“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

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.