The other officer crosses her arms, her low bun tight and sleek. She notices me, and her eyes momentarily widen. She must recognize me and think I’m the reason for the paps. “Have they been harassing you?”
“No, but I haven’t been outside yet. My grandma is concerned.”
“Naturally,” Officer Gutierrez says. “I want you to give us a call if the situation escalates in any way. We’d like to move them for your peace of mind, but unless something happens, our hands are tied.”
“We understand.”
“Do we?” Grandma asks.
Officer Moran laughs lightly. “It’s frustrating. I’m sorry, Mrs. Rhodes. Please call us again if you need us.”
“You can bet we will.”
“We’ll remind them of your rights and their boundaries before we leave.”
“We appreciate that,” Colby says.
Grandma walks the police officers to the door, and Colby tugs me back into the hallway. “Hey, what do you think about sneaking over to my house through the backyard? Think Grandma’s up for it?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because my old Bronco is still in the garage, and all thosepaps think Bree’s staying here. As long as the battery isn’t dead, maybe we can sneak out.”
“It’s a great idea, but even if we get out, we’ll be spotted wherever we film.”
Colby’s smile widens. “I have an answer for that, too.”
Sneakingbetween our houses to get in through Colby’s back door is more complicated than I had imagined at first. There’s a large number of shrubs to protect us from view and no fences between the yards, so physically it’s no hardship for Grandma. The tricky bit is passing the one small open space between our yards without any of the paps noticing.
Colby goes first, which he manages to do without catching any attention.
“Let’s wait a minute,” I whisper.
Grandma nods, then when she feels it’s safe, she hurries over, holding a Tupperware of hot pancakes and bacon.
I follow shortly after, and before long we’re all slipping through the back door into the kitchen, where Bree is seated at the table and Olive is doing her makeup. Zoey is sitting next to them, looking at her computer.
“Good morning,” pretty much everyone echoes.
“Nancy,” Bree says, though her voice sounds funny while Olive is painting her lips. “These are my sisters, Zoey and Olive.”
“Well, this is just delightful.” Grandma beams, carrying the breakfast into the kitchen and plating it.
“That’s Colby,” Bree says offhand.
“Glad to be here,” he says dryly.
“He came up with your escape plan, but it involves you all laying in the back of the Bronco and us covering you with a blanket.” I suppress my amusement. “What do you think?”
“That old dusty thing in the garage?” Olive says, straightening. Her eyebrow is hitched in total judgment.
Colby doesn’t get intimidated easily, and I can see the Belacourt sisters haven’t phased him. “Yeah. That one.”
There’s a beat of silence to go with Olive’s wrinkled nose before she returns to her task.
“That’s great. Thanks,” Zoey says, looking up from her computer at the table. “Now, let’s plan the video?—”
“All done.” Colby takes two plates from Grandma and sets them on the table with a distinct thud. “When you’ve eaten and Bree’s finished getting ready, we can go.”