Elliot shrugged. “It’s just what they told me to say. They said you’ll remember it when the time comes, and you’ll know what to do.”

Then he smiled, patted Hunt’s arm, and got in his car and drove away.

Hunt was too shocked to move and too afraid to acknowledge the scenarios running through his head. Then he saw Junior come hurrying out of the Crown to the cart stall, shook off the feeling of dread, and jogged across the parking lot as Junior began pushing a row of carts back inside.

“Hey, Hunt!” Junior said when his brother appeared beside him.

“Hi, Junior. Looks like you’re doing a good job here.”

Junior grinned. “You should know. You did this job all the way through high school, right?”

“Yes, I did. Keep up the good work. I’ve got to pick up a few things for Ava, and then go check on the painters.”

Junior nodded, then pushed the carts back into place inside before pulling one off for Hunt.

“Here you go, and tell Ava I said hi.”

“Thanks. I will,” Hunt said, then took the shopping cart and headed to the dairy case at the far side of the store.

While he was shopping, he felt a tap on his back and turned to see Ava’s mother with a big smile on her face.

“Hi, darlin’,” she said.

“Hi, Karen. What’s for supper?” he asked.

Karen giggled. “Anything you want. What time you want to come over?”

Hunt grinned and shook his head. “I was just teasing with you. I have no idea what time I’ll be free this evening. I have painters at the house, and my day won’t be over until they go home. I did, however, move into my future wife’s house last night because we sold the bed I’d been sleeping in at Mom’s.”

Karen laughed. “That’s a weak excuse to take my daughter to bed.”

Hunt smiled. “At least I waited until she grew up. I honestly never knew any of this was going on when she was a kid.”

Karen shook her head. “Larry and I thought it was funny…at first. We had no idea it was serious to her. And then the older she became, the more you mattered in her world. When you left, and then everyone shut down and wouldn’t talk about you anymore, she grieved as if you’d died. We thought she would finally get over you, but she has proved us all wrong. The best part is finally getting you in the family.”

Hunt was so touched, he hugged her. “Thank you, but I’m the lucky one. Tell Larry hi for me, and you guys will have to come over and see the house after it’s finished.”

“Can’t wait,” she said. “Love to the both of you.”