“It’s quieter back here,” Bud said. “Breakfast will be served from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. If you need anything, just press seven on the house phone and either my wife, Rachel, or I will answer.”

“Thanks,” Hunt said. “Right now, all I want is a shower and a bed.”

“Then rest well,” Bud said as he put Hunt’s bag on the bed. “We’ll see you in the morning for breakfast.”

Hunt locked the door, put his jacket and helmet on a chair, then sat down and took off his boots. The room was well-appointed and had a warm, homey feel. It had been a long time since he’d been in a place like this.

He poked around and found a basket of individually bagged, homemade chocolate chip cookies, as well as a mini-fridge of cold drinks. He hadn’t eaten since noon, and it was already tomorrow, so he chose a cookie and a cold Coke and ate to dull the empty feeling in his belly.

When he was finished, he stripped and walked into the bathroom. The full-length mirror reflected the milestones life had left on his body. The scars of war weren’t just within him. Some, like the thin silver ropes left from wounds that had healed, were visible, too.

He turned the water as hot as he could stand it to loosen tired muscles, and then washed his hair before he washed himself. By the time he got out, all he could think about was crawling between clean sheets and sleeping for a week. But there’d be no sleeping in. He’d come a long way to keep a promise, and it wasn’t going to be accomplished by staying in bed.

* * *

Ava’s shift ended at 7:00 a.m.

Normally, she would be looking forward to a little breakfast and then sleep, but Hunt Knox was on her mind as she headed home. She wondered if he was married—if he had children—where he lived—what he did. But it appeared she wasn’t the only one in the dark. From the little she’d overheard, his brothers and sisters didn’t know, either. Again she wondered what had happened to drive such a rift within their family, and what promise he’d made to his mother before she died.

Ava was still thinking about him as she pulled up beneath the carport. The morning was cold and the sky appeared overcast. But weather wasn’t going to affect her day. She let herself in and then went through the house, leaving her coat in the front closet and her purse on the hall table.