Casting Doubt
A Baxter Academy Novella ~ The Academy #3
Jane Charles
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
More
EXCERPT – BETWEEN THE LINES
About Jane Charles
Jane Charles’s New Adult Romance
Jane Charles’s Historical Romance
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by Jane Charles
Cover Design 2016 Covers By Lily
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Dedication
For Michael – who enjoys the old romantic movies as much as I do.
Jane
One
Taking a deep breath and wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, I round the corner and step onto the square. I don’t want to seem obvious so I pretend I’m out for a stroll and doing a little window shopping, just in case I happen run into him. Not that I expect to, but I’m still nervous.
It’s crazy, I know. Nobody is paying attention to me. A few of the shops hold my interest and if I wasn’t intent on my main goal, I would have probably gone inside. It’s a beautiful spring day and a number of people are out and about. Especially teenagers, enjoying their first day of Spring Break. It’s odd that the first day is a Wednesday, but from what I understand, the public schools in the district only used two snow days of the seven planned, plus they begin the school year two weeks earlier than everyone else because they’ve always gone over in snow days. Now they’re ahead of schedule. Since ending school early would mess with end of school year activities, like award banquets, prom, spring musical and graduation, they extended Spring Break by three days to give the kids, and teachers, a longer vacation before the final push.
My Spring Break began yesterday at exactly three o’clock when I learned that my Wednesday morning classes were cancelled because both professors were sick. There’s a nasty flu on campus and I was ready to get out of there before I got sick too. As for my Thursday classes, one professor has been sick, another offered up homework in exchange for not attending class, and a third had already cancelled because they had an early flight to Jamaica. It’s been a long, tough semester, with half of the student body and a good number of the professors coming down with the flu in the last few weeks, some developing pneumonia, that we all just need to go somewhere else not so germ-filled. And, since I don’t have any classes on Friday, I packed and came home last night.
My friends are headed to the beach. I could go, but I’m really not in the mood for a week of partying. Okay, I could be in the mood, but I don’t exactly have the money. I’m probably the poorest student attending Vassar. Not that I care all that much, but a number of my friends and roommates just don’t get that I can’t just charge whatever I want, whenever I want, simply because it’s something I want.
Besides, since this past winter, I’ve been waiting for the moment when I can run into Jesse Tinley. I met him last November and we spent a pleasant afternoon before Thanksgiving at Sullivan’s Pub. Something clicked that day, and I’m not sure what it was or if I was the only one who felt an immediate connection between us. I did come by his studio during winter break, but by the time I got to town he’d already closed down and wouldn’t be opening back up until after the first of the year. I considered trying to find out his home address, but that seemed rather stalkerish. And, it isn’t like we made plans to see each other ever again.
I did try to find him on one of the many social media sites, but he isn’t anywhere to be found. I thought there would at least be a website or Facebook page for his studio, but nothing. If Alexia, the art teacher who works with Jesse and lives with my brother, Kian, hadn’t mentioned him in passing, I’d wonder if I imagined meeting Jesse. But, I had, and it’s an afternoon that has stayed with me. I can’t stop thinking about him and I need to know if there really was a connection, for lack of better description, or if I simply imagined it.
Not that I intend on getting involved with anyone at this point in my life. I’ve still got two years and six weeks of school left. That’s hard enough without being in a relationship. Yet, I can’t ignore what I feel and until I talk to Jesse again, it’s going to bug me and I’ll always wonder what if.
His gallery door is open and my heartbeat increases. I was only in here for a minute last time, when Jesse stopped in to let his employee know that the two of us would be at Sullivan’s. The teenage girl had given me a nasty look. I remember working retail and wanting to get out of the store as soon as possible. Especially when there were no customers. She probably wasn’t happy about being stuck there while the owner went off for a beer.
Taking another deep breath, I step inside and glance around. Paintings cover the walls. Those had not been there before. It adds a cheeriness to the place. On different stands are various ceramic work and sculptures. These are Jesse’s. Or, at least I assume they are. He is a potter and sculptor and teaches ceramics at Baxter Academy of Art in the afternoon. Baxter is not a public school, but privately run. The school year runs from the first Monday after July 4th to May 31st, with a one week
