Cody’s mouth gaped. “You made a pass at her?”

He made it sound like Harlan was sixteen and had been trying to get into the drawers of the preacher’s daughter. “It wasn’t a pass, dammit. It was a kiss.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. I bet Luke you wouldn’t have the guts to try that for at least another month.”

Harlan groaned. “I knew this was a mistake. I knew it.” He scowled fiercely. “You blab one word of this and I’ll hang your hide from the oak tree out back just to set an example for your brothers.”

Unfortunately, Cody didn’t exactly seem to be intimidated. He chuckled even as he said, “Not a word. I already promised. Besides, do you think I want Luke to know I lost the bet? So what was so awkward?”

“Jenny walked in.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh is right. She wasn’t happy.”

“She’s a kid. She’ll get over it. Surely her mom has been on dates before.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But it took me most of last week to get a civil tongue in that girl’s head. Now I’ve gone and lost whatever ground I gained.”

“What was Janet’s reaction to all this?”

“Naturally she was upset.”

“With you or Jenny?”

“I’m the supposedly responsible adult. I’m the one who caused the problem.”

“Not if she kissed you back,” Cody corrected. “Did she?”

Harlan couldn’t help smiling at the memory. “She did, indeed.”

“Then you’ll find a way to work it out,” Cody predicted, apparently satisfied that he’d completed his role as counselor. “I’m going inside for breakfast. All this advice has left me famished.”

“You’re always famished,” Harlan observed. “Doesn’t Melissa ever feed you?”

“Sure, but that was two hours ago,” he said as he opened the front door. Just as he was about to step inside, he looked back. “Hey, Daddy?”

Harlan’s gaze was already riveted on the lane again. “Hmm?”

“Remember what you used to tell us when we were dating?”

His head snapped around. “What?”

“It’s not polite to kiss and tell,” Cody taunted.

If he’d had something available, he would have thrown it at him. “Then see that you don’t repeat my mistake,” he warned emphatically. “There will be hell to pay for both of us, if you do.”

By eight o’clock Harlan had just about accepted the fact that Janet and Jenny wouldn’t be coming. He decided to let it pass for today, but if they didn’t show up tomorrow, he vowed to have a little chat with Jenny about paying off debts and living up to obligations. If he was more concerned about his own selfish interests, well, that was something she wouldn’t have to know.