She turned around to face him. “Mack, are you sure you want to take me home to meet your parents? Things didn’t go well when you took Brenda and Natalie home to meet the folks, did it?”

“I don’t think I have anything to worry about. Besides, the third time’s the charm. ’Course if you don’t want to, that’s fine. We can always grab a burger at Dairy Queen and drive down to the river and watch the fish flop out of the water.” He grinned and then gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.

“Or I can make supper here,” she suggested. “But I’d love to see Nora and Orville again. I haven’t seen them since Mama’s funeral, and Nora was so good to organize and help Polly in the kitchen.”

Mack nodded and took his phone from his pocket. “I’ll send her a text and tell her to expect us in about an hour.”

“That leaves me fifteen minutes to get ready.” Lily started to leave the room.

“I thought you were ready.” He took her hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. “You look beautiful to me.”

She pulled her blonde hair from the band holding her ponytail, ran her fingers through it, and shook it loose. “After a comment like that, what can I say except ‘Let’s go’?”

“Got your cell phone?” he asked.

“In my purse,” she answered.

“I wrote my number down on a piece of paper for each of the kids, and they said they knew yours, so that’s covered.” He took her by the hand and led her to the foyer, helped her into her coat, and opened the door for her.

She picked up her purse and headed toward his truck that was parked right beside her car. Even though it was dusty, it sure looked better than that sleek little sports car Wyatt had been driving.

Taking her to his folks’ house might not be called a date, but Mack chose to think of it as one, anyway. He started the engine and adjusted the heater so that she would be warm. When they passed the historical marker out at the end of the lane, he asked, “So you’re the third generation to live in the house?”

“Sally and I were talking about that today. I think I might be the sixth.” She explained what she and Sally had pieced together. “And we could be long-ago kin to Granny Hayes.”

“Small world.” He didn’t want to talk about ancestors and relatives. He’d rather hear something about Lily. “Did you like growing up in the old stone place, or would you have rather lived in a modern one-story house?”

“It was home, so I never gave it much thought, except when tourists blocked the driveway or drove right up in the yard to take pictures of the place,” she said. “How have you liked living there?”

“Loved it. The whole place, from the house to the barn to the old smokehouse, has got personality,” Mack said. “It kind of reminds me of the place where I grew up. It wasn’t on the historical registry, but it wasn’t a newer, modern place, either. Personally, I think Mama would have been better to keep Dad in his familiar surroundings, but Adam was insistent that they move closer to Dad’s doctors. Now he’s even more disoriented than before, and he gets angry when he can’t find things. Mama says the doctors say that’s part of the disease and not to argue with him.” His phone rang, and he fished it out of his hip pocket, laid it on the console, and put it on speaker. “Hello.”

“Mack, this is Braden. We’re in the car on the way to the hotel, and I forgot to tell you that I left my boots in the barn. If Star gets them, she’ll chew them up.”

“You’re on speaker,” Mack said. “Your mom is right here beside me. I’ll take care of the boots.”

“Gimme that phone,” Holly shouted. “This is Holly, and I’m talking now. My goat won’t eat his smelly old boots. His goat might, but my sweet girl doesn’t like the taste of dirty feet.”

“That’s enough about boots,” Wyatt said. “And I don’t want to hear about goats while we’re at dinner with Victoria.”

Mack tried to keep the smile off his face, but it was impossible. He glanced over at Lily and chuckled. “I guess that means y’all better not talk about kissing Star on the nose, either.”

“Or that you’re getting a cat from Granny Hayes,” Lily said.

Holly squealed so loud that Lily could just imagine the expression on Wyatt’s face. “Mama said we can have a cat, Braden.”

“I got the phone again,” Braden said. “If she gets a kitten, does that mean I can have one, too?”

“I imagine one would get really lonely all by itself,” Lily said.

“What are you going to do with goats and cats when you move back to Austin this summer?” Wyatt asked.

“We’re going to take them with us,” Holly said in a sticky-sweet voice. “And when we come to visit you, we’ll bring them all along so you can get to know them.”

“Bye, Mama. Thanks for taking care of my boots, Mack.” Braden ended the call.

“I love those kids.” Mack laughed out loud.

“They’ve sure done a turnaround since we moved back home,” she said. “Thank you for helping with that.”

“I didn’t do anything.” He shrugged. “They had some troubles, but they’re both good kids, and they’re smart. You can’t fool a child, Lily. They know it when they’re loved.”

“I decided when we came to Comfort that I was going to show them that they were loved. I’ve told them for years, but I’m afraid that my actions were lacking. I let my work consume me, and then they spent too much time in their rooms or with unsavory friends.”

“But you’re taking steps to correct that, and it’s working.” After the phone call from the kids, Mack was more excited about his life at that very moment than he had been in too many years to count. He just hoped that Adam didn’t choose this evening to make a surprise visit to his folks.

Chapter Sixteen

The sun had solidified into a huge orange ball sliding down on the far horizon when Mack parked his truck in front of a small brick home on the outskirts of San Antonio. The front yard was so small it could have been cut with manicure scissors, and from what Lily could see from the passenger seat, the fenced backyard couldn’t have been much bigger.

“I would never have thought your parents would be happy with a place like this,” she said.

“They aren’t.” Mack unfastened his seat belt and turned to face her. “Dad hated it at first, but now he doesn’t remember living anywhere else until he comes to visit me, and then he thinks he’s back on his own little goat farm. He doesn’t know who Mama is some of the time, and he thinks Adam and I are still teenagers. He loves it when Mama brings him up to the farm, though. That’s what we call your place. He’ll sit for hours and hours and watch the baby goats romp around. It’s the only time I’ve seen him really happy lately. Just be prepared. He may not know you at all.” He got out of the truck and hurried around the front end to open the door for her.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling.

His mother, Nora, met them at the door. A tall, rawboned woman with more salt than pepper in her hair, she looked just like she had the last time Lily had seen her. Tonight she wore jeans and a pretty light-green sweater that matched her eyes. She gave Mack the first hug, and then she hugged Lily and whispered, “Orville is having a good day. I’m so glad y’all came.” Then she raised her voice. “I’ve got dinner ready to put on the table. I hope you still like fried chicken, Lily.”