Just an FYI, the Coulter children are not aware of Jack and Rosie's romantic background, so no, I did not forget an important plot line from season 1. Enjoy Heartes.

Lee didn't sleep for the next few nights. He was still thinking about Lillian's dinner date with William. It was a change of pace for him. Normally he was the laid back one in his marriage while Rosemary was always the Nervous Nelly. But not this time. Rosemary was thrilled at the idea of the "Best Buddies" as she called them reconnecting over dinner. The last few days had been a blur as well. He wouldn't be able to tell anyone what Frank had included in his sermon on Sunday nor would he have been able to recall a single aspect of the Coulter family dinner conversations. Early morning Monday, Rosemary noticed her husband was tossing and turning again, as he had been for the past few nights. She wasn't getting much sleep herself, so she decided to say something about it, "Honey, would you lie still?!" she whispered loudly, "The last time one of us was tossing and turning in bed this much was when I was expecting Violet."

Lee finally settled down, lying on his back. He took a deep breath and grabbed Rosemary's hand, "I'm sorry, Rosie. I can't help it. I just can't stop thinking about Lilly's dinner date with William."

"Didn't I tell you not to worry about that?" she scolded lightly, "It's two friends having dinner. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And I'm telling you, my gut is telling me it's something more," said Lee.

Rosemary rolled over to face him, "Honey, you're worrying over nothing, I'm telling you."

"Men and women can't be friends, Rosie. There's always some sort of romantic intention involved," said Lee.

"Um, Bill and Dottie, Bill and Abigail, Henry and Abigail, me and Jack," Rosemary listed some examples.

"Okay, okay," Lee stopped her, "I guess I'm just scared because she's my little girl."

"Our little girl," reminded Rosemary, "Who's still trying to figure out her next step in life. I don't think she has courtship with anyone on her mind."

Lee sighed, "Yeah, you're right. You usually are," Rosemary raised her eyebrows at her husband, "You're not always right. You didn't want to court me and you didn't want kids when we first got married."

"Okay, I'll give you those, because you, Lilly, Aaron, and Violet are the best things that ever happened to me," Rosemary snuggled next to her husband, "Now get some sleep," she emphasized.

When the sun came up, the entire Coulter family was up and about fairly early. Rosemary made breakfast before Aaron left to spend the day with Robert and Cody. Lee grabbed his belongings and Rosemary grabbed her clutch, "Behave for Lilly, Princess," Lee said to Violet.

"I will Daddy," she hugged and kissed him.

"I'll be home this evening, Baby Girl," Rosemary kissed her.

"Mommy, I'm not a baby anymore! I turned ten years old last month, remember?" she shouted emphatically, waving her hands in the air.

"I don't care how old you are, even your sister is still my baby girl and she'll be eighteen in a few months," Rosemary smiled at her other daughter.

Lilly rolled her eyes, but smiled and hugged her mother, "Have a good trip, Mom. We'll be fine. Right Violet?" Violet nodded eagerly.

"Alright," Rosemary sighed, "Dad will be at his office if you need anything…"

"MOM!" Lilly stopped her, "I'm fine."

"Okay," Rosemary sighed, "I love you," she kissed Lilly's cheek and went to leave.

"Hey, don't I get a goodbye kiss too?" asked Lee with mock jealousy. Lilly and Violet both giggled in amusement.

"Of course you do, sweetheart," Rosemary smirked and kissed him, "Have a good day. I love you."

"I love you too," Lee smiled, "Have a safe trip."

Rosemary squeezed his hand and left for Buxton. Lee turned to his daughters and kissed them both, "You know I'll be at the mill in the morning, but I'll be in my office by lunchtime. Come down if there's an emergency," he informed Lilly.

"Okay Dad," Lilly hugged him. He hugged Violet and left as well.

Violet looked up at Lilly and smiled, "I hope I marry a man like Daddy someday. He's so good to Mommy."

Lilly chuckled, "Well, you have a long time before you even have to think about marriage. Now what did you want to do today?"

"Can we color?" asked Violet hopefully.

"Of course. Go sit at the table and I'll go get the coloring books and crayons out of the playroom."

Violet happily bounced over to the dining room table while Lilly went upstairs to gather the art supplies. She smiled fondly at the amount of childhood memories that had been spent in this room. From the moment Violet had been born, she had adored being a big sister and helping her mother care for her (minus changing the smelly diapers). They had spent hours upon hours playing peek-a-boo, dolls, dress-up, play performing, you name it, they played it. Lilly had no idea where her love of children came from, given the fact that her mother generally didn't like them unless it was her or one of her siblings, and then of course, she was a fierce Mama Bear. She supposed it was the little bit of her father in her. Lilly carried the supplies down to the dining room and set everything out on the table. She sat next to Violet who was more than happy to begin the conversation, "So you're having dinner with William Thornton tonight, right?"

"Mmhm," Lilly nodded in affirmation.

"Well, what are you going to wear on your date?" asked Violet curiously.

Lilly looked at her younger sister in confusion, "It's not a date, Violet. We're just friends."

"That's not what Daddy says," started Violet and then she covered her mouth, "Oops. Mommy promised me not to tell you that if I wanted more dessert this week."

Lilly furrowed her brow, "What did Daddy say?"

Violet shook her head adamantly, "I can't say. I promised not to tell anyone."

"Well, tell you what? You tell me what Daddy said, and I'll do anything you want for the rest of the week," bargained Lilly.

"Anything?" asked Violet with a twinkle in her hazel eyes.

"Anything," Lilly confirmed.

"Well, I really wanted to go to Aunt Abigail's for lunch today," said Violet.

"Violet, it's my day off," Lilly pleaded.

"Alright, then I won't tell you what Daddy said," Violet shrugged innocently.

"Fine, we'll go to Aunt Abigail's for lunch," Lilly answered.

"And I get to help you pick out your outfit for tonight," said Violet.

Lilly sighed, "Fine. Now what did Daddy say about William asking me to dinner?"

"He said that two people of the opposite sex can't be friends without the boy having the intention to court the girl," informed Violet, focusing on her coloring book.

Lilly laughed and grabbed Violet's hand, "Oh Violet, dear, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Look at Mommy and Uncle Jack. They're best friends and they've never courted or been romantically involved."

"Yeah, true," Violet commented, "I'm just repeating what Daddy said to Mommy. Mommy doesn't believe him either."

"That's because Daddy's overthinking it, but Mommy and I are using woman's intuition. You'll understand when you get a little older," after another few hours had passed, Lilly looked at the time and smiled at Violet, "Well, are you ready to go over to Aunt Abigail's for lunch?"

Violet nodded and helped Lilly clean up the drawing supplies to place back in the playroom. Violet grabbed Lilly's hand and asked, "Can I order whatever I want?"

Lilly sighed, "Yes, you can order whatever you'd like."

"And we can play house when we get home?"

"Yes."

"And I still get to help pick out your outfit for your date with William tonight?"

"It's not a date! And on one condition," Violet looked up at her big sister, "No plaid dresses." Unlike Violet, who always seemed to have some sort of plaid dress as her attire (in fact her entire wardrobe seemed to contain some sort of plaid pattern), Lilly despised wearing plaid. Bright colors, sure! But plaid was where she drew the line.

Violet tilted her head, almost as if she was ready to argue with Lilly. But soon she smiled and said, "Okay!"