Maddie gasped. Where were they? Where had he taken her son? Her heart racing and her throat tightening, she tried not to think about her terrifying dream as she went to the front door and looked down over Tiffany’s yard. No sign of them.

“Oh, please,” she whispered. “Please come back. Bring my baby back.”

You don’t really know him at all, the devil on her left shoulder said. Of course you do, said the angel on the other shoulder. You know him better than you ever knew the baby’s father. To which the devil said, He could be anywhere by now. Maddie’s panic mounted as she watched the day’s first ferry clear the breakwater on its way to the mainland. The angel scoffed at the devil. He’ll be right back. You’ll see.

As if she had waved a magic wand, a minute or two later Mac came strolling down Tiffany’s driveway holding Thomas. He carried a white bag in his other hand and kept up a steady flow of chatter with the baby. Even though she was furious with him for taking Thomas without her permission, she couldn’t help but notice how completely focused he was on her son.

“There’s Mommy,” he said to Thomas on the way up the stairs.

They came in the door, and she reached for Thomas.

“Hey, whoa,” Mac said. “Wait a minute. Sit down, and I’ll hand him to you.”

“I’ll just take him now.”

“But your hand—”

“Please give me my son.”

Surprised by her sharp tone, he did as she asked. “Uh oh, buddy. I think Mom’s mad at us.”

“I’m not mad at him.” She returned to the sofa bed and painfully managed to arrange Thomas so her shirt was covering her breast and sighed with relief as he latched on for the one feeding she still managed to get in each day. Feeling exposed, she reached for the sheet and tugged it up over them.

Mac dropped the bag he’d been carrying on the kitchen table. “I brought you a muffin and some coffee.” He turned to her. “I didn’t know how you like it. Are you. . .”

“Feeding him? Yes.”

“Oh.” He didn’t seem to know where to look.

“Don’t take him again without telling me.”

“I’m sorry. We wanted to let you sleep for a while. You were up late.” His eyes finally met hers. He looked proprietary, as if he was gazing at something that belonged to him. Not knowing whether to be flattered or fearful, she looked away.

“I didn’t like not knowing where he was.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I should’ve left a note.”

“You should’ve told me you were taking him.”

“That would’ve required waking you up, which would’ve defeated the whole ‘let you sleep in’ purpose of our mission.”

“Have you ever had an argument you didn’t win?”

“Hmm, not that I can recall.”