Life took another surprising turn for the Renard family when Michelle entered the third grade at the Horatio Hebert Elementary School. She was assigned a brand-new teacher, Miss Jennifer Perine. During the fourth week of school, Miss Perine administered the standardized tests, received the results, and then sent an urgent request home with Michelle for a parent-teacher conference.

Jake had never gone to one of those before. He figured his daughter had gotten into a spot of trouble, maybe a little fistfight. She could be hot-tempered when pushed to the wall. Her brothers had taught her how to defend herself. She was little for her age, and they assumed she'd be an easy target for the bullies at school to pick on, so they made sure she knew how to fight, and fight dirty.

Jake reckoned he'd have to soothe the teacher's nerves. He put on his good Sunday clothes, added a splash of the Aqua Velva he only used on special occasions, and walked the mile and a half to the school.

Miss Perine turned out to be a pain in the ass, which Jake expected, but she was also pretty, and he hadn't expected that at all. He was immediately suspicious. Why would an attractive, young, single woman want to teach in the little gnat of a town of Bowen?

With her fine looks and her shapely figure, she could get herself a job anywhere. And how come she wasn't married yet? She looked to be in her twenties, and in the parish that made her a spinster.

The teacher assured him she didn't have any bad news to impart. Quite the contrary. She wanted to tell him what an exceptional child Michelle was. Jake's back stiffened. He interpreted her remarks to mean that his daughter wasn't quite right in the head. Everyone in the parish called Buddy Dupond an exceptional child, even after the police hauled him away and locked him up in a loony bin for setting fire to his parents' house. Buddy didn't mean any harm, and he wasn't out to kill anyone. He just had a fascination with fires. He'd set over twelve good ones-all in the swamp, where the damage didn't matter. He told his mama that he just plain loved fires. He liked the way they smelled, the way they glowed all orange and yellow and red in the dark, and most of all he liked the snap, crackle, and pop noise they made. Just like the cereal. The doctor who examined Buddy must have thought he was exceptional, all right. He gave him a fancy name. Pyromaniac.

It turned out that Miss Perine hadn't meant to insult Jake's little girl after all, and when he realized that fact, he relaxed. She told him that, after she had received the first set of tests back and read the results, she'd had Michelle tested by experts. Jake didn't know squat about IQs or how these experts could measure an eight-year-old's intelligence, but he wasn't surprised that his Michelle was-as he proudly told Miss Perine-as smart as a cookie.

It was imperative that he do right by the child. She told Jake that Michelle was already reading adult literature and that she was going to be skipping the equivalent of two full grades next Monday. Did he know that Michelle had an aptitude for science and math? Jake summed up all the educated talk to mean that his little girl was a natural-born genius.

Miss Perine told him that she believed she was a good teacher, but even so, she knew she wasn't going to be able to keep up with Michelle's educational needs. She wanted the little girl moved to a private school where her talents could be nurtured and she could set her own learning curve-whatever in tarnation that meant.

Jake stood, towering over the teacher as he shook her hand and thanked her for the nice things she had to say about Michelle. However, he added, he wasn't interested in sending his daughter away. She was just a little girl, after all, and it was too soon for her to leave her family.

Miss Perine coaxed him to hear her out. She offered him a glass of lemonade and pleaded with him to sit down again. Since she'd gone to the trouble of fixing refreshments-there was a little plate of cookies on the table too-he reckoned he had to be polite and listen.

The teacher started talking a mile a minute then, telling him all about. the advantages his daughter would have with the proper schooling, and surely Jake didn't want to deprive her of the wonderful opportunities that would open for her. Miss Perine pulled a pink folder from her desk drawer and handed him a slick brochure with pictures so he could see what the school looked like. Michelle would love it there, she promised him. She would study hard, certainly, but there would also be time for fun.

Jake wanted the best for his daughter, and so he listened to every word Miss Perine had to say. The two of them were getting along just fine, sipping tart lemonade and chewing sweet peanut butter cookies while they chatted amicably about his girl, but damn if she didn't insult him by suggesting that he could apply for state assistance in paying the tuition, maybe even qualify for a grant he wouldn't have to pay back. Jake had to remind himself that the woman was new to Bowen and didn't know any better. Surely she hadn't meant any harm. Why, she was just trying to be helpful. But because she was new to the parish, she didn't have any notion how important a man's pride was in these parts. Take pride away from a man and you might as well run a knife through his heart.

Jake gritted his teeth as he politely explained he wasn't about to become a charity case, and he wasn't going to let anyone else pay for his daughter's education.

He was considered by some to be well-off because of his gambling windfall, but she didn't know anything about that, of course. Folks didn't talk about their illegal betting games with outsiders. Nevertheless, he still didn't much care for her making snap judgments about a family based on how they dressed or where they lived. If Jake decided to send his girl to that fancy school, he'd use his retirement nest egg to pay the tuition, and when that money was all used up, then his sons could take on extra jobs to help with expenses.

But, before any decisions were going to be made, he thought he ought to discuss the matter with his wife. He talked to Ellie all the time, in his head anyway, and he liked to think she appreciated being included and that, in her magical way, she helped guide him with important family decisions.

He reckoned he ought to talk it out with Michelle too. She deserved to have a say in her future.

The following Sunday he took her fishing. They sat side by side on the dock with their fishing poles dangling in the murky water. His big knife was nestled in his leather pouch as a precaution against predators.

"Fish aren't biting, are they?" he remarked while he tried to figure a way to broach the subject of changing schools.

"Of course not, Daddy. I don't know why we're fishing this time of day. You're always telling me early morning is the best time to catch fish. How come you wanted to come fishing this late? It's going on to four already."

"I know what time it is, smarty-pants. I wanted to get you away from your brothers and have a talk with you about something… important."

"Why don't you just spit it out, then?" she asked.

"Don't you sass me."

"I'm not sassing you. Honest." She crossed her heart with her fingers.

She was as cute as a button, he thought, staring up at him with those big blue eyes. She needed her bangs trimmed again. They were hanging down, catching on her long lashes. He guessed he'd get the scissors out after supper.

"That Miss Perine's a real nice lady. She's pretty too."

She turned away from him and stared down at the water. "I don't know about that. She smells good, but she doesn't smile very much."

"Teaching is serious work," he explained. "That's probably why she doesn't do a lot of smiling. Do you get along with her?"