Page 16 of Where Secrets Lie

He turned at the sound of her shoes on the wooden pier, and his smile emerged. Her chest eased until she got closer and saw the shadow in his blue eyes. Was he still mad at her? She checked her initial response to kiss him until he opened his arms.

She stepped into his embrace. “I missed you, Hez.” There was no reservation in his tight hug or his tender kiss. Whatever had caused that expression must not be about their relationship.

He released her and led her to the wooden bench built into the side of the pier. “I can see in your eyes that you’re about to burst with something to tell me.”

She pushed her hair out of her face, but the wind snatched it again. “I can tell you’re worried about something. You go first.”

He settled his arm around her shoulders. “I saw a neurologist today.”

Her chest tightened. “There’s something wrong?” Her mind ran through the possibilities—a brain bleed, a tumor. Something had caused that shadow in his eyes.

“I don’t have the results of the CT scan yet. The doctor should get them later today. She said she’d call when she had them. My pupils aren’t dilated though, and she didn’t see anything problematic in the initial consult. She checked my gait and balance. The test will tell her more, though.”

She leaned into his side, and her relieved breath fogged the cool air. “I know you did it for me, so thank you. I’ll feel better if we know for sure you’re all right.” Though she didn’t mention the wine bottle, she knew it had to be uppermost in his mind. “If the initial exam went well, why do you still look so upset?”

He pulled her closer and rested his chin on top of her head. “There’s more. I ran into Martine.” He told her about the conversation and how unsettled it had left him. “I called Hope, and she told me Beckett has struck a deal. His conviction is being overturned, and Deke Willard is taking the fall. We both know Beckett was the mastermind and probably the killer. Whatever Deke did, he didn’t do it alone.”

Savannah shuddered. “How can Drake just let him go like that? Doesn’t he care about justice at all?”

Hez shrugged and lifted his chin off her hair. “Drake’s political ambitions outweigh his sense of right and wrong. It happens more than I’d like to admit. And with Beckett walking free around Nova Cambridge, maybe it’s for the best you didn’t get tenure. Who knows how he might try to harm us to get revenge? You’ll be safer out of his line of sight.”

He wasn’t going to like her news, and she didn’t know how to feel about it herself—especially now that Beckett would be on the loose. She turned in his embrace so she could see his expression. “My father is part of the selection committee for a new president. He and the other members came to see me today. They offered me the job.”

His eyes went wide. “The president’s job? How do you feel about it?”

“Jess doesn’t want me to do it.” She told him about Jess’s desire to get her away from the fallout.

“She’s not wrong. I’d hate to see your father’s bad decisions take you down. Jimmy offered me a spot for the Justice Chamber in Birmingham and even offered to help you get a position with one of the universities there. He’s got the clout to do it too. Beckett would be hundreds of miles away, and you’d be safe.”

“Jess said I needed a good landing spot. Birmingham would be perfect for that.”

“It really would. We’d be close enough to Nova Cambridge and Pelican Harbor to visit whenever we wanted, but far enough away that we wouldn’t be affected by the problems down here.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “We could buy a nice place in the suburbs—maybe Mountain Brook. It’s a beautiful town with great public schools. I’m not trying to persuade you one way or the other, but we have choices.”

She could see every detail of the idyllic scene. They would live on a quiet, leafy street with great schools and parks. Every morning, they would have breakfast in a sun-filled kitchen. Then they would get in the car and drive to the neighborhood school, where she and Hez would drop off their new child—or children?—for a top-notch education. The two of them would drive into the city, where she would be a tenured professor and Hez would lead the crusade at the Justice Chamber. It would be perfect, except...

What about TGU? Two years ago, she would have told herself there was nothing she could do, that it wasn’t her fault, that she and Hez deserved some happiness after all they’d been through, that she didn’t need to think about what happened at TGU. She would have turned her back on the whole mess and embraced the bright dream in front of her. Now it wasn’t so easy.

“It’s hard to let Beckett waltz back in and figure out a way to continue his illicit business. My dad will install another corrupt president and continue to milk TGU for every penny. I’m not sure I can walk away and let that happen. Doesn’t the injustice get to you sometimes, Hez? It seems the bad guys often win.”

He grimaced. “Oh, it gets to me. Sometimes I want to walk away and never see the shenanigans pulled behind closed doors again. But I can’t do it. If those of us who value justice turn our backs, the little guy will have no chance in the system. So I stay and fight, along with thousands of others who care.”

She cupped his face in her palms. “And your integrity is one of the reasons I love you. How can I walk away now? If good people do nothing, evil wins. My father wins. Beckett wins.TGU will fall, and I would have to live with the fact that I stood back and let it happen.”

He remained silent for a long moment. The furrows on his brow deepened. “It’s not going to be easy, babe. Beckett will be out as soon as Deke Willard’s trial is over, maybe even sooner. We have to assume he’ll come after us. I don’t want you to have a target on your back.”

She let her hands fall back to her lap. “I don’t know if I can save it, but my family’s legacy will be no more if TGU closes. Thousands of students and university employees will suffer if I fail. Beckett doesn’t scare me. I dealt with him once, and I can do it again.” TGU anchored most of the good memories of her childhood, and she couldn’t bear to let her father strip away her family’s legacy. It was her legacy too—hers and Hez’s. Their daughter’s grave, nestled with those of her mother and her grandparents, looked down on the beautiful buildings and tree-lined streets. “I have to try to save TGU.”

“If anyone can do it, you can.” He swept his hand toward the water. “Your heart is as big as the ocean.”

She smiled and leaned in for a lingering kiss before pulling back and searching his gaze with her own. “You’ll help me, won’t you, Hez? A university president needs a good special counsel.”

“You know I will. Together we’re a force of nature. And Jess will help. Besides, I wouldn’t mind another shot at Beckett. We never got to the bottom of the smuggling, and I’ll bet he was involved.”

“You’ll start the Justice Chamber here? The publicity might help TGU.”

“I’ll get right on it. When you take over, you can assign me some space to begin.”

Her heart was lighter with the decision made and Hez fully on board. But neither of them had mentioned the wine bottle. Maybe it was best to leave it that way until they heard about the scan.

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