“I’ll never forget that thing. It was ancient,” Lily answered.

“I bought it when they went to a new digital one. It’ll be like riding a bicycle. You’ll remember how to work it after the first sale,” Sally said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am. Destiny brought you home, Lily. I’m convinced of it.”

“I so hope that you’re right,” Lily said. “I keep thinking that someone should pinch me to wake me up. Even with the kids squabbling all the time, I’m feeling like this was the right move. Thank you so much for the job.”

“Hey, thank you. Got a customer. See you Friday, but we’ll be talking before then.” She ended the call.

Lily hugged herself and did a ten-second happy dance. Life had thrown her a curveball, but she felt like she’d hit one out of the park.

She started down the short hall to Holly’s room to tell her the news but then thought better of it. She would wait and tell them all at once at the supper table that evening. She wanted to hold on to the excitement a little while longer, and Holly would probably figure out a way to throw ice water on the idea of her mother being a plain old salesclerk, and not something using her therapy degree.

Lily bit back a groan when she saw Adam’s coat still hanging on the hall tree hook. “Dammit!” she swore under her breath, but she had to check on the soup and put the peach cobbler in the oven for supper, so she went on into the kitchen. She scanned the room, saw Braden sitting at the table, but no Mack.

“Where’s—” she started to say.

Braden butted in before she could finish. “He’s gone to change clothes so we can feed the goats.”

Her skin began to crawl like a hundred little spiders had jumped off their mama’s back onto her body. She turned to see that Adam was staring at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. His gaze landed on her breasts first, and then traveled slowly down to her feet and only just back up enough to reach her breasts again. She did her best to ignore him and to not feel like she’d been violated. After all, Braden was right there in the room with them. If she said anything, it would complicate matters, but the tension was as thick as fog on a spring morning.

“Those cookies are amazing,” Adam said.

“Thank you.” Lily went to the stove and turned on the oven. “I made them by my mama’s recipe.”

“Well, they’re great, and to repay you, I’d like to take you to dinner Friday night,” Adam said.

Lily whipped around and glared at him. “Aren’t you married?”

“Separated.” Adam flashed a smile, showing off perfect teeth that were probably capped or were whitened on a regular basis.

Braden had just reached for another cookie, and his hand stopped in midair. He might only be twelve years old, but he wasn’t stupid.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Lily said. “I never date married men, divorced men, or separated men. There’s too much baggage there.”

Braden heaved a sigh, picked up his cookie, and flashed a grin at his mother.

“Honey, I assure you, there’s no ties left to that marriage. It’s just a matter of filing the paperwork. Will you go out with me when the divorce is finalized?” Adam asked.

“Nope,” she answered.

“Why not? You’re divorced, so why are you so adamant about not dating divorced men?” Adam asked.

“If you can’t make it work three times, what makes you think you can make it work with me?”

“Hey, I’m not proposing.” Adam threw up both palms in a defensive gesture. “I just wanted to take you out and show you a good time. What’s going on here? Are you and Mack—”

“Nope, they ain’t,” Braden piped up. “And if I was Mama, I wouldn’t go out with you, either. You’re kind of mean.”

Adam stood up so fast that his chair flipped over backward. The noise sounded like a blast from a gun and brought Holly tearing down the stairs.

“Mama, what’s going on?” Holly rushed into the kitchen.

“Nothin’,” Braden answered for Lily. “Adam got mad and knocked his chair over.”

“I’m not angry. I just need to be on my way. Knocking the chair over was an accident,” Adam said. “See all y’all next time I’m in town.” He left without picking up the chair.

Braden got up and righted the chair himself. “You can go on back to your room, sis. Nobody was trying to kill us. Adam was flirtin’ with Mama, and he wanted to take her out to dinner, but she said no, and I told him he was mean. He was hateful to Mack, and I don’t like him.”

“Me, neither,” Holly said.

Well, praise the Lord and pass the biscuits, Lily thought. Her children had agreed on something, even if it was only a dislike for Adam.

“I’m bored,” Holly groaned. “Rose and Ivy can’t talk tonight. They have tutoring on Wednesdays.”

“You can go with us to feed the goats,” Mack suggested as he entered the room.

“I’m not that bored,” Holly declared.

Mack winked at Lily, and a warm flush crept up into her cheeks. It was a crazy thing that Adam could flirt blatantly, and it just made her angry, but Mack could close an eyelid and smile and she blushed like a schoolgirl.

“Then stop whining about being bored.” Braden took his grandfather’s coat off the hook and put it on. Frank Miller, Lily’s father, had been a big man, about the size that Mack had been in his youth, but maybe thirty pounds heavier when he died. His coat came down to Braden’s knees, and Lily had to roll up the sleeves several times.

“You’re not my boss, and I can be bored if I want,” Holly yelled at him.

“My English teacher said that bored people are boring people,” Braden told his sister, and then turned to his mother. “The coat might be big, but it’s warmer than a hoodie. And look, Mama, there’s work gloves in the pockets.”

“Your grandfather would be glad to see you wearing his coat and going out to feed the animals. He kept a few head of cattle right up to the day he died.” She kissed Braden on the forehead. “Don’t forget your stocking hat. Your ears will freeze off.”

He wiped away the kiss and made a face. “I’m not a kid, Mama. I’m twelve years old.” His voice cracked for the first time since they’d come home to Comfort.

“Let’s go get the chores done.” Mack opened the door and let Braden go out before him, and then he looked over his shoulder. “We really need to get him a coat that fits.”

“Maybe so.” Lily watched from the kitchen window as they walked side by side out across the yard. She shuddered to think of the path her children were on a week ago. Suddenly she realized that Mack had said we, not you, need to get him a coat, and it didn’t seem strange to her ears.

Lily served a two-layer chocolate cake with fudge icing that evening for supper—both Braden’s and Holly’s favorite.

“It’s not my birthday or Holly’s.” Braden stared at the cake. She usually didn’t make it except for their birthdays.

“I’m celebrating something for me today,” Lily said.

“Oh, yeah?” Holly held out her plate for the first slice. “What’s that?”