Ava nodded. “The baby was in distress, so they took his wife to surgery. One C-section later, they are the proud parents of a baby girl. He apologized for coming back, but it was the closest place he knew to bring her. Anyway, she’s here for a while until she and the baby are able to travel, or until they’re stable enough to Medi-Flight them back to Atlanta. Either way, his fleeting interest in me has shifted to more important things in his life.”

Hunt heard the satisfaction in her voice and knew that whatever had transpired, she was good with it, and that’s all that mattered to him. Then he turned off Main and into the parking lot at Granny’s and parked.

Ava suddenly pointed. “Oh look! There are Peanut and Ruby.”

Hunt frowned. “Ruby as in Ruby Dye…who owns the hair salon?”

Ava nodded. “She and Peanut got married a while back. They had quite a story making it happen, too. Her ex-husband showed up, kidnapped her, and there was quite a race to run him down and rescue her.”

Hunt’s eyes widened. “In Blessings? In my head, bad things like that never happen here.”

“There have been all kinds of family dramas happening in Blessings through the years. Some of them tragic, like what happened today to Mr. Hollis, and some of them heroic, like Johnny Pine rescuing Lovey during the hurricane. Even when we mess up, somehow we find a way to come together in the end.”

“Good to know. I like happy endings,” Hunt said. “Are you ready to go inside?”

She leaned across the seat and kissed him.

“Yes, please.”

Hunt felt the kiss all the way to his bones, then got out of the truck and helped her down. They went in hand in hand, and from the look on Hunt Knox’s face, the diners were no longer in doubt about where Hunt and Ava’s relationship was going.

Lovey greeted them, grabbed a couple of menus, and was leading them to an empty booth when Hunt saw Birdie sitting in a booth by herself. She looked so lost and forlorn.

“There’s Birdie,” Hunt said.

Lovey stopped. “She’s eating alone. You two want to sit with her?”

“Of course,” Ava said.

Lovey led them over. “Hey, Birdie, want some company?”

Birdie looked up. “Yes! Please! After everything that happened today, I didn’t want to spend the evening alone.”

They sat down, and then Ava reached for Birdie’s hand.

“I heard about the fire. I’m so sorry about Arnold,” she said.