“Oh, well.” Mack picked up the remote. “Like you said, until he realizes he has a problem, it’s not going to get fixed, anyway.”

“That’s right,” Lily agreed.

Mack started the next episode of Lethal Weapon, and Lily watched it with brand-new insight. One of the main characters, Martin Riggs, was flawed because of his wife’s death. Mack Cooper had problems because of his brother’s narcissistic attitude. It was easy to see why Mack would relate to Riggs. Lily wanted to hug Mack, but he sure wouldn’t like that, she was certain.

When the episode ended, she yawned. “I’ve had enough for tonight. I’m going up to bed. Good night, Mack.”

“’Night to you, and thanks for listening.” He got out of his chair and rolled his neck to get the kinks out.

“Anytime,” she said on her way out the door.

Once she’d had a bath and was dressed for bed, she got out the journal again. She read the entry about Henry’s attitude when he had come home from the war. “He was like Adam,” she whispered. “He felt entitled and special.”

She turned the page to reread the entry dated December 1865:

Matilda left this morning on a stagecoach. I already miss her and she’s only been gone a few hours. I feel like she’s making a mistake, but she’s adamant that she loves the man. She’s going to marry a Yankee, the friend that Henry brought home last summer. They’ve been writing since he and Henry left, and Henry’s been sending Rayford’s letters to her with his. What did I do wrong with my children? Everett tries to comfort me, but I feel like a complete failure. I may never see my daughter again. My son says he has no intentions of ever coming back to the cursed south again. A part of me admires him for his conviction; the other part wants to shake him until his teeth rattle even though he’s a grown man.

Determined that she and Holly should share the new entries, Lily closed the journal and didn’t read on.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Mack used his planning period on Thursday morning to look up NPD, and was amazed to find that the symptoms fit Adam so well. He and his brother were twins, so it stood to reason that they would be drawn to the same type of woman. But if Adam really had NPD, then why hadn’t Mack developed that condition, also?

Lunchtime was right after his planning period, and a 4-H meeting had been scheduled for noon that day. He had to hustle to get over to the library at the middle school for the meeting. Today, they would be discussing the upcoming junior livestock exhibition, and the kids would be taking the forms home to fill out concerning what animals they would show that spring.