Late the same evening, Hunt was sitting on the back porch thinking about the day. He’d honored his mother and kept the promise he’d made. His job here was over. This was the longest he’d been grounded since he’d been shot down, and he missed being up in the air.

Ava came out and sat down beside him, then laid her head on his shoulder.

“Tomorrow you go to the lawyer’s office for a final settling of the estate, right?”

“Yes. And I want you to know that extra eight thousand dollars I’m supposed to get from the estate? I’m donating it to the hospital in your name to buy more defibrillators. I nearly lost you because of the lack. I wouldn’t want that choice to be taken away from someone else.”

“Oh, Hunt. That is the most wonderful, generous thing you could ever do for me! Thank you,” Ava said.

He reached for her hand and threaded her fingers through his, absently rubbing the ring he’d put on her finger, then glanced down at her. Her face was in the shadows, but he saw the glitter of excitement in her eyes.

“How fast can you be ready to leave for Houston?” he asked.

“All I’m taking are my clothes. I can pack them in a day. How about day after tomorrow?”

“Really?” Hunt asked.

“Yes, really,” Ava said.

“We never managed to get married here,” he said.

“I already have you and the ring. We can figure that out there.”

“You don’t want a big wedding? And have your daddy walk you down the aisle?” Hunt asked.

Ava laughed. “I’m almost twenty-nine years old. I left my mother and daddy’s home years ago. All I need is you.”

Hunt turned and took her in his arms.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky. The loneliest times in my life were after I left home. Then, all I ever wanted was somebody to love…who would love me, too. And all that time you were here, just waiting for me to come back and get you.”

Ava sighed. “I’m so ready to begin our life together. We’ve already done the hard part. We can tie up the loose ends later. I say day after tomorrow.”

“And I agree,” Hunt said. “There’s just one thing.”

“What’s that?” Ava asked.

“I hope you’re not afraid to fly, because I want to show you what I see every time I go up.”

Ava shivered with excitement.

“What do you see, Hunt?”

He was quiet for a moment, and then he turned to her in the darkness.

“I see the heavens…and the endlessness of space. I see God…and He sees me.”

Epilogue