“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Bobbie asked.

I glanced at my bed where she sat, legs crossed, leaning on one arm. Her shimmering hair was pulled to one side across her shoulder.

“Do I have no control over you?” I demanded, but I was glad for her attentiveness, however sporadic.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“I didn’t say that.”

She shrugged. “I show up when I think I can help, which isn’t always. If I’m not welcome, I have no power to help.”

“How do you know when you’re welcome?”

“Am I?”

I hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Yes, you are.” Then, “What do you mean, waiting until morning isn’t wise? I can’t get out and back by curfew. I have no choice.”

“You always have a choice,” Bobbie said. She stood gracefully and walked across the room to my window. Using two fingers she separated the blinds and gazed out. “If you hurry you’ll have enough time to get back before dark. No rules broken.”

“I could never get past my mother or brother.”

“Who said anything about getting past them?” Bobbie yanked the blinds up, unlocked the window’s latch and opened the bottom panel. “Slip out, tread carefully, slip back in. Easy.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I couldn’t possibly do that.”

“Why not? Then you avoid dealing with your family, and you follow Rose’s instructions.”

“Sneaking around feels like I’m doing something wrong.”

“More like avoiding wrong.” She turned back to face me. “You could wait till morning, but that means disobeying Rose.”

Made sense. Maybe she was right.

“I usually am,” she said. “I promised to keep you safe. But I can only do that if you let me.”

I considered what she was saying, weighed my options, and started pacing again. The harsh, hurtful words of Rose echoed through my mind as they had all afternoon. You’ve formed a bad habit of letting me down. She wouldn’t accept another excuse from me. And there was also my baby to consider.

I stopped and looked toward the window. Bobbie reached out and pushed it all the way open. Slip out, tread carefully, and slip back in. Easy.

Bobbie smiled. “Easy.”

ROSE SLIPPED INTO THE QUIET CLINIC THROUGH THE back entrance. Harrison had come home when he’d said he would, giving her enough time to deal with Ben before returning home to take care of the boy. Her husband didn’t know what she would do, naturally. It was better that way.

The events of the afternoon had left her shaken. The boy had come off as innocent in the eyes of her children, likely in the eyes of Grace as well. And under the guise of innocence, he’d already influenced her children and Grace to disregard simple, firm rules.