“You all right?” Mack sat down beside her. “Braden is back in bed, but your face is red as fire.”

“Victoria says that Wyatt will never call again. I feel bad for the kids,” she whispered.

“It will all work out.” Mack laid a hand on her shoulder.

“I hope so,” Lily said. “Thank you for everything tonight, Mack.”

“Hey, we’re a family.” He grinned.

“I guess we are.” She smiled back at him.

Chapter Seventeen

Lily woke on Saturday morning to find Holly snuggled up to her right side and Braden on her left. What she thought was her alarm clock making the noise on the nightstand turned out to be her phone. She reached over Holly and answered with a sleepy “Hello.”

“This is Sally, and I’ve got this big favor to ask. Can you possibly keep the shop until right after lunch? There’s a huge estate sale at the north edge of San Antonio, and I would love to go,” she said.

“Of course.” Lily yawned. “All right if I open at nine?”

“That’s great,” Sally answered. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and thanks. You’re the best.”

“What?” Holly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“I’ve got to go to work this morning. Want to go with me?” Lily asked.

“Yes!” Holly bounded out of bed. “I’ll get dressed and put on my makeup.”

Braden got out of the bed and disappeared out into the hallway. Lily followed him, expecting him to go to the bathroom, but instead he went to his room, got back into bed, and pulled the covers up to his chin. She caught a whiff of bacon and coffee all mixed together as she went downstairs. She found Mack sitting at the table with a mug of coffee and the last few bites of waffles in front of him.

“Good mornin’,” he said. “I thought y’all were going to sleep in this morning. Can I make you some waffles?”

“Just coffee.” She poured a cup. “Sally needs me at the shop. Holly wants to go with me.”

“I’m going to Kerrville this morning to look at a couple of goats,” Mack said. “Reckon Braden would want to go? I’m not leaving for a couple of hours.”

“I’m sure he would.” Lily sipped her coffee. “They were both in bed with me this morning when I woke up. Do you think they’ll get over last night’s trauma anytime soon?”

“Sure, they will,” he said. “They’ll be back in their routine on Monday, and pretty soon, it’ll just become a good story to tell.”

“I hope so.” She toyed with her mug. “I can’t begin to thank you enough for all you’ve done for us, Mack.”

“Right back atcha.” He grinned.

“Do I smell waffles?” Braden rubbed his eyes as he came into the room.

“You sure do,” Mack answered. “How many can you eat?”

“A bunch. I’ll make them.” Braden went to the counter, poured the right amount of batter into the waffle iron, and closed the lid. He nibbled on a piece of bacon while he waited for it to cook. “Holly says she’s going with you to work, Mama. I don’t have to go, do I?”

“You have a choice,” Lily told him. “You can go to the shop, or go with Mack to look at goats to buy.”

“Mack!” he said without hesitation. “I just didn’t want to be here all by myself. What if Daddy calls or comes? I don’t want to see him right now.”

“I talked to him and Victoria both last night. You don’t have anything to worry about, son. It will be a while before we hear from him. I’d better go get dressed.” Lily picked up her mug, refilled it, and carried it with her.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she heard her phone ringing. She couldn’t rush with a full cup of coffee in her hands, so she didn’t pick it up until the fourth ring. Expecting it to be Sally with instructions about the shop, she didn’t even check the caller ID, but answered, “Hello.”

“I’ve called four times in the last twenty minutes,” Wyatt growled. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“What do you want?” she asked.

“To talk to you about last night,” Wyatt said. “Why is it that you can discipline the kids, but I can’t?”

“When I correct them, my methods are within reason. What you did last night wasn’t, and I’m not discussing this with you anymore until you apologize to them for what you did,” she told him.

“Are you going to apologize to them for taking them to Comfort?” His tone was iceberg cold.

“This has been an amazing move. They like their school, and they love living here in this wonderful, big roach-free house, so the answer is no. I did what I did out of love. You did what you did out of anger.” Little red dots of rage swam in front of Lily’s eyes again, so she sat down on the edge of the bed and made herself breathe in and out several times. If Wyatt had been right there in front of her, she would have gladly used the bedside lamp cord to strangle him. How dare he compare her moving to Comfort and getting the kids out of an unhealthy environment to the stunt he’d pulled! “Besides, Victoria called last night to tell me that you won’t ever be seeing them again. I guess she’s got your balls in a vise, doesn’t she?”

“It will be a cold day in hell before I apologize,” he said. “And Victoria does not control me.”

“I’m not arguing with you anymore. Just remember, when you’re old and alone, money makes a really poor companion. Goodbye, Wyatt.” She ended the call.

Her hands shook as she got out a fresh pair of jeans and a bright-red sweater. Until yesterday, she had never talked to Wyatt like that, not even when he told her he was leaving her and moving in with another woman. She had always given him his way on everything and never questioned him. Looking back, she could see that Wyatt had been the problem in their marriage from day one, with his control issues. Well, those days were over, and he could just accept it.

That morning, it felt damn good to finally speak her mind, and she wished that she’d stood up for herself sooner.

“I’m ready, Mama,” Holly said from the doorway into Lily’s bedroom.

“Then go on downstairs and have some waffles before we leave,” Lily told her.