Chapter 28

The only contention that arose was during the first week of July when Brock sat down with Jen, Tara, Susan and Melanie to discuss college plans. Brock really didn’t need to discuss much. He had already selected his college of choice and had received conditional admittance.

He hadn’t told anyone of his choice for the simple reason that he knew there would be hell to pay when the girls found out. He was right.

“You’re going to college 3,000 miles away?” Susan exclaimed. “Even if the rest of us could get in there’s no way we could afford it. Even though all three of us have pretty high GPAs, I doubt all three of us would be admitted.”

The other three girls just stared at Brock and fumed.

“When did you plan to let us know?” Mel asked. “When you were packing up the U-Haul?”

“I’ve wanted to go to school there since I was a little kid,” Brock said. “Don’t ask me why because I can’t tell you. I sent an application in March and I was conditionally accepted last month.”

“They do have a pretty terrible football team,” Tara said. “I think they lost like 33 games in a row. Did you get a scholarship?”

Brock shook his head.

“I don’t plan to play football there,” he replied. “I might try to walk on my sophomore year. But I mostly want to focus on studies and play baseball.”

Finally Jen asked the question everyone wanted the answer to.

“What about us? You know we all planned to go to school together.”

Brock sighed deeply.

“I do know that,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean we’ll be able to.”

Susan snickered.

“Why not Stanford? They’re as good academically as Duke,” she said. “The rest of us could go to Cal-Berkeley or San Jose State if we didn’t get into Stanford.”

“You’re missing the point,” Brock said defensively. “I want to leave here. I’ve wanted to leave this state for the last year. If it weren’t for the four of you sitting at this table, I’d already be gone. If you don’t get into Duke, you can go to N.C. State or UNC. They’re all close. If you want a smaller school like Branson, you can go to any number of smaller colleges in that area.

“But I truly want to go where the likelihood of anyone knowing my name is minimal. Besides, what do any of you have to keep you nearby? Jen and Mel’s Mom will move close by and so will Tara’s. None of you have boyfriends that I know of. But this is one of those things I need to do. I need a change of scenery and place to finally put Jordan DeVoe to rest.”

The girls looked at one another.

“Let’s see what the Moms say,” Jen said and she and Mel headed next door. Tara raced down the block to speak to her mother. That left Susan and Brock.

“I’m glad I have a minute with you alone,” Brock said and Susan wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“I’ve been thinking of offering a deal to your parents,” Brock continued. Susan eyed him keenly.

“I’m going to offer to drop the civil suit if they agree to donate any money they received from Tom Anderson to a scholarship fund I’ve created,” he said. “It’ll give them a place to live when they get out of prison.”

Susan’s eyes narrowed.

“What do you get out of this?” she asked. Brock had been adamant about getting a pound of flesh from anyone involved in his incarceration.

“The only other stipulation is that they sever their parental rights to you,” he said. “I wanted to discuss this with you before I offered it, obviously. If you don’t want them to be able to do that, I won’t even suggest it. But that will allow you to make your relationship with the Miles family more permanent if you would like or it will allow you to rejoin the Walsh family if you would rather do that.”

Susan continued to look at Brock.

“Again, I’ll ask: What do you get out of this?” she said.

“I was hoping I’d get a smile from you and maybe one from your new sisters and maybe even one from your best friend who’ll know you won’t be leaving again,” he said with a grin. “I think that would be enough for me--to know that you all were happy.”

Susan was on Brock’s lap in a flash and her mouth was pressed firmly against his instantly. She kissed him warmly, then passionately, with her tongue tracing first his lips then the inside of his mouth when he opened to allow her entrance.

It was the scene that greeted the Miles family and the Wyatt family when they entered Brock’s living room.

“How about a few hundred of those and the smiles you were looking for,” Susan said breathlessly when she pulled away. “Would that be enough for you?”

Brock gulped.

“Wow!” he said, unaware of the audience. “I think that would be more than enough.”

“Ahem,” came Leslie’s voice from the doorway. “Enough payment for what?”

Susan was still perched on Brock’s lap and looked as if she had no intention of moving.

“For what we discussed last weekend,” Susan said. “Brock is going to offer to drop the civil suit against my parents if they let me go completely.”

Leslie looked hard at Brock.

“This is a change of heart,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“It is,” Brock said. “There are other stipulations. They have to donate a sum of money equal to what Tom Anderson paid them to a scholarship fund. They have to completely sever their legal relationship with Susan.”

“Tell them the rest,” Susan said and Brock looked her questioningly.

“Tara, Jen and Mel owe Brock something,” she said with a sly smile. The three girls in question blushed.

“Smiles,” Brock said quickly. “I said it would be payment enough for me to see smiles on the faces of Susan’s new sisters and her best friend. That’s all. Uh, the other part Susan just threw in.”

Jen snapped her fingers.

“Hey, no one said we each couldn’t cut our own deal,” Susan said. “The smile was just his requirement. I offered him a few hundred kisses, too.”

“What’s this about colleges in North Carolina?” Erin Wyatt asked to change the subject. “I don’t think Tara needs to be that far away from home.”

Tara turned to her mother defiantly and Brock saw determined looks on the faces of Jen and Melanie.

“I told everyone I’ve selected where I’m going to college,” Brock said. “My choice might have disrupted the plans these four had.”

“Mother, you should know that I’m planning to research the graduate programs at Duke, UNC and North Carolina State,” Melanie said. “I’m on pace to graduate next summer and I plan to look at law schools that are not so close to home.”

Leslie nodded. She had anticipated that Melanie would want to leave the nest. After all, she would be 20 and a college graduate by then. She turned her gaze to Jen.

“I think I’d like to look at what those schools have to offer, too,” Jen said quietly. “But I know money will be an issue. I’m pretty sure I’ll qualify for a couple of scholarships but the in-state and out-of-state tuition might be a real problem so we’ll sit down and discuss it before I get too far along.”

Leslie smiled.

“That’s a very adult decision, Jen,” she said as she put her arm around her daughter. “But don’t you think a visit to the campus should precede any real choice? I think it’s OK to send out your applications. All of you did exceptionally well on the ACTs. Maybe we can plan a trip east over Christmas Break if you’re still interested. Who knows? Brock might get a football scholarship to USC.”