“It’s exceptional,” she repeated. “And when I say that, in all my years of teaching I have never, not once, seen anything the caliber of your daughter’s work. To say she’s advanced would be an understatement. We’re not talking a freshman doing junior or senior class work. We’re not even talking a freshman in high school is doing college-level work. I’m telling you that her report on Flowers for Algernon could be published.”

Mike blinked and he did it slow.

Rocky kept going. “This isn’t the first time I felt that with one of Rees’s assignments. At first, I hate to admit, I thought she was plagiarizing. This is because I’ve never seen anything like it turned in, not once, not in my career. But I checked it and she isn’t. Then I thought it was a one-time deal. But considering that assignment,” she tipped her head to the paper, “is her fourth exhibiting that level of talent, it’s not a fluke. She’s gifted and when I say that, she was already a maestro at fourteen but with each assignment, the quality becomes richer. And I wish I could say this was because of my excellent teaching skills,” she said on a grin, “but it’s not. For Rees, it’s coming naturally.”

Mike said nothing as he processed this information, the warmth in his chest intensifying and expanding.

Rocky filled the silence.

“It isn’t just her writing that’s exceptional, which it is, Mike. I fall into her reports. She has a unique style that’s remarkable. It isn’t like she’s doing an assignment, answering a question. She’s building worlds around the books she’s reporting on. They move her and she has absolutely no difficulty expressing how they do. But it’s more. She absorbs meanings and subtexts from the novels they’re assigned to read with a maturity that’s astounding. She sees things I don’t see, feels them and then is able to express them in extraordinary ways.”

Rocky’s words washed over him and Mike’s eyes dropped to the paper as he lifted a hand and touched his fingers to his daughter’s work like he’d skim them over the finest piece of crystal.

Rocky kept speaking. “I know on a cop’s salary it wouldn’t be easy considering, uh…your ex-wife probably isn’t in the position to help but with that caliber of work, Mike, Rees Haines has no business at Brownsburg High School.”

Mike’s eyes shot to her and she kept talking.

“She’s that gifted. She needs to be in a school for gifted children. At the very least, she needs to go to writing camps where she can be encouraged to explore her talent, expand it. I’ve spoken to her other teachers and although she struggles with math and science, any course closely connected with the arts, she excels. It’s quiet, not showy and her other teachers and I don’t think she understands her gift, even knows she has it. In fact, we all feel that she’s phoning it in which would mean that if she actually were to make a concerted effort, exemplary work would become something else entirely and all of it good. Her gift needs to be recognized and fed, Mike. And if you like, we can set a meeting where you, she and I can talk about this and I’ll be happy to research schools and possible scholarships. But I encourage you to find a way to help your daughter recognize her talent and further find ways she can be guided to explore it.”

“We’ll set the meeting,” Mike replied immediately. “And I’d appreciate it if you came to it with suggestions of schools which would be a good fit for Reesee.”

Rocky’s face softened and her lips tipped up. “Excellent,” she whispered then she held his eyes and asked quietly, “You had no idea, did you?”

Mike shook his head. “She asks for help on homework but usually geometry, biology. Not English Lit.”

Rocky nodded but her head tilted to the side and she went on, “And Rees? Does she understand her gift do you think?”

Mike shook his head again. “She has no clue.”

Rocky smiled flat out at that and whispered, “Then this meeting will be fun.”

Mike thought of his daughter, how, until recently with Dusty and Fin in her life, she seemed to be losing her way. He also thought of Dusty’s words on Sunday.

Then he thought, yes, it f**king would.

Mike smiled back.

Rocky reached out a hand and touched the report. “You read that. Layne said he’d drop it by the school if you’d swing by his office tomorrow and give it to him. Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely,” Mike replied.

Rocky smiled again and stood, throwing the straps of her bag over her shoulder.

Mike stood with her.

“Good news is,” she started, her eyes shining, “it wouldn’t be good to pull Rees now and move her to a new school so I get to have that one, beautiful, shining moment in a teacher’s life to recognize and educate a prodigy as I get her all semester.”

Mike studied her seeing, clearly, she got off on this shit. She loved her job but more, she truly was elated to have the chance to work with his daughter.

That warmth in his chest grew intense.

Mike grinned at her. “Thanks for takin’ the time to share this with me, Rocky.”

She leaned in, eyes warm, holding his and said with feeling, “My pleasure, Mike.”

He lifted his hand, she took it and he pulled her slightly to him. She tipped her chin back and he bent in, brushing his lips against her cheek. Her skin was soft, her hair and perfume smelled good and Mike liked that Tanner had that. Tanner was a good man. And Tanner’s ex made Audrey seem tame. A slightly nutty, easy smiling woman who smelled good, dressed good, looked great and loved her job teaching kids was so far better than the shit Tanner’s ex shoveled not only during their marriage but after it, it wasn’t funny.

They both leaned back, squeezed hands, Rocky promised to be in touch about the meeting and they said their farewells.

By the time she left, Mike had fifteen minutes to get to Mimi’s. It was a couple of blocks, a five minute walk. He had time and the time he had he didn’t use to pick up Darrin’s will.

He picked up Reesee’s report.

He read it and Rocky was right. By paragraph two, it wasn’t about him reading his daughter’s report that was deemed exceptional by her teacher. She’d sucked him in, he’d become lost in it and even after he was done, it didn’t strike him what he was doing and why he was reading it. Just that he found every word interesting and really f**king wanted to reread a book he hadn’t read since high school.