Ava sniffed determinedly. “Ever since you moved up here, every time I ask you to do something on a weekend, you tell me you don’t want to get in the car. When are you going to be home? I was going to come over.”

Olivia made a face. “To Elsah? Is that cold making you feverish by chance?” Quaint and historic and tucked-away, sleepy village weren’t words she’d ever associate with her sister. Ava had visited their aunt’s house when Olivia first arrived in January. Looking around, her sister had done the classic folded-arms, rocking-heel, and raised-eyebrow “Quaint, isn’t it?” and had never been back. Whenever they hung out, it was either at Ava’s favorite coffeehouse or her luxury condo in downtown Kirkwood, one of St. Louis’s popular suburbs.

“Very funny. And you didn’t answer. How soon will you be home? Should I start driving? I don’t want to be alone with Aunt Becky. She’s weird.”

“She’s not weird. You just need to get to know her better.” Olivia hadn’t told her sister she’d signed up as a rescue driver for a reason. Ava had taken off from their Bootheel home a month after high school graduation and hadn’t looked back at life in rural southern Missouri. And she’d been in no hurry to add an animal to her life either.

While she’d never had a lit firecracker under her butt like her sister, Olivia understood. She’d dreamed of leaving too. Back home, life moved at a different pace, which could be good and could be bad. It bothered her more that everyone knew everyone else’s business. Or at least they assumed they did. And sometimes they were as quick to hand out judgments as they were a helping hand.

The difference between Olivia and her sister was that since leaving three months ago, Olivia had had more than a few waves of homesickness. One of the things she missed most was having a dog or cat underfoot. On her grandpa’s farm, there’d always been a few of each. Her favorite, a golden retriever named Sassy, had passed away a year ago, breaking Olivia’s heart.

But even if she was finally ready to bring another dog into her world, her aunt was a vegan and borderline hermit who made a living as a potter. Her only pet was a dog-fearing cockatoo. When Olivia had heard about a fellow teacher at her school who did rescue driving on weekends, she’d thought it might be just the thing to get her through until she had a place of her own.

“I’m gonna be gone all day,” Olivia added. “How ’bout tomorrow?”

“All day? But you don’t even know anyone up here yet.” Ava paused to blow her nose. “What’s going on?”