She’d thought she wouldn’t sleep at all, but she fell asleep dreaming of Hunt and slept until her alarm went off. It had stopped raining overnight, but there were puddles everywhere when Ava arrived at work.

Traffic was slow downtown except at the grocery store. The parking lot at the Crown was full of people shopping before another rain came through.

It was also the first day back at school after Christmas vacation, and the town had a different rhythm when school was in session. Buses were running, parents in cars dropping off children, and the streets were filled with other children who walked to school.

A new semester was beginning. Whatever had happened last year was now history. Teachers were hoping for the best. Parents were hoping for the best. Kids had their own agendas, none of which involved learning something new.

The last bus to arrive at Blessings Elementary was unloading children. The driver made it a habit to get out first so he could help the little ones who sat at the front of the bus walk down the steps.

Another teacher was standing on the steps of the elementary school, watching the bus riders as they made their way up the walk.

Seven-year-old Davey Randolph was running up the walk when another student bumped into him, making him drop his book bag. When it hit the ground, papers fell out and began scattering, blowing across the schoolyard and then back toward the street.

Davey took off chasing papers without looking where he was going, and when he suddenly abandoned the schoolyard and started running toward the cars, the teacher realized he wasn’t going to remember to stop, look, and listen for cars—like the one that just illegally pulled out of line too soon.

She began shouting at the bus driver to stop Davey as she took off running. The bus driver heard her and looked up just as Davey ran past his line of sight.

“Stop, Davey, stop!” he shouted, but it was too late.

Davey had darted between the back of the bus and the line of cars and ran right in front of the moving car.

The sudden screech of brakes, the sickening thud, and then the sounds of dozens of children screaming and crying filled the air. The first day of the new school year was beginning on a tragedy.

* * *

Avery Ames, the day dispatcher at the police station, sent out the call to all patrol cars, dispatched an ambulance, and then all kinds of sirens began sounding across town. They got word at the hospital of the impending emergency and began readying for a trauma patient.

* * *

Hunt was in the kitchen having breakfast when he heard the sirens. He frowned. Ambulance and police were heading somewhere fast. He hoped it wasn’t bad, and knew whatever it was, Ava would be in the thick of it.