May pointed at two men at the end of the bar.

“You boys help Ray get Junior to the car.”

They got up without argument and hefted Junior up between them and headed out the door. Junior was still out—his chin on his chest—head lolling from one side to the other—feet dragging on the floor as they went, with Ray in the lead.

When Susie saw Ray had help, she stayed in the car, and as soon as Junior was loaded up, Ray waved at her, and then took off. She put the car in gear and followed.

The upside of living in a town the size of Blessings was that it didn’t take long to get from one side of town to the other.

Susie turned on the heater as she drove, and then when they got to Junior’s place, she parked behind the car and got out to help.

Ray handed her the keys.

“Open the door for me, sugar. It’s that red key by the fob. I’ll get him in the house.”

She ran ahead, unlocked the door and pushed it inward, and then ran back to help. By now, Junior was coming to and staggering enough to walk himself inside with them holding him up.

“Jus’ put me on a bed,” he mumbled.

Ray sighed and walked Junior to the bedroom, where he promptly collapsed on the bed. Ray pulled off Junior’s shoes and covered him with a blanket, pissy pants and all. He walked out without looking back, used the remote to lock Junior’s car, and then tossed the keys on the coffee table.

“Let’s go home,” Ray said, then locked the door behind them as they left.

* * *

Ava was in a house she’d never seen before, running through the rooms calling out Hunt’s name. She could hear him answering from somewhere far away, but no matter how many rooms she ran through, she couldn’t find him. She was out of breath and crying when she began hearing a siren. She turned around.

The alarm was going off. Ava sat straight up in bed, recognized where she was, and groaned as she shut it off.

“Lord have mercy, what a horrible dream,” she muttered, and headed for the shower.

A few minutes later she was out, her long hair wound up in a bun at the top of her head. She made a run for the dresser to get underwear and then turned up the thermostat in the hall before getting dressed. Within minutes she was in a fresh set of scrubs and headed for the kitchen.

Coffee was first on the agenda, and after she popped a K-cup in the coffee maker to brew, she got out peanut butter and jelly, popped some bread in the toaster, and went out to get the paper.