But what I loved was the private backyard with the high hedge surrounding it and the narrow herb garden that was off the kitchen. As a student of history, and more particularly as someone who was borderline obsessed with how and why people from the past behaved the way they did, I loved imagining the families who’d occupied this space. I could just see the hired cook wandering around this little green space with a basket and snips, choosing herbs for what she planned to cook that evening.
Mom had laughed as she’d told me about the initial tour she’d been given before she and Daddy had moved in. The woman from the West Point housing office had pointed out where my mother could have herhelpsleep if she chose to have someone live in. We’d all had a giggle over that idea.
“The help? Is that who I am now?” I’d teased.
“That’s what I’m going to call you!” Mom had declared. “And I’ll remind you of that when I need a hand in the kitchen.”
“Hey.” I’d thrust out a hand. “If the pay is good, I’m not too proud to be the hired help.”
Remembering that exchange, I was still grinning as I searched for the assistant department chair’s phone number and hit the button to dial it.
She answered almost immediately. “Pamela Rogers.”
“Dr. Rogers.” I cleared my throat. “This is Willow Casey. I just received your email . . . you had asked me to call right away. I hope it’s okay that I didn’t wait until tomorrow, though.”
“Oh, Ms. Casey, no problem at all. This is actually perfect—I was just going over my calendar for next week. I have an opening on Tuesday afternoon right after lunch, if you could make that work.”
I didn’t even play coy and claim I had to check my own schedule. “I can absolutely do that.” I already knew that Boston was a little less than four hours from West Point. I could get up early that morning and drive into the city for the interview and then just stay over that night. With any luck, I’d have something to celebrate before I left to drive back to New York.
“Wonderful! I read your CV and knew right away that you could be a great fit for this opening.” She paused. “The young woman who had previously committed to the position eloped and moved to South Africa. While of course we would never discriminate against any candidate, I did want to ask . . . are you engaged or about to be?”
I bit back a snort. “No, I’m not. Not either. I’m not even dating anyone. My education is the only commitment I have these days.”
“Well, then, that’s excellent.” I could practically see Dr. Rogers rubbing her hands together in glee at my single status. “I mean, there is a time and a place . . . but working toward your doctorate would certainly be challenging if you’re juggling a family at the same time.”
“I can only imagine,” I agreed. “But I don’t plan to find out. I’m not looking for anything right now except for a job that will let me work in my field while I go for my doctorate.”
“You’re going to fit in perfectly.” Dr. Rogers sounded positive giddy. “Let me give you some information on where we’ll meet and what we’ll discuss.”
“Okay—just give me a minute to put you on speaker and open my notes app.” I sat down on the stone bench next to the rhododendron, balancing my phone on my knees as I switched the call to speaker and scrolled to find my notes. I had just opened the app and started a new page when a notification popped onto my screen.
Did you forget to log your last period?
I frowned, staring down at the cheery little happy face set in the middle of a cartoon alarm clock.Had I forgotten?I wracked my brain. No. I hadn’t gotten my period since I’d been at West Point—actually, not since I’d been back from Europe. I knew that for sure because I hadn’t been able to fit my last box of tampons into my suitcase. I hadn’t worried too much because I’d checked my app and realized my next period wasn’t due until after I was scheduled to be here at West Point.
But it hadn’t come.
Panic gripped my body, and I sucked in a quick breath, my mind reeling as I tried to make sense of the fact that my period was . . . holy shit, almost three weeks late.
It was just the travel. Just all of the upheaval of flying to the states and then my week with Cindy and Violet, and then getting settled here at West Point . . . that had to be it. There couldn’t be any other rational answer. It wasn’t like I’d been hooking up left and right over the past couple of months. In fact, there’d only been that one time—
Right away, an image flashed across my mind. Intense dark eyes fastened on mine as he moved above me, pleasure and desire on his face—
“Ms. Casey? Are you still there? Did I lose you?”
“Ah, no. I mean, yes, I’m still here. Sorry, my phone was just a little slow to open my notes app.” My hand was shaking just slightly. “All set now. Go ahead whenever you’re ready.”
“All right, then, my office is in the Cummings building . . .”
As Dr. Rogers continued in her crisp, no-nonsense voice, my fingers flew over the keyboard of my phone, noting everything she said.
But even as I did, one small part of my brain was still seeing that annoying little alarm clock with its unwelcome and jarring reminder.
And as much as I tried not to think about it, that part of my brain was in full-on panic mode.
ChapterTwo
Dean
