“Let me help you take those mugs to the table.” Mack entered the room right behind Holly.

He was so close to Lily that his warm breath sent shivers down her spine. She managed to nod but was afraid to speak for fear her voice would sound breathless.

Holly removed her coat and hung it on the back of a kitchen chair, then sat down. “And she’s going to teach me to crochet so I can make scarves, and she says that when I get really good at it, maybe Sally will sell them in her store.”

“We watched The Beverly Hillbillies,” Braden said.

“Rats!” Holly frowned. “Can we watch it again tonight? And Mama? What about that kitten?”

“If she gets one, I get one, too,” Braden said.

“Not if Granny Hayes doesn’t want to give you one. She likes me. I don’t know if she likes you.” Holly caught sight of the leftover blackberry cobbler still sitting on the cabinet. “Can I have some of that with ice cream on it?”

“Sure, but you have to get it yourself. I’m already sitting down.” Lily wasn’t sure if she chose that moment to stop waiting on her daughter to teach her to be independent, or if maybe she was a little jealous of all the love that Granny Hayes was getting that afternoon.

“Yes, ma’am.” Holly jumped up. “Anyone else want some?”

“Not me,” Mack said.

“Not me,” Braden echoed. “What did you have for dinner? Did you have to kill a chicken for that woman to cook before you could eat?”

“She made an oven stew and sliced a loaf of bread that she made yesterday. We had a peach upside-down cake for dessert. It was really good, and I ate two bowls, but I love Mama’s cobbler,” Holly said.

“You don’t have to butter me up,” Lily told her. “I’ll think about the kitten business and give you an answer when they’re old enough to leave their mama.”

“Thank you.” Holly nodded.

Everyone settled down to drink their hot chocolate. After they’d finished, Braden started The Beverly Hillbillies movie again.

When the goats had been tended to that evening and supper was over, the kids went to their rooms to do the last bit of their homework. Mack brought out his briefcase, took out a sheaf of papers, and laid them on the kitchen table.

“Anything I can help you with?” Lily asked.

“No, but thanks,” he replied. “It’s just the forms for the youth livestock show. I always go over them to be sure the kids have gotten them all done right. That way they don’t get disqualified.”

“Then I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said. “I’m going up to help Holly with her history project before bedtime.”