“No, thank you.” Adam scooted a little closer to Lily. “Got any coffee?”

“I’ll go make a fresh pot.” Lily jumped up and headed for the kitchen.

“While she does that, I’ll make a trip to the little boy’s room,” Adam said.

“It’s just the bathroom. We don’t have separate restrooms in the house, only at school,” Braden told him, and then laughed at the next scene in the film.

Mack wished he’d been more like Braden when he was a kid. If he had been, maybe Adam wouldn’t be such a jerk now. The show ended, and Mack stood up and stretched. “Want some hot chocolate? I can make the packaged stuff. It’s not as good as what your mama makes, but it’s not bad with a topper of whipped cream.”

“Yep, and thank you.” Braden nodded.

Mack heard scuffling before he reached the kitchen and hurried a little. He made it to the archway just in time to see Lily’s open hand connect with Adam’s cheek. Adam’s right hand closed into a fist, and he started to draw it back to retaliate, but Mack took several fast steps forward and grabbed his brother’s arm.

“You don’t really want to do that,” Mack whispered.

“Sorry, it was instinct.” Adam growled. “But she led me on, and then when I tried to kiss her, she slapped me.”

“Tell the truth.” Lily glared at him.

“That’s what happened,” Adam declared.

“No, it’s not. You came up behind me, wrapped your arms around my waist, and pressed your body against my back. Then you kissed me on the neck. I told you to quit, and you said that you were better than Mack, and once I had a taste of what you had to offer, I’d kick him out,” Lily said.

Adam flashed one of his brilliant smiles at his brother. “She’s lyin’. You’d do well to get out of this place before she ruins your reputation and you get fired at school.”

“I believe her.” Mack could feel the coldness in his own voice. “It’s time for you to go. It would be best if you didn’t come back.”

“Come on, brother.” Adam’s smile faded. “I’ve changed since Brenda and Natalie.”

“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass,” Mack said.

“Mama isn’t going to like this.” Adam’s mouth tightened into a firm line.

“After what you’ve done to Charlene, she might not believe your story,” Mack said.

Adam glared at him for several seconds, then stomped out of the room like a petulant child. Mack heard the front door slam and his brother’s cute little sports car roar out of the driveway.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lily told him. “But thank you.”

“Hey, is that hot chocolate ready?” Braden yelled from the living room. “And did y’all realize it’s time to go get Holly? I’m going to ask her if she wants to watch The Beverly Hillbillies with me again when she gets home.”

Mack had never wanted to hug anyone in his life as much as he wanted to hug Lily at that moment. She would never know how much it meant to him to see a woman, especially one he’d begun to like, fend off Adam’s advances.

Mack checked the time on his phone. “I should get there at exactly the right time. Want to go with me?”

“I’ll stay here and make hot chocolate while you’re gone,” Lily offered. “It should be ready when you get home.”

In less than half an hour, Holly came bursting through the back door. Her long blonde hair was in two braids, and she was wearing a pair of new earrings and a crocheted scarf around her neck that was the same color blue as her eyes.

“Mama, can I have a kitten? Granny Hayes has this big, yellow mama cat that’s got three babies, and she says I can have my pick of them if you say it’s all right.” She touched her ears. “We made these earrings together, and she says we can make another pair next week if I can go home with her after church. I’ll wash dishes every night if you’ll say yes.”

“I guess you had a good time, then?” Lily poured up four cups of hot chocolate.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Holly exclaimed. “I got to sit in front of her fireplace and hold all the baby kittens, and she told me stories while she was teaching me how to make earrings. Did you know that Sally buys her the basic supplies, but Granny uses feathers from her own chickens and ducks to make the earrings? She dyes them different colors, and she’s got a whole bunch right there in her cabin.”

“Let me help you take those mugs to the table.” Mack entered the room right behind Holly.

He was so close to Lily that his warm breath sent shivers down her spine. She managed to nod but was afraid to speak for fear her voice would sound breathless.

Holly removed her coat and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair, then sat down. “And she’s going to teach me to crochet so I can make scarves, and she says that when I get really good at it, maybe Sally will sell them in her store.”

“We watched The Beverly Hillbillies,” Braden said.

“Rats!” Holly frowned. “Can we watch it again tonight? And Mama? What about that kitten?”

“If she gets one, I get one, too,” Braden said.

“Not if Granny Hayes doesn’t want to give you one. She likes me. I don’t know if she likes you.” Holly caught sight of the leftover blackberry cobbler still sitting on the cabinet. “Can I have some of that with ice cream on it?”

“Sure, but you have to get it yourself. I’m already sitting down.” Lily wasn’t sure if she chose that moment to stop waiting on her daughter to teach her to be independent, or if maybe she was a little jealous of all the love that Granny Hayes was getting that afternoon.

“Yes, ma’am.” Holly jumped up. “Anyone else want some?”

“Not me,” Mack said.

“Not me,” Braden echoed. “What did you have for dinner? Did you have to kill a chicken for that woman to cook before you could eat?”

“She made an oven stew and sliced a loaf of bread that she made yesterday. We had a peach upside-down cake for dessert. It was really good, and I ate two bowls, but I love Mama’s cobbler,” Holly said.

“You don’t have to butter me up,” Lily told her. “I’ll think about the kitten business and give you an answer when they’re old enough to leave their mama.”

“Thank you.” Holly nodded.

Everyone settled down to drink their hot chocolate. After they’d finished, Braden started The Beverly Hillbillies movie again.

When the goats had been tended to that evening and supper was over, the kids went to their rooms to do the last bit of their homework. Mack brought out his briefcase, took out a sheaf of papers, and laid them on the kitchen table.

“Anything I can help you with?” Lily asked.

“No, but thanks,” he replied. “It’s just the forms for the youth livestock show. I always go over them to be sure the kids have gotten them all done right. That way they don’t get disqualified.”

“Then I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said. “I’m going up to help Holly with her history project before bedtime.”