Ava smiled. “I’m fine. All I need is a soaking bath and a little rest. Hunt’s coming over tonight and I don’t have time to be tired. Not when my life is just getting interesting.”

Rhonda laughed. “Have fun, and drive safe going home.”

“For sure,” Ava said, then clocked out and left the building, running through the rain to get to her car.

Once inside, she started it up and then turned on the wipers. It was too late to eat a meal, but she was too hungry to wait until Hunt came, so she went through the drive-through at Broyles Dairy Freeze, got a vanilla malt, and drank it on the way home.

She pulled up in the drive, then hit the house running. As always, she threw her scrubs in the laundry, then headed for the shower. Once she had the workday washed off, she tidied the house and set the table before going back to change into something besides sweatpants and a T-shirt.

She’d worn her hair up all day to the point that it had given her a headache, so after brushing it to a dark, silky shine, she left it down for the evening. She didn’t want to dress up, but she still wanted to look good, so she opted for jeans and a red sweater, then added a little makeup and called it done. Now all she needed was Hunt.

* * *

Hunt worked all day in the attic, lulled by the rain on the roof and the dusty memories of his childhood as he sorted through what had been stored.

He sent Birdie a text, telling her that he had several boxes of things they needed to sort up in the attic, and to let him know when they all wanted to come over and get the clothes still in Marjorie’s room.

She replied, mentioning the weekend, and that was all he needed to know.

When four o’clock rolled around, he headed for the shower. He’d been looking forward to seeing Ava again and had no intention of being late. He called in a to-go order at Granny’s and then finished getting dressed.

The rainy day had faded into an intermittent drizzle as he was leaving the house, and he was glad he had his mom’s old pickup to drive rather than riding on the Harley.

He made a quick stop at Granny’s to pick up his order, then headed to Ava’s. When he turned the corner and headed down the street to her house, the porch light led him straight to her door.

He knocked and then heard footsteps running toward the door. All of a sudden, the door swung inward.

“Come in! Come in! This is terrible weather,” she said.

Hunt crossed the threshold and elbowed the door shut behind him.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“So do you,” she said, then laughed. “And you smell delicious.”