“I’m just thinking that we shouldn’t start anything without being completely honest, and, honey, I can remedy that kissing part anytime.” His green eyes twinkled.

Lily felt heat rising to her cheeks when she thought of kissing him. How in the devil would it even work if they did decide to go out, or got into a relationship beyond friendship? They lived in the same house with Holly and Braden underfoot all the time. “I’ve got two kids,” she blurted out.

“I’ve got forty goats.” He grinned.

“Did you say it’s time to go feed the goats?” Braden came across the room and leaned his arms on the back of the sofa.

Point proven, she thought.

“Yep, it is,” Mack answered. “I reckon we both need to get changed so we don’t ruin our good clothes.”

“I’ll be down in five minutes.” Braden ran up the stairs.

Mack crossed the room and bent to brush a sweet kiss across her lips. The tenderness of his mouth barely touching hers and his drawl combined to send a heat flash through her whole body. If that brief contact created such an effect, a relationship might burn down the house.

Lily feared that supper would be awkward, but it wasn’t at all. The kids bantered as they ate their chicken and dumplings and fought over who got the last piece of chocolate cake. When they’d finished with the cleanup, Mack got out a whole stack of papers to grade, and the kids disappeared to their rooms.

She thought about sticking around or watching an old movie, but she was afraid that Mack might think she was angling for another kiss, so she went upstairs to her room and took the journal over to Holly’s room. She rapped on the doorframe and asked, “You ready for the next chapter?”

“You mean entry?” Holly asked.

“Either one.” Lily held the book up so she could see it.

“Yep, but, Mama”—Holly put away the book she’d been reading and got out her notebooks—“I wish it was more like a diary where they wrote in it every day. I like the way my paper is coming together. I even let my history teacher look at what I’d done, and he said it was excellent work.”