Free Finn, Amber - Her Prized Student (Siren Publishing Classic) by Amber Finn Page B

and had classes this semester. Maybe she decided on a bigger place. She did say she would have liked a bigger backyard. He decided to go to the university to see if his aunt knew anything or if there was any information at her office.
    Blake arrived at Avery’s office and saw the door standing open and felt relief at first, thinking she was inside probably hard at work. When he reached the door, his relief turned to panic as he saw that her nameplate was gone and the office was cleared out. He walked inside in a daze.
    “I don’t understand,” he said aloud.
    “She’s gone, Blake.” Blake turned quickly to see his Aunt Amelia standing in the doorway. “She’s gone. I tried to reach you, but your cell phone message said you couldn’t be reached.”
    “Yeah, um, I was with friends in the mountains. No cell phone service,” he said distractedly. “What happened? Why is her house empty and her office cleared out? What the hell is going on here?”
    “Don’t raise your voice with me, young man. Remember who you are talking to,” Amelia reprimanded Blake.
    “I’m sorry, Aunt Amelia. I’m just stunned and a bit scared. I think I may have lost the woman I love forever.”
    Amelia sighed. “Oh, Blake. I wish I could tell you where she is, but I honestly don’t know. Right after she got back from your conference, Ken Scofield showed up in my office with incriminating pictures of the two of you. Someone took pictures of you two in an embrace in Avery’s backyard. No, I don’t know who.”
    Amelia held her hands up to stop Blake from saying anything more as he tried to interrupt her.
    “Anyway, I was forced to call her in. Ken was going to take the pictures to the dean and the president. Before Ken could even lay into her, she stood up to him and basically told him she was not sorry about your relationship and that the rule was stupid. You should have seen her, Blake. She was marvelous. She put Ken back in his place. He was speechless. Before I could say anything, she quit. She had her office cleared out by the end of the day. I asked her where she was going to go, and she said she would check out any leads at MLA. She asked me if I would give a reference if she found anything, but I haven’t heard from her. I’m so sorry, Blake. I have no idea where she went. She wouldn’t leave a forwarding address or number. I don’t think she wants to be found.”
    Blake hung his head dejectedly.
    “There’s one more thing, Blake. She didn’t look good when she left.”
    “What do you mean she didn’t look good?”
    “Well, she was pale and she kept going to the restroom to get sick. I was really worried about her.”
    Blake looked alarmed at the description. “She was the same at the conference. What am I going to do? I’ve got to find her. I’ve got to know if she’s okay. She’s got to know how I feel.”
    “Come to my office, honey. I have an idea.”

    * * * *

    Avery was relaxing on a lounge chair on her lanai. Avery loved Florida. Weston University was on the west side of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. Avery loved the year-round warm temperatures and sunny days. She remembered walking on the beach in January and sleeping with her windows open in July to feel the hot breeze. Still only in her first trimester, Avery wasn’t showing, so the pregnancy wasn’t causing any discomfort other than the nausea. She asked Dr. McKenzie to recommend a doctor in Florida, and he had given her a prescription to help with the nausea. This was the first time Avery was able to eat comfortably. She stretched and thought about the past four weeks. It has been such a whirlwind that this was the first time she’d had to sit and think about things.
    Avery was grateful Dr. Carl Baylor was able to give Avery a position in the department at Weston when she called. It was not a tenure-track position, but it was full-time in the composition section. She called the realtor Carl recommended and chose a three-bedroom home right on the