Ava sank back into the chair and waited, thinking how close she’d come to losing all this.

They sat down together, and as they ate, plans for their future continued to unfold.

Later that night, after her parents were gone and Hunt was stretched out in bed beside her watching TV, he kept thinking of taking Ava up in one of the choppers, wondering if she’d love it as much as he did or if she would freak. Only time would tell.

When she finally fell asleep, he eased his arm out from beneath her neck and pulled up the covers. It hurt her to lie on her side, so until the fracture in her sternum healed, she would be sleeping on her back. He was afraid to get too close for fear he’d bump something and hurt her, but she didn’t want him to sleep anywhere else. So he lay on his side with a pillow between them, making quiet promises to God that she would never hear.

All Hunt wanted in life was to keep her safe, but he was going to need help making that happen. Every pilot he had ever known claimed God for a copilot, so he was talking to The Man about watching out for Ava when he could not.

Chapter 20

The silent auction and dance at the country club netted a little over four thousand dollars for Donna Hollis. The autopsy on Arnold’s body had finally been released. Chief Pittman called her to let Donna know that he died from a broken neck, likely from a fall considering where they’d found the body, and that he would not have been alive by the time he was burned.

Of all the things that Donna had been going through, knowing her Arnie hadn’t suffered in that inferno was the gift. And once the coroner released the body, the funeral home in Blessings picked it up. His cremation was scheduled, but it would be some days before ashes would be available. So Donna had taken Ruby Butterman’s advice and asked them to ship the ashes to her new address. They readily agreed, again extending their sympathies for her loss.

Now all Donna needed was get home. Her little yard sale had netted a few hundred dollars to add to the account. The hardest things she’d had to part with were Arnold’s clothes. But she kept telling herself that it would be better that they went to someone who needed them rather than turning them into a shrine.

Two days ago, she’d gotten a phone call from Ruby, asking when she wanted to move.

“I’d go today if I could,” Donna said. “In reality, it’ll take me a couple more days to get my stuff packed up.”

“Then be ready,” Ruby said.

“But how will—”

“Just be ready,” Ruby said. “All will be revealed.”