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more as he tried to interrupt her.
Anyway, I was forced to call her in. Ken was going to take the
pictures to the dean and the president. Before Ken could even lay into
her, she stood up to him and basically told him she was not sorry
about your relationship and that the rule was stupid. You should have
seen her, Blake. She was marvelous. She put Ken back in his place.
He was speechless. Before I could say anything, she quit. She had her
office cleared out by the end of the day. I asked her where she was
going to go, and she said she would check out any leads at MLA. She
asked me if I would give a reference if she found anything, but I
haven t heard from her. I m so sorry, Blake. I have no idea where she
went. She wouldn t leave a forwarding address or number. I don t
think she wants to be found.
Blake hung his head dejectedly.
There s one more thing, Blake. She didn t look good when she
left.
What do you mean she didn t look good?
Well, she was pale and she kept going to the restroom to get sick.
I was really worried about her.
Blake looked alarmed at the description. She was the same at the
conference. What am I going to do? I ve got to find her. I ve got to
know if she s okay. She s got to know how I feel.
Come to my office, honey. I have an idea.
* * * *
70 Amber Finn
Avery was relaxing on a lounge chair on her lanai. Avery loved
Florida. Weston University was on the west side of Florida on the
Gulf of Mexico. Avery loved the year-round warm temperatures and
sunny days. She remembered walking on the beach in January and
sleeping with her windows open in July to feel the hot breeze. Still
only in her first trimester, Avery wasn t showing, so the pregnancy
wasn t causing any discomfort other than the nausea. She asked Dr.
McKenzie to recommend a doctor in Florida, and he had given her a
prescription to help with the nausea. This was the first time Avery
was able to eat comfortably. She stretched and thought about the past
four weeks. It has been such a whirlwind that this was the first time
she d had to sit and think about things.
Avery was grateful Dr. Carl Baylor was able to give Avery a
position in the department at Weston when she called. It was not a
tenure-track position, but it was full-time in the composition section.
She called the realtor Carl recommended and chose a three-bedroom
home right on the beach. She decided to rent for the moment as her
home up north still needed to be sold, and she would have to hire full-
service movers. She packed up what she would need for one week and
let the movers do the rest. She drove herself to Weston, Florida in two
days, and two weeks later she was relaxing on the lanai. She loved
being able to walk out to the beach whenever she wanted and thought
about raising her child here.
That thought made her think of Blake. As her thoughts wandered
to Blake, she tried to steer them away but could not. Her heart ached
as she thought of him. Was she making the right decision by not
telling him about the baby? The further she got from the conference,
the more she thought, perhaps, she had been unfair expecting Blake to
tell her about Leslie when Avery wasn t even taking Blake s calls.
She also began to rethink cutting him out of her life and not letting
him know he was to be a father. Avery could see the situation with
better clarity now. She needed to call Blake. He needed to know about
Her Prized Student 71
the baby. The thought filled her with dread. How would he react? Did
he even still care about her?
Avery got up and went to the great room. She picked up her cell
phone to call Blake. She paced the room as she waited for him to
answer.
Hello? Avery, is that you?
Avery couldn t be sure, but she thought he sounded excited to
hear from her. Yes, it s me, Blake. Do you have a minute? I need to
talk to you.
Baby, I ve got all the time in the world. Open your door.
Avery froze. She could not have heard him correctly. Blake, I m
in Florida now.
I know, baby. Open the door. Please.
Oh, my God!
Avery dropped the phone and ran to the door. She flung it open
and there Blake was, standing with his cell phone still to his ear, tears
in his eyes. Avery was sobbing as Blake enveloped Avery in his arms.
Please don t ever let me go. I ve missed you so much.
It wasn t quite what Blake was hoping to hear, but it was close.
I m not going anywhere. I m here to stay, sweetheart. Can I
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