Page 68 of Conrad

She turned onto the two-lane county road back to the highway, noticed that the snow had started to stick, turning the road a little slick.

“I personally like kidney-costing coffee. Give me a latte at Caribou any day.”

“I got used to the cafeteria coffee at the U, and there’s a perverse sort of joy in the suffering. It offsets my clothing budget.”

“Is that an issue?”

She sighed. “It should be. I barely make ends meet with the podcast. But of course . . . there’s the trust fund . . . I’m so weak.”

“I think it’s fantastic that you want to make it on your own.”

Sweet.

“Except, why is it so important? Your dad seems like a generous guy.”

She didn’t know why Conrad’s words hit with such force. She probably winced, because he frowned.

“Did I say something?”

Shoot,her eyes suddenly burned—where had that come from? She’d made peace years ago with—“No. Yes.” She glanced at him. “My dad refused to pay the ransom on me when I was kidnapped.”

There, it was out. And her chest eased. “He told me it was because he knew who took me, that he knew my nanny wouldn’t hurt me, but . . . I don’t know. It’s always made me feel like . . . you know . . .”

“You needed to be on your own. Take care of yourself.”

She lifted a shoulder. “I never know when someone is going to betray me.”

He went silent, and she winced again when he said, quietly, “That explains a lot.”

She looked at him then, probably for too long, because he jerked, slammed his hand on the dash.

“Pen!”

She righted them into the lane a second before the other car passed. But she slightly overcompensated and their car swerved.

Yanking her foot off the gas, she resisted hitting the brakes, let the car slow on its own, and straightened them out. She blew out a breath as she eased them up to speed again.

“Wow. That was . . . pretty good.”

“I took a defensive driving class in college.”

“Sexy.”

She smiled, glanced at him.

“Eyes on the road!”

“Sorry.”

Night was descending, twilight sparking through the trees. Headlights beamed on the road behind her.

“Sorry about your dad,” Conrad said.

“I forgave him long ago. He is pretty smart with money—he’s managed our family’s investment holdings since he was out of finance school.”

“At the U?”

“Cornell. I was the only one who went to the University of Minnesota.”

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