“I know why you called this meeting, and I want you to know that the staff and I always value and respect parents’ wishes and decisions when it comes to the education and safety of their children,” Pastor Dee said, kicking things off.

“We know, Pastor Dee,” her mom said. “And we also want you to know that we’ve had a change of heart since our last conversation.”

“You have?” Pastor Dee said, looking both delighted and confused.

“We have,” her dad said and reached out to give her mom’s hand a squeeze.

“Oh, well, that’s blessed news,” Pastor Dee said, a big smile spreading across her face.

“Um, I’m confused. What are we talking about? Am I in trouble?” Sarah Beth said, looking back and forth between all their faces.

“No, Sarah Beth, you’ve done nothing wrong. This is not a disciplinary meeting. In fact, you’re doing everything right. Also, you should know that this is our second meeting with Pastor Dee—we met with her a few days ago,” her dad said, uncharacteristically taking the reins.

“You met without me?” she asked, hating the very idea of that.

“Yep,” Dad said, unfazed by her tone. “Parents do that sometimes.” He chuckled and his soft gaze made her feel a bit better. “Because of all that’s happened, most recently with your involvement in the operation at the Vatican—”

“I’m so sorry about that,” she interrupted, feeling a little panic growing inside her again. “It’s just it all happened so fast. I didn’t see how I could do nothing. The team was in danger, and I’d seen things, important things.” She glanced at her mom, not really sure how much she knew—or was supposed to know—about details of the last mission. “I went straight to Pastor Dee after and told her and I promise . . . I promise . . . it’ll never happen again.”

Her mom wrapped an arm around her. “You’re not in trouble for that, Sarah Beth. You’re not being disciplined or suspended or anything like that. Quite the opposite.”

She met her mom’s empathetic stare and picked up something else from her—a feeling that was difficult to put into words. Her mom had always been conflicted about St. George’s. She’d snooped on her parents’ arguments about whether the Watcher program was a good thing or a bad thing. Whether being at St. George’s made her safer or made her a target. From the beginning, her dad had been all in on her going here, but not her mom. Today, however, she felt something different, like her mom had flipped the switch and finally come around to her dad’s point of view.