Aiden was astonished. Regan was wailing for all she was worth. Had she not been so miserable, he would have laughed. Such drama. She got that trait from the Hamilton side of the family. All the Hamiltons wore their emotions on their sleeves. He and Spencer and Walker fortunately took after the Madison side. They were far more reserved.

Regan was making so much noise Aiden didn’t hear the knock on the door. Spencer and Walker came rushing inside. Both brothers were tall, lanky, and dark-haired like Aiden. Spencer was fifteen, and of the three brothers, he had the softest heart. Walker had just turned fourteen. He was the daredevil in the family and the most reckless. He looked as if he’d been through a war. His arms and face were covered with bruises. Two days before, he’d climbed up on the roof to retrieve a football, had lost his footing, and surely would have broken his neck if he hadn’t grabbed hold of a tree branch to slow his descent. His friend Ryan hadn’t been as fortunate. Walker landed on him and broke his arm. Ryan had been the junior varsity quarterback but now would have to sit out the season. Walker didn’t feel much guilt about the accident. He blamed the mishap on the branch that had trapped Ryan making it impossible for him to get out of Walker’s way.

Walker now was looking for bruises on Regan. None were visible, so why then was she crying? “What’d you do to her?” he asked Aiden.

“I didn’t do anything,” Aiden answered.

“Then what’s wrong with her?” Walker asked. He leaned over the bed and inspected his little sister, unsure what to do.

Spencer nudged him out of his way, sat down next to Regan, and began to awkwardly pat her shoulders.

She was finally calming down. Aiden let out another loud sigh. Maybe the storm was over. He finished tying his shoes as he said, “There, she’s feeling better. Just don’t ask her about-”

“So how was school?” Walker asked at the same time.

The wailing started all over again. “-school,” Aiden finished. He lowered his head and turned toward the desk so his sister wouldn’t see him smile. He didn’t want to hurt her tender feelings, but Lord, was she loud. Considering her size, the noise she made was downright impressive.

“She had a bad day,” he told his brothers.

“You think?” Spencer responded.

Regan stopped crying long enough to say, “I’m not ever going back there.”

“What happened?” Walker asked.

Regan recited her litany of complaints in between her sobs.

“You have to go back,” Spencer said.

It was the wrong thing to say. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do,” Spencer said.

“Daddy wouldn’t make me go.”

“How do you know what he would do? He died when you were still a baby. You can’t possibly remember him.”

“Yes, I can. I remember him good.”

“Your grammar is appalling,” Aiden remarked.

“Which is why you need to go to school,” Spencer pointed out. He had to raise his voice to be heard because his sister was once again crying.

“Damn, she’s loud,” Aiden muttered. He shook his head and added, “Okay. I’m going to be late for practice if I don’t leave soon, so let’s get to the bottom of this. Regan, stop wiping your nose on my sheets and sit up.”

He tried to make his voice stern. Neither his order nor his tone made any difference to her. She wasn’t going to stop crying until she was good and ready.

“Listen, Regan. You need to calm down and tell us what happened,” Walker said. “What exactly did the big kid do?”

Spencer dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled Kleenex. “Here,” he said. “Wipe your nose and sit up. Come on. We can’t fix this problem for you until we know exactly what the big kid did, okay?”

Aiden was shaking his head. “Regan’s going to fix the problem,” he said.

She bolted upright. “No, I’m not, ’cause I’m not going back to that bad school.”

“Running away isn’t the answer,” Aiden said.

“I don’t care. I’m staying home.”

“Hold on, Aiden. If some big bully is picking on our sister, then by God, we ought to…” Walker began.

Aiden raised his hand for silence. “Let’s get all the facts straight before we do anything, Walker. Now, Regan,” he said, his voice soothing, “how old was this big girl?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay. Do you know what grade she’s in?”

“How would she know that?” Spencer asked. “Regan’s just a kindergartner.”

“I do too know,” Regan said. “She’s in second grade, and her name’s Morgan, and she’s mean.”

“We’ve established that she’s mean,” Aiden said impatiently. He checked the time before continuing. “So now we’re getting somewhere.”

Walker and Spencer were both smiling. Fortunately, Regan didn’t see.

“You said that the second grader made another girl cry?” Aiden asked.

Regan nodded. “She made her cry, all right.”

“What did she do to make her cry?” Walker asked. “Did she hit her?”

“No.”

“Then what?” Now Walker sounded as frustrated as Aiden did.

Tears welled up in Regan’s eyes again. “She made the girl give her her barrettes.”

“Was the girl in kindergarten?” Aiden asked.

“She’s a very nice girl too. She sits beside me at the round table. Her name’s Cordelia, but she said everybody calls her Cordie and I should call her Cordie too.”

“Do you like this Cordelia?” Spencer asked.

“Yes,” she said. “And there’s another girl I like too. Her name’s Sophie, and she sits at the same table with me and Cordie.”

“There you go,” Aiden said. “You’ve only been at the new school for one day, and you’ve already made two new friends.”

Believing the trauma was over, he grabbed his car keys and headed for the door. Walker stopped him. “Wait a minute, Aiden. You can’t leave until we figure out what to do about the bully.”

Aiden paused at the door. “You’ve got to be kidding. The bully is a second grader.”

“We still need to do something to protect Regan,” he insisted.

“Like what?” Aiden demanded. “You think maybe all three of us should go to school tomorrow and terrorize the kid?”

Regan perked up. “That’d be good,” she said. “Make her leave Cordie and Sophie and me alone.”

“Or,” Aiden said, “you could handle the problem on your own. You could stand up to the bully. Tell her you aren’t going to give her anything and to leave you and your friends alone.”

“I want the first one.”

Aiden blinked. “The first one?”

“The one where you and Spencer and Walker come to school with me and scare her. That’s the one I choose. You could stay all day with me if you want.”

“This isn’t a multiple choice…” Aiden began.

“What did she do to make her cry?” Walker asked. “Did she hit her?”

“No.”

“Then what?” Now Walker sounded as frustrated as Aiden did.

Tears welled up in Regan’s eyes again. “She made the girl give her her barrettes.”

“Was the girl in kindergarten?” Aiden asked.

“She’s a very nice girl too. She sits beside me at the round table. Her name’s Cordelia, but she said everybody calls her Cordie and I should call her Cordie too.”

“Do you like this Cordelia?” Spencer asked.

“Yes,” she said. “And there’s another girl I like too. Her name’s Sophie, and she sits at the same table with me and Cordie.”

“There you go,” Aiden said. “You’ve only been at the new school for one day, and you’ve already made two new friends.”

Believing the trauma was over, he grabbed his car keys and headed for the door. Walker stopped him. “Wait a minute, Aiden. You can’t leave until we figure out what to do about the bully.”

Aiden paused at the door. “You’ve got to be kidding. The bully is a second grader.”

“We still need to do something to protect Regan,” he insisted.

“Like what?” Aiden demanded. “You think maybe all three of us should go to school tomorrow and terrorize the kid?”

Regan perked up. “That’d be good,” she said. “Make her leave Cordie and Sophie and me alone.”