The Right Time by Susan X Meagher Read Free Book Online

didn’t I?”
    “Yes, ma’am. A pretty hefty dose.” Hennessy shrugged her shoulders. “Old habit. I always watch to see how quickly the bottle will be gone.”
    Mary Ann opened the bottle again, sniffing at it. “Well, either Townsend brought a fifth of water to camp, or someone managed to remove the vodka and switch it out with water. Do you have any thoughts as to whom the culprit might be?”
    Hennessy dropped her head into her hands. “Great! She’s not only the most troubled kid we’ve ever had here, she’s a cat burglar.”
    “I definitely had my door locked. Granted, these aren’t the best locks in the world, but you’d need some experience to get in without leaving a trace.”
    Hennessy slid her spread fingers into her hair and rubbed them across her scalp. She was so frustrated she itched from head to toe. “What do we do? We can’t have her robbing people.”
    Mary Ann looked at her for a long time. “I’m not ready to give up yet, but I’ll understand if you are. This is probably hitting too close to home.”
    “It is,” she admitted. “But I can handle that part. It’s the other kids I’m worried about. I can’t have her reading bad porn in class! I had zero warning.”
    “Then work with Andrea to make the topics more specific. Give them an assignment where they don’t have as much latitude for going off the deep end. Don’t let this little hellion have her way again. You’re smarter than she is, you’re more resourceful, and you’re more empathetic. I have complete confidence in you.”
    “I hate it when you try to make me feel like I’m better than I really am,” Hennessy groused, unable to hide a reproachful smile.
    “I’ve yet to do that. You’re every bit the woman I think you are.”
     

     
    Hennessy spent the whole day trying to decide how to let Townsend know she was aware of her latest prank. It was almost nine, and she’d been wandering around the grounds since supper, making it over to the ocean. She’d sat on the sand, watching a blue heron stalk then pounce, snapping up fish in his beak. She’d seen egrets, cormorants and sanderlings all trying to scoop up some chow. If it were up to her, she’d sleep all day and go out at night when it was cool, and when all of the animals started planning their meals.
    On her walk back, the toads started to croak, and the katydids made the hypnotic sounds that always soothed her. They were all trying to let others of their species know they were there. Even the smallest insect needed to feel heard…to know that someone registered his existence.
    Humans needed that as much as any animal. She was sure of that. And of all the humans she knew, no one needed to be seen more than Townsend.
    Standing in a dark glade of loblolly pines, their trunks stretching toward the sky, Hennessy made a pledge to herself—and to Townsend. She wouldn’t give up on her. The more the girl fought and fussed, the more she revealed how lonely she was. So lonely that alcohol was the only thing she could rely on. It’d probably be like wrestling a wild hog, but Hennessy was determined to get inside.
    When she was near the cabin a big owl flew right over her head, startling her. Then he landed in a tree and started to call. Who? Who?
    Good question. Who was going to win this round?
    The light was on in Townsend’s room, and after a brief knock, Hennessy entered.
    Townsend was sitting on her bed, leaning back against the headboard as she drew on a large sketchpad. Hennessy sat on the edge of the bed and looked over the top of the pad. “I didn’t know you could draw.”
    “I can’t. I just play around.” For a change, Townsend seemed relaxed and unguarded, her protective shell nowhere to be seen. As Hennessy’s head tilted, Townsend playfully pulled the pad closer and let out a soft chuckle. “It’s not good.”
    It was like being with a different person, a person you could actually talk to. “I can’t draw at all,” Hennessy said. “I