upward is easy.”
His eyes moved around the room.
“Kindness offered downward is expected.”
Then he looked directly at me.
“But kindness offered when nobody matters more than anybody else—that’s rare.”
I wanted to disappear.
Instead, everyone was staring.
Again.
The governor smiled.
“And her daughter?”
He pointed toward Emma.
“She gave me a drawing that still hangs in my office.”
Gasps spread through the ballroom.
Even I hadn’t known that.
Emma’s mouth fell open.
“Really?”
“Really.”
The governor nodded.
“Right next to my desk.”
The little girl looked as
