The line went dead, and she sat there in stunned silence until Mack joined her. Smelling like soap and shaving lotion and wearing pajama bottoms and a snug-fitting tank top, he eased down on the sofa beside her. “It’s been a day. Dad was having a fairly decent day, and I loved having him and my mother here.” He slipped an arm around her shoulders. “But now I’m glad to have some time alone with you to unwind.”

“Wyatt called,” she said, and then she told him what the man had said.

“It’s your decision about the apartment,” he said. “I hope he will straighten up. He’s got two beautiful kids, and he’s sure missing out on a lot of their lives. They’ll be grown in a few years, and they won’t even know him. Dad asked me today why I didn’t marry you.”

Lily appreciated that Mack had said whether or not to sublet her apartment was her choice. Wyatt would have made the decision for her, much like she figured Fred had made all the decisions for Sophia. “Braden asked me if I was going to marry you.”

“Would you ever want to marry again?” Mack asked.

“Maybe.” Lily laid her head on his shoulder. “Mama would tell me not to judge the whole barrel of apples by one bad one.”

“That’s good advice,” Mack said. “You’ve got to have trust issues after the way Wyatt treated you, and you’ve been on your own for a long time. And you can see what I’ve got in my gene pool—the possibility of Alzheimer’s like my dad and a stupid ass for a brother.”

“I’d trust you with my life and with my kids as well, Mack. Besides, my mother died at seventy, my dad at the same age a year before her. Mama said that my Granny Annie only lived to be seventy, so . . .” She trailed off.

“I’ve learned to never look that far ahead.” He tipped up her chin with his forefinger.

She barely had time to moisten her lips before his mouth covered hers in a kiss that held so much promise that it made her forget everything and everyone. Like two love-starved teenagers, they made out on the sofa for a while, their hands moving over each other’s bodies. Finally, she pulled away and locked gazes with him.

“We’re headed to a place in this relationship that will be far more comfortable in the bedroom,” she whispered.

“Your place or mine?” He stood up, scooped her into his arms, and left the living room.

“Do your springs squeak?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” he answered.

“Then your place. It’s closer,” she said between short breaths.

Kissing her again and again, he carried her into his bedroom and kicked the door shut.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sally slipped into church just as the congregation was finishing the first hymn that Sunday morning. She tapped Lily on the shoulder and then sat down beside her when Lily scooted over closer to Mack.

Sally cupped her hand over Lily’s ear and whispered, “I overslept and missed Sunday school. Where’s Granny Hayes? Dusty, her old mule, isn’t tied up to the post outside.”

“I have no idea, but Holly will be heartbroken if she can’t go home with her,” Lily said.

“If she don’t show up, we’re going out there to check on her. I’ve never known her to miss church,” Sally said.

“Not even when she’s sick?”

“Not even when it snows or rains—she don’t get sick,” Sally said.

They finished the last chorus, and Drew took the podium. “Are y’all about tired of winter? I’m ready for spring and new growth on the trees and evidence that rebirth is all around us. That’s what I’m going to talk about this morning—rebirth in our spiritual lives. Sometimes we get so tied up in our physical life, our work and families and kids, that we forget about our spirit, and it gets as dead as those trees out there right now.”

Rebirth—that’s exactly what Lily had gotten when she came home to Comfort. Now she had a better relationship with her kids than she’d ever had before. She was flat-out in love with Mack Cooper. She’d loved Wyatt, but there was a difference in loving someone and being in love. The latter went so much deeper than just love. Plus, she had renewed her friendship with Sally and Teena into more than just once-a-month catching-up sessions.

Drew ended the service by asking Mack to deliver the benediction. Mack stood to his feet, bowed his head, and said, “Dear Lord, thank you for this service that reminds us that there is life after this one. Be with each member of this congregation as they go through the week, and forgive us for our sins. Amen.”

Everyone began to stand and head toward the door. Mack held out a hand to Lily. “Ready to go home?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, and home was not Austin.

“But first, we’re going to drive out to Granny Hayes’s place,” Sally told him. “It’s not like her to miss church.”

“Can I stay with her, Mama? She invited me to come again when Mack picked me up last week. Please, please, please!” Holly begged. “She taught me how to do a crocheted chain, and this week, she’s going to show me how to connect it to make a scarf.”

“Of course you can stay with her if she invited you,” Lily answered.

“Can I see the kittens?” Braden asked.

“Probably not,” Sally answered. “She barely lets me come inside the cabin. But I understand she did say that you could have one, and that Holly could have the pick of the litter. That’s a big thing for her, giving you one of her kittens. She’s pretty selfish with them.”

Braden frowned and sighed. “Can we go to Dairy Queen after we drop Holly off out there?”

“Yes, we can,” Mack told Braden. “Your mother deserves a day out of the kitchen, so we’ll have burgers and malts.”

“Or tacos?” Sally suggested. “I love their tacos, so I’m inviting myself to join y’all.”

Drew shook hands with each of them as they filed out the door, then asked Sally, “Have you heard from Granny Hayes? It’s not like her to miss the services, and today is such a lovely day. A little chilly, but sunshiny and no wind or rain.”

“I had the same thought. We’re going to check on her,” Sally said. “I keep trying to convince her to let me come get her and take her home so she won’t be out in the weather. She tells me that Dusty needs the exercise.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Drew said.

“Sure will,” Sally told him. “Now, who’s riding with me?”

“I’m going with Mack,” Braden said.

“So am I.” Holly had run on ahead and was already getting into the back seat.

“I’ll ride out there with you.” Lily got into the passenger seat of Sally’s business van. “Why’d you drive this today?”

“My car is in the shop getting new tires and a tune-up.” Sally got in and turned the key to start the engine. “I get it back tomorrow. So we’ve got about five or ten minutes at the most. Tell me how the day went yesterday with Nora and Orville.”

“It went fine. Nora was so happy to meet Holly and Braden. Orville and Braden really struck up a friendship, and Holly visited with Nora until it was time for her to go to Faith’s house that evening. I was so damned—oops, forgive me, Lord, for cussin’ right after church—proud of her that I could have shouted.”