her.
There didn’t appear to be anyone looking, so she turned and ran back the way she’d come, toward the school. She didn’t dare glance behind her to see if anyone was looking at her. If she did, that could give them a full view of her face, and she couldn’t risk being recognized fleeing from this part of the grounds.
She ran through the canopy of trees until she broke out on the other side and then kept running a bit farther until she reached the lake. There was a stitch in her side, and she paused to sit down on the bench. It seemed safe enough to pause for a rest now.
After sitting there for a few minutes, she was about to get up when she heard footsteps behind her. They didn’t sound heavy enough to be Kip’s, and she barely hid a grimace of disgust when she saw Suzanne walking toward her. She didn’t smile at the professor or greet her in any way, but Suzanne’s intense gaze made it clear she was focused on Candace.
“What are you doing out here this time of morning?” Suzanne seemed poised to pounce on her.
Without looking at the teacher directly, she glanced at the lake. “I had trouble sleeping, so I went for a walk. I was taking a little break before returning to my dorm.”
Suzanne snorted softly. “Why are you wearing the clothes you wore last night in the dining hall?”
Candace hadn’t even seen her in the dining hall, and she flinched slightly, but she still didn’t look at Suzanne. “The clothes were still clean, so I put them on this morning when I woke up.”
“You know you’re not supposed to be out walking this far from school, and so close to the staff cottages.”
Candace looked at her, hoping her expression of surprise was convincing. “I didn’t realize there was a restriction on how far we could walk on the grounds, and what cottages?”
Suzanne put her hands on her hips. “Through the trees. That’s where all the staff cottages are.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Candace allowed a cryptic grin to slide across her face. “How interesting.”
Suzanne’s mouth dropped open, and it was clear she was second-guessing mentioning the cottages to Candace. That was all the better. If she thought she had revealed their existence just now, she wouldn’t suspect Candace had already visited them. “You’re not allowed back there. You shouldn’t be out here either.”
“I’m sorry, Professor Barnes. Could you tell me where in the handbook it says I’m not allowed to take a walk in the morning or sit by the lake? I’m happy to comply. I simply don’t remember reading that in the handbook.” She was struggling to sound polite and eager to please.
“Well, I…I mean, that is…” She grunted, annoyance evident. “It’s not actually in the handbook, but it’s an unspoken rule.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll be sure to check with the headmaster to find out if I need a pass or something the next time I have insomnia. Thank you for letting me know, professor.” With a sweet smile to match her sickly-sweet tone, she got to her feet and started walking again.
She half-expected Suzanne to charge after her and keep badgering her, but the other woman remained standing by the lake. Candace could feel her gaze burning a hole in the back of her head as she walked, and s
he didn’t consider the encounter a victory over the other woman. It felt like a narrow escape instead. She couldn’t risk slipping out to visit Kip again. She’d have to be stronger than her need to do so.
Chapter Eight
Candace
She signed out for a pass that weekend, making a point of avoiding Octavia for the last couple of days of the week, pretending to be busy with her schoolwork. She didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings, but she definitely didn’t need a wing-woman for the weekend. Octavia would’ve been a fifth wheel, and she would’ve felt like it too, no doubt. She had every intention of telling Octavia about the weekend, but only after it had passed.
She called for an Uber early Saturday morning, getting up with the dawn and hoping to avoid most of the students who would be leaving a couple of hours later. Her Uber driver was the same guy as last time, and his eyes widened when he recognized her. “Where’s your friend?”
“I don’t think she’s coming this weekend.”
“You want me to drop you around the same place as last time?”
She gave him Jonas’s address instead.
The driver frowned. “You sure? That’s the Underell farm.”
She frowned slightly. “Yes, I’m sure I know where I want to go.”
He nodded, looking faintly judgmental.
“Will you take me there?” She didn’t bother to try to hide a hint of impatience in her tone.
“Of course,” he said with a bright smile, and the car moved forward.
Candace wasn’t in the mood for conversation, so she opened her phone and directed her attention to one of the games on it. She wasn’t really paying much attention to it, but she didn’t feel like talking to the driver, who clearly disapproved of her destination.
Apparently, he wasn’t good at getting the hint. “So, do you know the Underells?”
She shrugged a shoulder.
After a minute, he asked, “Do you know Jonas? He works up at the school.”
Again, she shrugged before looking up. “Do you know Jonas?”
The driver smiled. “I sure do. Jonas and I went to high school together. He’s a good guy. He had big plans, you know? He wanted to go away to school and study botany. His plan was to get his PhD, and he even talked about knocking around the rain forest for a few years looking for undiscovered plants. Of course, that all went to hell when his dad had the heart attack.”
Candace nodded. This guy’s viewpoint was a unique interpretation that Jonas himself hadn’t offered. He’d implied that taking over the business had just been an acceleration of his plans. He’d skipped over the whole part where he had much bigger plans to pursue first. She felt a stirring of sadness for him, but mostly just admiration that he would step away from his dreams to help his parents maintain their livelihood.
“He’s a really good guy. He didn’t deserve what Stasia did to him.” The driver said that with warning in his tone.
She met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Who are you?”
“My name is Gabe Hennessy. Jonas is a friend of mine, even though he’s a couple years older than me. I don’t want to see him hurt again.”
Candace swallowed thickly. “I won’t hurt anyone.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then he nodded once more. After that, he allowed her to play on her phone undisturbed by attempts at conversation as they ate up the miles to Farley. The destination required passing through the town, which didn’t take long.
Another five miles or so, and he was pulling off the road onto a gravel driveway. Candace trembled for a moment as nerves got the better of her, but she breathed through it. As the car brought her closer to the large farmhouse, her stomach balled into knots, and she briefly considered telling him to go back.
That wasn’t because she didn’t want alone time with Jonas. She was just nervous about meeting his family, and she knew the repercussions for Jonas if the wrong people found out they were dating. Maybe he could date any other girl and the school wouldn’t fire him, but she was certain with Hastings’s unreasonable dislike of her, he’d be glad to fire Jonas just to hurt her.
Gabe stopped the car a moment later, and that was it. She had no choice but to get out, because Jonas stood on the porch. When she was actually there, she had no hesitation. She grabbed her bag as she passed Gabe the credit card Ashton had insisted she take before she left for BriarEdge. He scanned it and handed it back, and he and Jonas exchanged waves as she got out of the car. After that, Gabe drove away, and Jonas came closer.
She crossed the last few feet in a bit of a jog, almost throwing herself into his arms. They wrapped around her securely, and he kissed her briefly before lifting his head. “My mom is watching through the kitchen window,” he said with a small grin. “I’m not ashamed to be kissing you. I just don’t want an audience.”
Candace was more than okay with his restraint. She didn’t want his mother to see them passionately kissing before she even had a chance to meet the other woman.
“Come on inside. Ma made breakfast.”
She followed him into the house, stomach fluttering with nerves. She looked around, finding it decorated with furniture that didn’t quite match. There were knitted or crocheted afghans covering the chairs and couches, and she assumed they were handmade, likely by Martha Underell. She’d be surprised if they weren’t.
Jonas took her hand and pulled her into the kitchen, directing her where to go. She took a deep breath as she crossed the threshold, her gaze meeting the eyes of the stern-looking woman by the stove. She was shorter than Candace, with a pleasingly plump frame and dark hair streaked liberally with gray. She had brown eyes like Jonas, and they had the same nose. She was also several years older than Candace had expected her to be. She seemed to be mid-sixties, so Jonas must have been born when she was in her forties.
She wiped her hands on her apron as she came forward when Jonas said, “Come meet my girlfriend, Ma.”
It was difficult to tell if she was reluctant to meet Candace, or if she was just uncertain about the situation. Maybe she was shy. Whatever it was, there was certainly reluctance in her posture as she crossed the kitchen and thrust out her hand.
Candace took it, shaking a couple of times before the woman let go. “It’s nice to meet you.”
His mother nodded. She didn’t reciprocate the sentiment.
“Ma, this is Candace Munroe. Candace, this is my mother, Martha.”
“How do you do, Mrs. Underell?”
“Just fine. Why don’t you both have a seat at the table? I’ve got a ton of food, since I don’t know what people like you might eat.”
Jonas frowned. “Ma,” he said with a hint of warning.
Martha just shrugged. “It’s true, ain’t it? I don’t know what rich people eat. That Stasia girl wouldn’t eat anything the one time she deigned to visit.”
Candace was trying not to let the unwelcome vibe she was getting from Martha deter her. She managed what she hoped was a genuine smile and a mild tone as she avoided addressing the topic of Stasia. “I wouldn’t really know either. Until a few months ago, my mom and I lived in Springfield, outside of Portland. It’s a pretty rough place.”
Martha looked surprised. “Are you on scholarship then?”
She shook her head. “My mom married someone with enough money to strand me here.”
Martha’s eyes twinkled for just a moment, and she was clearly tempted to laugh. That never came to fruition as she herded them through the arched entryway to the dining room.
In here, there was a large wooden table and chairs, and Martha hadn’t been exaggerating when she said there was a ton of food on the table. Candace’s stomach hurt just looking at all of it. “How many people are coming for breakfast?”
“Just the four of us,” said Jonas, “But the farmhands will stop by and grab plates as well. Normally, they might sit with us, but we wanted to make this just a family meal.”
Candace nodded, feeling relieved she wasn’t expected to eat rou
ghly her weight in food. She looked around. “Where’s your dad?”
“That stubborn old coot’s out preparing the fields along with the farmhands. I told him not to, but he acts like he’s invincible.” Martha delivered that explanation as she brought in a bowl of gravy.
“He tends to overdo it, and then he pays for it.” Jonas looked frustrated. “There’s nothing we can really do to stop him, short of tying him down, but it worries both of us.”
“I can see why.” A moment later, she took a seat at the table in the chair Jonas indicated, and he helped her push it in. He was definitely a gentleman, which she found endearing.
At that moment, she heard a door opening nearby, followed by the sound of stamping feet, which preceded the arrival of Jonas’s father a few moments later. He nodded to Candace as he sat down. “How’re you doing, darlin’?”
She smiled, liking him instantly. “I’m well, Mr. Underell.”
He waved a big, beefy hand. “Don’t be so formal. Call me Hank.” His eyes, a merry blue, twinkled with delight, and he was clearly an open and approachable man. Like Martha, he was older than she’d expected, lending credence to her theory that Jonas had been an unexpected later-life baby for an otherwise-childless couple
“I’m Candace.” Jonas had likely been on the verge of introducing them, but she didn’t see the need to wait. She reached out a hand, since she was sitting on his left side, and he took it to shake.
“How was work?” asked Jonas with a faint hint of disapproval. “You weren’t doing any heavy labor, were you, Dad?”
Hank shrugged. “Oh, maybe a bit. We’re in a rush, Candace.”
She was surprised he directed that toward her, and she nodded. “Why?”
“We’re due to get some heavy snow, and we need to get the fields prepped. We seem to be really running behind this year. The weather was so erratic that we couldn’t plant until later, and we’re rushing against Mother Nature to get the fields prepared so they can be ready for spring planting.”
