She’d said she was in her last few months of school and then she planned to travel for a while. She was almost two years older than he and much more experienced in everything. The things she’d taught him still warmed his blood when he thought of them.

As the years passed, Benjamin did what he always did. He pushed the fuzzy memory of her back where all the sad ones from his childhood lived. An only child on a farm with no one to play with. A kid too shy to make friends. A student who felt alone most of the time, even with people around.

The one time he’d really connected with someone hadn’t stuck. The lake weekend was just a fluke, nothing more.

Then, years later, with one brush of his cheek against her breast, a twenty-year-old feeling came back. The one weekend when he’d totally connected with someone.

Every memory rolled over him like a tidal wave now.

The biology professor, the woman he’d avoided since she’d started in the fall, the noisy, bothersome teacher had once been his lover for a blink in time. His only true lover.

Fate hated him. When you’re young, you think love is easy to find, but as you grow older, you realize how rare it is.

“Dr. Monroe?” came a low voice from the back of the room.

Ben turned to face Ketch Kincaid, a young man who would make his name in biochemistry one day. “I’m ready, Kincaid.” Ben pulled back to reality. “We’re meeting Miss Clark in the conference room. With few people on campus, we can spread out on the big table and work there.”

Benjamin noticed a cut ran along Ketch’s hairline. “You all right?”

“Yeah. I accidentally ran into the road.” The ex-soldier grinned. “After three years I decided to try Clifton’s night life Saturday night. Big mistake.”

Ben shook his head. “I tried that once in Austin.”

They moved to the meeting room, and Ketch politely said hello to Professor Clark and two of her students she’d recruited to help for extra credit.

While they planned the schedule, Ben stared at the biology teacher. It had to be her. The girl called Red. Most of the gang called him Farmer that winter. It seemed a time when everyone had nicknames. She’d been thin twenty years ago. Her hair had been darker and much longer. But her smile was the same. She’d seemed more girl than woman then.

He wondered if she remembered him. He’d had a beard then, like everyone had. His hair was longer. Gray peppered his once dark hair now.

Jenny looked directly at him and said, “Let’s get to work, Doctor. We’ve got one week to do the research and get the study ready.”