Chapter Twelve
Walker
“Your father is going to be okay.” I hold Rosie against my chest as we stand in the early morning light outside of the sliding doors of the hospital, her tiny hand in mine.
“This should prompt him to get the help he needs. Sometimes a person has to hit rock bottom before they can see the changes that need to be made.”
Tears roll down her cheeks as she tightens her grip on my waist. “I know, but I shouldn’t have left the keys to the car at the house. Why did I leave the keys?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, baby.” I kiss her head over and over again, tugging her in tighter. “He’s a grown man. He has responsibility for his own actions. No one else got hurt, and he’s going to be okay. We have to hope this is the wake-up call he needed.”
She nods slowly, our bodies fused together in the dim light of the rising sun.
This isn’t how I wanted our first morning together to be, and I hate that she has to deal with any of this, but when the call came in just before dawn, I knew we had no other choice but to get back to the city as quickly as possible.
“Professor Wilder?” Tiffany pokes her head out onto the sidewalk where Rosie and I stand tucked together closely.
Shit.
I should let her go. I should cover my tracks. I should do a lot of things, but I can’t, not now. My girl needs me.
“Tiffany,” I say, trying to sound like it’s completely normal to be standing on the sidewalk holding a student at daybreak, “what are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
Rosie pulls away from the embrace and wipes her face quickly, forcing a smile she shouldn’t have to force.
“I volunteer here.” Tiffany glances toward Rosie, then toward me again, as though she’s trying to put the puzzle together.
“I get credits for this instead of doing homework for a few of my classes. It’s an arrangement with Dean Andrews.
” She grins. “Technically, I don’t have to do homework for your class, but I like philosophy.
You’re so interesting.” The girl with stringy blonde hair glances toward Rosie. “Why are you here?”
Rosie wipes a tear off her cheek. “My dad is in the hospital. He got into a car accident last night. He was driving drunk.”
I shouldn’t reach for her again. I’ve already given too many people the wrong idea, but I do. I reach for her and wrap her close, burying her against my chest. I don’t care who knows it anymore. She’s my girl. If my whole world has to change because of this, then so be it.
“Oh.” Tiffany flips her hair back away from her face.
“Why is Professor Wilder here with you? Do you guys have a thing going on?” Her brows lift knowingly as she leans in, her voice quieting as she says, “You can tell me. I won’t say a word.
I’ve had my own thing going on with Dean Andrews for the last two semesters.
” She shrugs like it’s nothing. “He gives me whatever I want and I just… suck him off and stuff. It’s so easy. ”
My chest tightens and the anger I’d been trying so desperately to stamp down earlier comes rising to the surface again. “I’m turning him into the board of trustees.”
She narrows her gaze. “Looks like you’re doing the same thing. Why would you turn him in? Everything we’re doing is consensual.”
“This isn’t the same thing. I love Rosie.”
Tiffany’s jaw drops. “Oh.”
Silence ensues. A silence that engulfs everything.
“Well,” Tiffany nods, “I guess that’s not the same then, though you are still sleeping with a student, which I’m pretty sure is off limits, so… kind of the same thing.”
My chest burns. “I’m resigning at the end of the semester. I won’t work for a school run by a man like Dean Andrews. He’s a fucking psychopath.”
Tiffany rolls her eyes and flips her hair back as though she’s about to get one over on me. “I’ll make sure and let him know.”
“Please do. You can also tell him I hope his jaw feels better soon?” I spin away from Tiffany and back toward my girl whose gaze has gone wide.
“You’re resigning?”
I let out a heavy sigh and lead her toward a bench to the right of the door. I’m not sure where Tiffany disappeared to but I’m sure she’s inside somewhere calling the dean with news she thinks he’s unaware of.
“I am. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but with everything going on with your dad last night, I figured we needed the break.”
She nods slowly as a bird continues to call out the arrival of the sun. “So what happened?”
“The dean cornered me after you left this afternoon. He’s been abusing his power, screwing around with a bunch of girls.
He compared me to him, and I… I’m not him Rosie.
I’ve never done this before. Hell, I’ve never thought of doing this until you walked into my class.
” I sweep a strand of hair away from her face.
“I fell in love with you, and Dean Andrews needs to be stopped.”
She swallows hard. “But no one will hire you again if they know what you’ve done, right?”
I shrug and tug her against my chest. “I don’t know. At this point, I don’t care. You’re my number one priority.”
“But your job is important too.” She sighs sweetly as she stares at me. “Your book and—”
“My book will get written, and jobs can be found again. But you… you’re once in a lifetime, and I’m not giving you up.
” I kiss her forehead gently and lift her chin until her blue eyes meet mine.
“I’ve got plenty of money saved and a good relationship with the board.
I’ll work something out.” I slowly tuck her head under my chin.
“And your father is facing criminal charges for the drunk driving, which sounds bad, but it’s actually good.
It means he’s going to get court-mandated rehab.
Not to mention that you’re going to finish school, get that degree, and you’re going to make your Daddy proud.
” I sweep a strand of hair off her face. “How does all that sound?”
She stares at me for a long moment before finally nodding. “I think I can work with that.”
“Okay then.” I stand and reach for her hand, knowing it’s my job to make her smile. “I think we need breakfast. Does my girl want pancakes or French toast?”
“Pancakes.” She bites back a smile as I lift her up into my arms.
“With strawberries and whipped cream?”
“Strawberries and whipped cream,” she says sweetly as I carry her toward the truck, her arm tucked around my shoulder.
I never imagined anything would mean more to me than my career, and I certainly never imagined a world where a love like this would ever make sense. But here, with my girl, I realize love is the only thing that will ever make sense again.