Hunt sighed, and headed for the back of the house.
But every day was progress, and the sooner he was finished, the better.
* * *
Karen and Larry Ridley were glad to be home. Las Vegas had been fun, but they had given up spending the holidays with Ava to do it, even though she had assured them she’d be working more days than not.
The moment they walked into the house, Karen began unpacking and doing laundry, while Larry went through the refrigerator, making a list of what they needed to restock since they’d cleaned it out before they left.
Karen stopped long enough to let Ava know they were home and to come to dinner tonight. When she got the text back from Ava, her heart skipped a beat. Ava was bringing a man to dinner. Even if it was just Hunt, she could always hope.
Karen was a shorter version of her daughter. A little blond Barbie doll of a woman who was not nearly as serious as her girl. Ava was a lot more like her father, Larry, who tended to be the one to get things done. He was still making the grocery list when Karen came into the kitchen.
“Get extra steaks. Ava is bringing Hunt.”
Larry looked up. “Hunt Knox?”
“Yes, he came back for Marjorie’s funeral, remember?”
“Oh, right. I remember now. But why would—”
Karen rolled her eyes. “Larry, I love you to pieces, but you can be so oblivious. How many times has Ava ever brought anyone here to dinner?”
“Uh…never?”
Karen giggled. “Right! So this could mean our girl is finally on the love track.”
Larry frowned. “The love track? Where does this stuff come from that comes out of your mouth?”
“Out of my head, I guess. Stop frowning. Please God this is serious. I want grandbabies while I’m young enough to enjoy them.”
Larry sighed. “Adding two more steaks to the list.”
“And potatoes. And another bag of salad, and—”
Larry grinned. “Calm down. I’ve got this.”
“Do we have gas for the grill?”
“Yes, got that, too,” Larry said.
“Yay! I’m so excited!” Karen said, and bounced out of the room carrying her phone.
“Me, too,” Larry said, curious to see what kind of man Hunter Knox had turned out to be.
* * *
It was a little before noon when Harold Franklin from the flower shop showed up in the ER carrying a vase of red roses.
“Delivery for Ava Ridley,” he said.
“I’ll call her up,” the receptionist said, and then got on the PA system. “Nurse Ridley, please come to the front desk.”
Harold turned toward the door leading into the ER, and a couple of minutes later, Ava walked through.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
The receptionist grinned and pointed.
“Morning, Ava. These are for you,” Harold said and handed them over.
Ava’s eyes widened. She set the vase on the desk, then pulled the card.
All my love, Hunt
She smiled, slipped the card into her pocket, and carried the roses back to the nurses’ desk. She knew they’d tease and grill her incessantly, but she wasn’t giving up anything but the name. And she was right.
“Oh my gosh! Ava! Are those yours? Who sent them? Is it your birthday?”
“They’re from Hunt,” she said, and set the bouquet out of the way on the desk and then went back to work.
But every time she walked by, she saw them and smiled. Hunt Knox loved her. All was right in her world.
Chapter 12
Danny Wilson, otherwise known in Blessings as Melvin Lee’s daddy, was the newest employee at Forbes Plumbing and glad to have the job at home rather than the pipeline jobs he’d been doing for so long. He had too many kids, and another one on the way, and was grateful to be working at home.
“That about does it for the day,” Danny said as he gathered up his tools. “When you get ready to install sinks and new fixtures, just give us a call.”
“Will do,” Hunt said.
The house was immediately quiet now that Danny was gone, but Hunt was satisfied by the work they’d done. The roofer and his crew would be here tomorrow to put on a new roof. It was ironic that his brother Ray worked for this roofer and would be part of the crew redoing his own mother’s house.
While the roofers were working, he and Billy Younger, the carpenter he’d hired, would begin tearing up the kitchen floor to fix whatever made it sag.
But that was tomorrow.
This evening was about going to dinner at Larry and Karen’s house with Ava, and Hunt hurried to get ready. Even though he’d known them all his life, he was going to have to look at Larry and Karen with new eyes, too. They were no longer just people he knew. There were the parents of the woman he was going to marry. He wasn’t expecting problems, but thoughts of the dinner made him a little anxious just the same.
He locked up the house before leaving, and then drove a few blocks over to get Ava. She answered the door in black slacks, red flats, and a cherry-red sweater. But the light in her eyes and the way she looked at him were what stole his heart.
“You look beautiful,” Hunt said as he helped her on with her coat.
Ava paused, giving him a long, studied look from head to toe, and then sighed.
“So do you.”
Hunt grinned. “I need to look my best. I’ve never had a meet-the-parents dinner before.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “You have known my parents your entire life. Likely longer than I have.”
“Yeah, but then they were just Ava Ridley’s mom and dad. Not the parents of the woman I love.”
“But they’ve known you forever…and they’ve known all my life that I loved you madly. Even when it was just a childhood crush, so this won’t be a surprise. Just a relief that I won’t be pining needlessly anymore for the man who got away.”
He laughed. “Pining needlessly? Where do you get all your drama?”
She grinned. “Oh, definitely from Mom. But I’m also hard-core and focused like Dad when it comes to what I want to do. I can’t be bullied into doing something I don’t believe in, and I won’t be threatened by anyone and let them get away with it, either.”
“Might that be a reference to the old boyfriend?” he said.
“It might,” Ava said.
“Fair enough,” Hunt said. “But I can’t be blamed for missing what you think was obvious back then. You were only thirteen years old when I left Blessings. You were jailbait. Now get your cute little backside out the door or we’re going to be late,” Hunt said.