He pulled up in the parking lot, then sat for a couple of moments, thinking about how hard this was going to be. He hadn’t studied anything but the bottom of a beer bottle since dropping out of school, but getting a high school diploma was something he wanted to do.

He pocketed his keys as he got out, and started walking toward the steps of the library. There was sunlight in his eyes, and for the first time in fifteen years, there was peace in his heart.

“I’m doing this, Mama. I’m going to make you proud.”

* * *

Ava’s engagement ring was the new talk of the ER, and as word spread throughout the hospital, the questions about her relationship with Hunt Knox began to change.

Rhonda Bailey, one of the nurses she worked in the ER with, was the first one to ask.

“Where are you and Hunt going to live? Are you living in his mother’s house? Is that why he’s fixing it up?”

Ava shook her head. “No. It was in her will that they sell it and divide the money among all five of the kids.”

“Ah, so where are you going to live, then?” Rhonda asked.

“Houston. When Hunt leaves, I’m going with him.”

Rhonda’s expression fell. “Oh…I was afraid you were going to say something like that. You know I wish you guys all the best, but I sure am going to hate to see you go. I love working with you.”

“And I love working with you. I love Blessings. It will always be my hometown, but my home is wherever Hunt is. I’ve loved him forever.”

Rhonda smiled. “Then I’m happy for you, but you better be telling the powers that be that you’re leaving so they can start interviewing for replacements. With both you and Hope Talbot gone, we could find ourselves shorthanded in emergencies.”

“You’re right, and I will,” Ava said. “I’ll check in with personnel during my lunch hour and let them know.”

“What do Larry and Karen think about you leaving?” Rhonda asked.

Ava grinned. “Oh, you know how Mom and Dad are. They’re happy for us, and they love to travel. Houston will just be one more place they have an excuse to visit.”

* * *

While news about Ava’s imminent exit from Blessings began to spread through the hospital, there was also good news spreading through Blessings regarding Davey Randolph, the little boy Hunt had flown to Savannah. He had been taken from the critical list and moved from the ICU into a regular hospital room, and with permission from his parents, his first visitor was Richard Borden—penitent and begging forgiveness.

Chapter 16

Three days later, the Knox family had finally removed the keepsakes and pictures they wanted from the house, and the roofers had long gone.