Preening a little, I smoothed my fitted sweater over my stomach. “Date night with Ryan. I’ll be back by midnight.”

There was a splash of light across the pale blue of the wall as Ryan’s car pulled into the driveway, and I was already turning to meet him at the door when Mom said, “Ten.”

I paused, sure I’d misunderstood her. “Ten what?”

“Ten is when you need to be home. The movie starts at what? Seven? That’s plenty of time to get back.”

Dad kept his eyes on the TV, but his fingers were drumming on Mom’s shoulders. “Um . . . seriously?” My purse was on the end table nearest the couch, and I twisted to grab it.

Mom’s eyes met mine, and I could swear there were hollows under hers, new wrinkles in the corners. “Yes, seriously. Ten o’clock, Harper.”

Outside, Ryan’s door thumped shut, and I could hear his steady tread coming up the front steps. “It’s always been midnight,” I insisted, hating how petulant I sounded, but . . . I had plans for tonight. Boyfriend maintenance plans. And I hadn’t had to be in that early since middle school.

The doorbell rang then, and I cast a quick look toward the front door. “Mom, my curfew has always—”

“I don’t care what we’ve always done,” Mom snapped, her voice slightly shrill. “I’m your mother, and tonight, I want you back in this house by ten. Is that clear?”

Ryan had better manners than to press the doorbell again, but I could practically feel him out there waiting for me. Too bad he wasn’t the only one I clearly needed to spend more time with. Knowing that snottiness wouldn’t get me anywhere, I nodded. “Okay,” I said, doing my best to seem okay. “See y’all at ten.”

Mom sagged back onto the couch, relief obvious on her face. Dad, too, seemed to relax a bit, lifting his hand in a wave. “Be safe, kiddo.”

I brooded the entire way to the theater. Pine Grove only had one, and it only showed two movies at a time. I’d let Ryan pick tonight—I almost always chose what we saw—and of course, he’d gone with the action film. I’d rolled my eyes, pretending to be exasperated, but really, I wanted to see it, too. I had plenty of moves in my Paladin arsenal, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a few more.

We already had our tickets and had stepped into the lobby when I told Ryan about Mom’s new curfew. Frowning, he shoved his hands in his back pockets. “Whoa. Okay. I just . . . I kind of wish you’d told me that before we’d come here.”