Fall Into Me by Linda Winfree Page A

relaxed and let himself enjoy simply being in Tori’s presence. Full and replete, most of the adults had wandered out to take advantage of the warm afternoon. On the lawn, Chuck tossed a football with his sons. Del’s teenaged daughters had gone down to the dock with iPods and cell phones. Inside, Lenora Calvert enjoyed some quiet grandmother time with Chuck’s daughter while her daughter-in-law rocked the youngest to sleep. That left Mark and Tori on the patio with Del and his wife Barbara and Tick and Caitlin. Home from Georgia Tech for the first time this semester, Blake, Del and Barb’s son, lounged on the steps leading to the screened porch and shared anecdotes about his freshmen induction into college life.
    “Oh man, I have to tell you this one. You won’t believe it.” Blake tossed his long bangs away from Calvert-brown eyes and rested his elbows on the top step. “I’m enrolled in Calculus II, right? And I’m thinking, hey, I survived Ms. Francesco’s AP class, I should be okay.”
    “Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming here?” Del leaned back on the chaise and draped his arm around Barbara’s shoulders. “And maybe an ‘F’ on your grade report?”
    “I’m holding on to a B.” Blake’s teeth flashed in a grin. “Barely. Anyway, this class is hard. So I join a study group with some other kids because midterms are coming up and I know I have to pass that exam. A couple of weeks ago, we’re over at Ellis’s house, studying—”
    “Ellis.” With a knowing expression, Barbara poked Del’s ribs.
    Blake rolled his eyes. “Mama, she’s sixteen and she has a crush on our TA.”
    “Wait.” Tori lifted her hands with a laugh. “Sixteen and a freshman at Georgia Tech?”
    “Yeah. Wild, huh? She’s wicked smart.” Blake leaned forward, hands between his knees. “But you have to let me tell the story.”
    “Go ahead.” Tori subsided, wiggling her shoulder under Mark’s arm. Warmth flashed out from the contact.
    “So it’s late and we’re stuck on derivatives and I’m so lost it’s pitiful. I’m not the only one, either. So Ellis says, ‘I’m calling my brother. He can explain it.’ So she calls him, right? Puts him on speaker on her cell. Sure enough, he can explain it where I can understand it, and everybody is taking notes as fast as they can. The whole time I’m writing, I’m thinking, I know that voice. I’ve heard this guy’s voice before. Then the police radio starts squawking in the background and I finally realize who it is.” Blake paused for effect. “Troy Lee.”
    Tick chuckled. “What?”
    “Swear to God, Ellis’s brother is Troy Lee Farr.” Blake held up both palms. “The next hour, he’s explaining derivatives and integrals over the phone and he’d put us on hold when he stopped to write a ticket or whatever, although it must have been a slow night.”
    Tick rested his elbow on the chair arm and his mouth against his hand. “Troy Lee Farr tutored you in Calculus.”
    “I’m telling you, the guy is a math genius. We all made A’s on the midterm.”
    “So Ellis’s last name didn’t clue you in before she called?” Tori asked, echoing Mark’s thoughts.
    Blake shook his head. “Ellis uses her mom’s maiden name instead of Farr. Doesn’t want people in the math department judging her or treating her special because of her dad.”
    Barbara wound her fingers through Del’s. “What do you mean, because of her dad?”
    “He was some bigwig math professor up there. They named an entire wing of the math building after him when he died. He was mugged leaving school late one night. The guy hit him in the head and he never came out of the coma.” Blake shrugged. “According to Ellis, that’s why Troy Lee became a cop. He’d been a physics major, with a minor in music, but after that he switched to criminal justice.”
    Tick’s eyebrows lifted, a wry expression twisting his face. Wish he’d stayed in physics . Mark sensed the thought flashing through