Chapter 12: Item Three

The dean's office had a long oak table and a view of the lake.

I sat on one side of it with my hands folded.

Hailey's father sat on the other, with the dean at the head between us.

"Miss Tennison," he said, very pleasantly. "My daughter has a gentle heart. She has had a hard life."

"I know. I was there when her mother died."

"Then you understand why I'm concerned."

He slid a printout across the table. It was Hailey's post.

"This weekend she was found in distress on a pier, and then she was left alone with it."

"She followed us. She wasn't found."

"Abigail," the dean said softly.

"I'm sorry. I'd like to say it plainly."

He tapped the printout.

"Your field scholarship is part of the Sundell Fund. I fund it, in part."

He let that sit.

"I do not intend to take it away. I intend to ask you to keep away from my daughter."

"I'm not near her," I said. "She keeps coming near me."

His smile stayed exactly where it was.

"The review will be held Friday at four," the dean said. "You may bring a written statement. That is all."

I stood up and thanked her, because my dad raised me to.

Hailey's father rose too and held the door for me.

"Scholarship students have no safety net, Miss Tennison," he said, low, so only I could hear. "A girl in your position should remember that."

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