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there’s something more,” Nash said, “another reason you don’t like Tess, because based on your description, I have to agree with Kelly. Tess sounds like a typical teenage girl.” He braced his hands on the desk, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge hard. “That you happen not to like.”
    Kelly had picked up on Ms. Julie Bernard’s attitude, but she figured Nash would be the first one to jump all over Tess for hers. Instead, his perceptiveness surprised her.
    Kelly folded her arms over her chest and waited for the woman to reply.
    “Okay, fine. I’m well aware of the fact that Mr. Barron—Ethan Barron—wrote a large check to get his sister into this school. And if the institution hadn’t been financially crippled by his wife’s father, Martin Harrington, the school wouldn’t have needed the influx his cash provided.”
    “And a child like Tess would have been turned away?” Kelly asked bitterly.
    “Yes.” Ms. Bernard didn’t flinch as she replied.
    “Shame on you,” Nash said as he rose to his feet. He grasped Kelly’s hand and pulled her to a standing position beside him.
    She was too stunned to do anything but follow and admire as she watched him in action.
    “Excuse me?” Ms. Bernard asked.
    “I said, shame on you . As an educator, you’re supposed to be tolerant and understanding of each child as an individual. All I hear now is bias toward an innocent kid who’s had a rough life and whose brother cared enough about her to give her a second chance. Not to mention that he helped stabilize your school’s financial situation at the same time.”
    Kelly wanted to applaud.
    Ms. Bernard rose to her feet. Her diminutive height didn’t help her cause. “I have colleagues who lost jobs because of Faith Harrington’s father. Programs were cut. Children who were thriving here were forced to return to public school when their parents also lost their savings!” The older woman trembled with anger.
    “So did my parents,” Nash said to her. “My foster father had a heart attack and died not long after. But at least my parents placed the blame with the person on whom it belongs. You’re taking your anger out on a child.”
    Nash turned to leave, but Kelly, stunned by Nash’s revelations, still had one thing more to add. “You can be certain that Ethan Barron and his wife, who so generously provided money to this school, will hear about how his sister is being treated.” Kelly stormed out of the classroom, breathing hard, Nash right behind her.
    Once in the hall, she turned to him. “You were amazing! The way you stood up for Tess! Ethan and Faith will be so grateful you backed them up too.”
    Nash pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned against the wall, his breathing shallow. “I didn’t do it for them.”
    “I know. You did it for Tess.”
    “Who wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for Ethan,” Nash said.
    Kelly reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. “But she wouldn’t have this opportunity, either,” she gently reminded him.
    He met her gaze.
    In his eyes, she saw a pain that touched her deeply. “I want to help,” she said softly.
    He drew a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”
    “Where?”
    “Someplace where you can learn all about the Barron brothers’ sordid history.”

Three
    Nash and Kelly drove through downtown Serendipity. The sun hadn’t set completely, but streetlights were on in readiness for the night. He wound through familiar back streets until they reached a small house at the end of a cul-de-sac. A house he knew as well as he knew his own name. He, Ethan, and Dare used to play in the yard and they’d learned to ride bikes around the circle. He glanced up at the old place he still thought of as home. Even the front windows still held the bright orange-red Tot Finder stickers on the room he’d shared with Dare. He wondered whether children lived there now or the owners were just too lazy to remove the decals.
    “Where