Right from the Start Read Free Page B

couldn’t help her
child.
    So she traveled around the country to investigate every program
that dealt with autism then approached her pastor to put her knowledge to use
for her daughter and other families experiencing similar difficulties.
    Angel House had started as a ministry in some unused classrooms
of the parish school. And through the generosity of caring parishioners and the
dedicated involvement of parents and professionals, Angel House flourished.
    The church gifted the center with the house and land it
occupied now. Deanne had reached out into the community to fund the renovations.
The center had outgrown the old house, and there was no expanding. They needed
to level the old structure and start from scratch and, given the costs involved,
that simply wasn’t possible as a ministry of one church.
    No, for Angel House to grow and serve more kids, it needed to
grow into a real not-for-profit organization. That’s when Will had conceived of
letting the City of Hendersonville provide a new location through Family
Foundations.
    The church affiliation was the problem.
    While Angel House served kids based on need, it was still
perceived as a religious organization. If there was any better way to trigger a
firestorm of controversy about how the city allocated funds, Will couldn’t think
of one.
    No one wanted to hear that Will’s company would fund the
building renovations, or that Angel House supported itself through donations,
fund-raising and private grants that came from all over the community, and the
nation, too— if they could secure the all-important
Ramsey Foundation grant. But applying for that grant meant they needed a
permanent location in an area that served its community.
    The chicken and egg.
    In order to make this work, Will had to couple Angel House with
another organization with a strong public service affiliation in the new
location to bridge the distance between the city’s private and public
sectors.
    Positive Partings?
    “Here you go.” Deanne tilted the laptop his way then stopped.
She placed her hand over his. “Seriously, Will. Before we go one step further,
do you really think it’s possible to get all that work done? I know what
renovating this place was like and we didn’t knock down walls.”
    She met his gaze with the quiet desperation and determination
of a mother who took every breath to clear obstacles out of her daughter’s way
and give her a chance to learn. There was no time for fear in the journey, no
room for doubts, only the grinding day-to-day, minute-by-minute, steps along the
path.
    And lots of hard-won triumphs to light the way.
    Deanne had helped Will see those, too, to accept that, while
his journey as a parent differed from what he’d expected, the differences
brought unique joys, and so much love.
    She devoted her life to helping her daughter and to paving a
smoother way for others until the medical community and insurance companies and
the local, state and federal governments caught up with their services.
    “I won’t lie, Deanne. Even if this agency proves to be the
right one, and we can convince the owner to sign on fast, we’ll be making a
leap. The building has to be updated before I can bring it up to specs for Angel
House. And I won’t even know what I have to do until I get inside and start
taking things apart. But how can we not at least try when we’re this close?”
    All the uncertainty melted from Deanne’s expression. She
understood shooting for the stars. She knew what it meant to hope against
hope.
    And she went for it every time and taught others to take those
insane leaps of faith, to believe in miracles because there was always hope.
    How could Will do any less for the woman who’d given him so
much, for all the families who relied on Angel House?
    How could he do any less for Sam?

CHAPTER TWO
    K ENZIE SAT ON the
bench across from the two-story building that occupied nearly the entire block
between South Main and West Orchard Streets.
    She