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All of a sudden, this is becoming very real. Telling Caleb. Being on campus. Diving so deep into change, my comfort zone is miles above me and far out of sight.
“Good.” Dean Williams smiles. “Now that you’re enrolled as a student, you’ll receive a welcome packet in the mail. That will explain how to set up your student account, register for classes, and should provide you with all the information you’ll need to become a full-time student. If you have questions about any of that, I would be happy to answer them. But I really wanted to set up this meeting to check in with you. We like to do so with all of our transfer students, seniors or not. I know you requested an extension on your acceptance because of bereavement. I wanted to offer my sincere condolences and make certain you know there are lots of resources at your disposal to make this as smooth and easy of a transition as possible.”
“Thank you,” I reply.
“I’ve looked at your records, and you’re an exceptional student. I don’t anticipate that you’ll have any trouble managing the course load here or adjusting to a new academic atmosphere. The same is true for most of our senior transfers. It’s usually the social transition they find most difficult. We hold events throughout the year to provide opportunities for transfer students to meet one another. I hope you’ll find the time to attend them if possible. Do you know any current Clarkson students, by chance?”
“Uh, one.”
“Is he or she a senior as well?”
“He. Yes. We went to high school together.”
Dean Williams glances at a folder on her desk. I’m guessing it’s my file. “Landry High School?”
I nod.
“The only other senior student we have from Landry High School is Caleb Winters.”
I’m not sure how to respond to that, and it must show on my face. For the first time in this conversation, Dean Williams is the one who looks unsure. “My husband is a big baseball fan,” she tells me, looking almost sheepish.
“Oh,” I reply. “Well, uh, yeah. I’m talking about him.” My nerves have dissipated, but I wasn’t expecting either Gramps or Caleb to come up during this meeting.
“I’m sure Mr. Winters will be a great resource for you,” Dean Williams states. “Our athletic teams are quite involved in campus life.”
I smile, awkwardly.
“All right. Well, let me run through a few logistics with you, and then I’ll introduce you to Samantha Bridges. She will be the one giving you your tour today. She’s a junior and a journalism major, so she should be able to answer any questions you have from a student perspective.”
“Sounds great,” I reply.
And just like that, I’m a student at Clarkson University.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
CALEB
Lennon carries two more boxes out of the farmhouse and stacks them by my truck. Most of her hair has fallen out of its ponytail. She swipes some strands out of her face and straightens. “This is the rest of it.”
“Okay,” I reply, hiding a smile.
When the horses left an hour ago, it was with twenty boxes of supplements, fly sheets, halters, brushes, and who knows what else.
Lennon’s belongings barely fill half the truck’s bed.
I add the two boxes she just brought out to the few already in the truck. Lennon fiddles with the keys she’s holding as she glances around the yard.
“I guess this is it,” she states.
Nothing looks different. Her horses are gone, hauled away by one of my family’s fancy racing rigs to their new home down the road. But the barn looks the same. The old truck is parked outside it, just like always. And the exterior of the farmhouse doesn’t reveal the interior has been stripped. Lennon donated all of Earl’s belongings to charity. All her clothes are in my truck. An auction house is coming to collect all the furniture tomorrow.
“Let’s go,” she tells me, heading toward the passenger door.
“If you want to—”
Lennon doesn’t even let me get the whole offer out. “No, I’m ready to go. Let’s go.”
“All right.” I climb into the driver’s seat and shift the truck into drive. Lennon fiddles with the stereo. I watch her out of the corner of my eye as she scans through the stations, pausing on one and then flipping forward two more without stopping.
