Right from the Start Read Free Page A

lobbying for divorce reform.”
    “Maybe.” Not that he read much anymore. Not unless an issue
involved the City of Hendersonville. For those issues he stayed tuned to the
local radio station whenever he was in his truck and pored through council
briefings in any spare moment. There weren’t many of those.
    “The agency fits the criteria for both Family Foundations and
the Ramsey Foundation?” he asked. That was critical, and so far they hadn’t had
much luck.
    “Looks like Positive Partings might be the answer to our
prayers. Judge Parrish spoke highly of the owner and said they’d worked together
with the family court. I did some research. The agency opened two years ago and
serves a huge network of professionals from all over the state.”
    “Does it need more space?”
    “Possibly. The owner teaches divorcing parent classes for the
court. Apparently that’s a part of all the lobbying she does—she’s trying to
standardize the system of court-ordered education.”
    “Those classes need reform. I attended one with some guy who
managed to make four hours feel like two lifetimes of completely wasted
time.”
    Deanne chuckled. “Yeah, well, it was probably good for you to
sit down and relax for a change.”
    “Right back at you. But the coffee wasn’t too bad if memory
serves. Not as good as this, of course.” He took another swig of brew that could
have rusted a galvanized nail.
    “It was good a few hours ago.” She thoughtfully swirled the
dregs in the bottom of her own cup. “Besides, I never argue with free. Smile and
be grateful.”
    The coffee was a donation from the café on Main Street and
demonstrated exactly the sort of community spirit and generosity that made
Hendersonville special. A city small enough so people didn’t get lost in the
crowd, yet infused with new blood because of tourism and some-timers who kept
vacation homes in the mountains. This sort of community was largely responsible
for bringing Angel House into existence and keeping it going.
    Until December, anyway.
    “So Positive Partings might need more classrooms,” he said.
“And you think the owner might be interested in a historic building the city’s
willing to cut her a break on rent for?”
    Once he renovated it, of
course.
    “That’s what Judge Parrish said. She thinks a location close to
the courthouse would be attractive. And no question Main Street would be visible
for folks who come to those classes. We’ve got a lot to offer. The low-rent
lease. The location. Positive Partings would be crazy not to at least consider a
move.”
    “Is the owner from around here?” Why else would anyone set up
shop in Hendersonville? He could think of a lot of places in North Carolina with
better access to the state capital.
    “Hendersonville born and bred, according to the website.”
Deanne reached for her laptop. “Take a look for yourself. You won’t believe the
list of professionals the agency serves. Would be great exposure for Angel
House.”
    Will tossed his cup in the trash before heading to Deanne’s
side of the desk. He half sat on the edge and waited while she called up the
site. “Can’t get much more public service than family court.”
    “I know, right.”
    Given the demographic it served, Angel House would have been a
shoo-in to benefit from the Family Foundations Project, which targeted five
areas of focus for revitalization of Hendersonville. There was only one problem
with Angel House: its affiliation with a Roman Catholic Church.
    Will hadn’t been involved with Angel House back then, but he
knew the story well. Deanne had been looking for help after her daughter’s
autism diagnosis. Ten years ago there hadn’t been an Angel House to help a
parent maneuver the minefield of information and misinformation.
    But she’d refused to settle for the meager services the
government offered, which simply weren’t enough to affect any progress in her
daughter’s treatment. She also refused to accept that she