Braden pulled out his chair and took a seat. “Feeding is my job.”

“Hey, now.” Mack pulled out his own chair and sat down. “We can use all the help we can get, but for the next few weeks, Star won’t get fed except by her new mama. You can sure go out to the stall and love on her until about Sunday. Then I’ll turn her mama loose in the pasture with all the other goats and their babies.” He bowed his head and led everyone in a blessing for the meal.

“Will she forget me?” Holly’s chin quivered.

“Never. She’ll always be your special pet, and will probably come running to you when she hears your voice. Especially if you take time to pet her every day until Sunday.”

“I will,” Holly said seriously.

“No, you won’t,” Braden argued. “You’ll get tired of her in two days.” He turned to Mack. “When she does, can I have her?”

“No, I won’t,” Holly said. “And you can’t have her. Eat your supper and hush.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Braden said.

The house phone rang, and everyone froze for a couple of seconds, and then Holly jumped up and ran to answer it. “It’s probably Faith. She said she’d call, and we’re having supper late and . . .” She grabbed the phone on the third ring. “Hello, Faith. I was going to call you in a few minutes. Oh.” She stopped. “Hi, Daddy. Guess what? I got my very own goat today, and her name is Star, and she’s going to be my special pet.”

The kids hadn’t heard a word from him since the move, so why was he calling now? Lily began to worry. Had he been thinking about the kids moving in with him? Would they leave her if he gave them the chance?

“Sorry, Daddy, I have to be here over the weekend to pet my new goat, or she won’t know me when she goes out to pasture,” Holly said. Then there was a long silence while she listened to him. “Well, if it’s only one night, and I can pet her before we leave and you’ll have us back home before four on Saturday, that would be all right, I guess. But you better talk to Mama before you reserve a hotel room for us.” She laid the phone down on the counter and went back to the table.

“It’s Daddy, and he wants to talk to you,” she told Lily, and then nudged Braden with her elbow. “I told him we could only be gone from tomorrow evening until Saturday. If you don’t back me up, I’m going to strangle you.”

“I don’t want to go at all,” Braden said. “I’d rather be here.”

Lily took her time pushing away from the table and going to the phone. “Hello, Wyatt,” she said. “We haven’t heard from you in a month. Did you lose the number to the house here in Comfort?”

“I’ve been too busy to call, but I want the kids for the weekend. I’ll pick them up tomorrow and bring them home Sunday evening. Have them ready at four,” he said.

She turned toward the table. “Sure you don’t want to stay over until Sunday?”

Both kids shook their heads.

“The kids have projects they’re working on, so they’ll have to be home Saturday evening fairly early,” she said in a businesslike tone.

“Victoria and I want to take them to a couple of museums on Saturday, and then to the Alamo on Sunday. From what Holly just told me, they could use some culture,” he almost growled.

She relayed the message to the kids.

Braden pretended to gag.

Holly shook her head. “I’m not even going if Victoria is going to be there.”

Braden raised his hand in agreement.

“They’ll go, but for one day only,” Lily said. “How about if you go to the Alamo and then to the shopping mall?”

“No museums,” Braden said.

“Only if we get to go to the mall.” Holly got up for the second time and held out her hand for the phone. “It’s me again, Daddy. Here’s the deal. We’ll go if you pick us up tomorrow, and we can go to the Alamo and the shopping mall Saturday. We want to eat at the barbecue place in the food court, not some fancy place with cloth napkins, and then we want to be home before four so we can take care of our goats. Deal?”

She listened for a few minutes and then hung up. “We got the deal, brother, and to make it sweeter, Victoria doesn’t want to go to either place. She’s spending the day in a spa.”

Braden held up his hand for a high five, and Holly slapped it. Then they went back to their food as if nothing had happened.

Lily couldn’t help but wonder how Wyatt must have felt. This was the first time the kids hadn’t fallen all over themselves to get to spend time with him. He must’ve thought they would jump at the chance for a weekend away from the boonies. Well, now maybe he would think again.

“Thank God for goats,” Lily muttered.

“What was that?” Mack unloaded the dishwasher so they could put the supper dishes inside.

Lily repeated what she’d said, continuing, “This is the first time that Holly or Braden haven’t gotten excited to get to spend time with their dad. It’s about time that he realizes they’re growing up and away from him. It breaks my heart the way he throws a relationship with them away for Victoria.”

“Why does he do that?” Mack asked.

“She’s very wealthy, and she doesn’t like children. She’s about ten years older than Wyatt. I don’t know if she loves him or the fact that he’s so pretty and looks good in a five-thousand-dollar suit. Of course, I also don’t know if he loves her or the lifestyle she affords him. He has always liked being a big shot,” Lily told him.

“Is she the reason he doesn’t get the kids every other weekend and a month in the summer?” Mack asked.

Lily shrugged. “He gave me sole custody in the divorce and said that he’d spend time with them when he could. It’s been six months since he’s even seen them.”

“Not even at Christmas?” Mack’s face was a study in pure shock.

“He sent a few expensive gifts, but not even at Christmas,” Lily replied. “They called him and wanted to move in with him when I told them we were moving to Comfort. He said no way, and I kind of felt sorry for the kids even though I was upset with them,” she explained.

“Man, he’s a fool.” Mack slowly shook his head. “He has no idea the fun he’s missing.”