Heather walks by with Jesse at her side. He slings his arm onto her shoulder. “We’re forming an Aryan club at school and I really think you should join us,” he says.

She shoves him hard, and he stumbles. “Get off me. Don’t you dare put your hands on me,” she says. “If you do it again, I will report you to Principal McNeil.” She storms off.

Jesse’s laugh stops her. “I was just messing with you. It was a joke. Lighten up.”

Heather spins around. There’s venom in her sky-blue eyes. “I really used to like you. But now?” She lets out a sound of disgust. I move toward her, but the crowd sweeps her away.

A stunned Jesse stares after her and, for a few moments, his face reveals raw emotions I’d never expect to see from him—confusion, regret, and sadness. They disappear when Reg and Spencer and a few other hockey players call Jesse over.

I look at Cade. “I think we could use some ice cream.”

“It’s twenty degrees and you’re thinking of ice cream?”

“A hot fudge sundae, emphasis on hot fudge. And warm caramel. After all, this is a celebration. We need to go all out.”

“And what exactly are we celebrating?”

“You raised your hand in class. You raised your hand.”

He grins, full-blown Dimple Zone. “The sacrifices I make to help prove a point.”

Damn. I really love this boy. If only he knew.

Chapter 25: Cade

“You get to decide, but since your principal refuses to cancel the assignment, I see no other choice but to take this to the press,” Lissa Chen says through my phone’s speaker. “The story could go nowhere or it could attract national and even international attention. We just never know.”

Nervous, I glance around. This isn’t a conversation I want everyone in our school parking lot to hear. I motion to Logan to unlock her car doors. As soon as we get inside, Logan asks Lissa, “What would we have to do?”

“My contact at the Lake Towns Journal will want to interview you. You can remain anonymous, but given what’s transpired at school, people there will most likely speculate that you’re the source.”

“Logan and I need a minute to discuss it,” I say.

“Take your time. I can wait.”

I cover the phone’s speaker with my hand. As Grandpa said, sometimes, even when you don’t want to, you need to put yourself into the spotlight. “Logan, if Lissa thinks this is the only way, we have to do this. Trying to deny an anonymous tip, especially at school, doesn’t feel right. We have to own this. What do you think?”

“Agreed.”

I remove my hand and say, “We’ll go on record and do the interview.”