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Lia arched a brow, suddenly understanding why Vanna might have felt a connection to this woman.
“You knew how to reach out to Vanna,” she said.
“As much as she would allow.”
“Including an internship in Pike?” Kaden abruptly asked.
Mary sent him a startled glance. As if surprised he knew about Vanna’s time in Pike.
“Yes. Vanna was ambitious and she was genuinely interested in protecting the environment. But I’d discovered over the years that for many students, the desire to save the world was one thing and spending your days testing landfills and spill off from sewers is another.” A rueful smile curved her lips. “I wanted her to understand what fieldwork would entail before she committed to a career in the EPA.”
“Smart,” Lia said. She’d gotten her degree with no genuine knowledge of what she wanted to do when she graduated. Luckily, she managed to discover a career that was perfect for her.
Mary made a sound of disgust at the compliment. “As I said, I’m sometimes too smart for my own good.”
Chapter 25
Kaden sensed the edge of bitterness in the older woman’s tone. Along with a heavy sense of guilt. Emotions that were all too familiar. He’d carried them since his brother’s death.
But while he sympathized with her regrets, he was more interested in just how close she’d been to Vanna. And whether she could reveal any conflicts Vanna might have had during her time with the extension office.
“Did something go wrong during her internship?” he asked.
Mary grimaced. “At first she complained about the town, the locals, the endless boredom.”
“Anything specific?”
“No. Just the tedium of a young, attractive woman being buried in the middle of nowhere.”
Lia smiled wryly. “She wasn’t the only young woman to complain.”
Mary nodded, as if she agreed it wasn’t easy to be stuck in a small town with no entertainment.
“It’s what I expected, but surprisingly, she didn’t lose her interest in her career. In fact, she was more determined than ever to join the EPA.”
Kaden absorbed her words. Vanna was a weirdly complex woman. Ambitious and greedy and immoral. Yet devoted to his brother and worried about the environment.
“That seems like a good thing,” Lia said.
“It was.”
Lia frowned in confusion. “What happened?”
“After the first month, she stopped coming back to Madison so often. She said she was busy, and I let it go for several weeks. Then I became worried and decided to travel to Pike to check on her.”
“Why would you be worried?” Kaden demanded, genuinely interested. “I would have assumed she’d made some friends and preferred to stay in Pike rather than make the two-hour drive every Friday.”
The professor looked away, as if she didn’t want him to see her reaction to his question.
“I was concerned she might have bailed on the internship and was too embarrassed to tell me that she quit,” Mary grudgingly shared her fear. “Vanna was ambitious, but she also battled a self-destructive impulse.”
Ah. Kaden belatedly understood the woman’s unease. He didn’t have any trouble believing Vanna would walk away from a commitment she’d decided wasn’t going to be beneficial to her career. Or her bank balance.
“But she hadn’t quit?”
“No.”
“Did she tell you why she stopped coming home?” Lia asked.
