“Do you know what it costs?” he asked.
“I think they’re free. And I think they’re online. The library has a couple of meeting rooms, and I think the people meet in one of those.”
“Thanks. Oh… If you hear of any jobs in town, let me know. I’m going to apply at the Crown first. I don’t care if all I do is sack groceries. I got a lot of catching up to do.”
“I will, Junior. I promise. Good luck, and keep me posted.”
“I will, Sister. Love you.”
Birdie sighed. “Love you too.”
* * *
While Junior was on his way to the Crown, Ray was already on the roof at his mother’s house, laying new shingles with the crew. This would be their final day of work and he wanted to do it right.
Every now and then he caught a glimpse of Hunt moving in and out of the house below and thought, When I grow up, I want to be like him.
It was a fact that the Knox brothers had aged after Hunt was gone, but emotionally, they were all still back in their teens and in the trauma of that day, still the scared and horrified kids caught up in the sins of their father.
Only now, after the secret had come to light and the truth was known, were they finally free to heal. And in that moment, standing on top of the house that had harbored the secret and looking up at the clear blue sky, Ray felt all the possibilities life had waiting.
* * *
Emma was going through an evolution of her own. She had decided last night as she was watching Gordon sleep that she was taking the secret of her baby to the grave. He didn’t need to know, and Hunt had already declared that as far as her siblings were concerned, that was her story, and hers only, to tell.
Finding out that Mark Ryman did not die in their kitchen had been the release she’d needed to forgive herself. God would do the rest. All she knew, and would be forever grateful for, was that Hunt and Mama had saved them all.
* * *
It was just after 10:00 a.m. when Junior walked into the Crown and headed straight for the customer service desk.
Wilson Turner, the manager, was back on duty sporting a swollen nose and two black eyes, but he was alive to tell the tale of how it happened, and he would heal.
“Morning, Wilson,” Junior said. “Heard about your accident. Good to see you back on the job.”
Wilson grimaced. “Thanks, Junior. It was quite a wild ride. What can I do for you?”
“I’d like a job application, please.”
“For yourself?” Wilson asked.
Junior nodded. “Yes, sir. And I don’t mind what I do. I just want to work. I’m going to be going to night school to get my GED, so I’ll need daytime hours, wherever I work.”
Wilson turned around and got an application out of a drawer behind him, then handed it over.
“It appears you have a purpose in mind,” Wilson said.
Junior nodded. “Yes, sir. If it’s okay with you, I’ll be bringing this right back as soon as I get it done.”
“Sure,” Wilson said, and then watched him leave. He didn’t know what had transpired to make it happen, but Junior Knox had obviously experienced some kind of revelation.
Maybe it was the loss of his mother that had prompted him to change, but whatever it was, he wanted to be the first person in Blessings to give the young man a chance.
About thirty minutes later, Junior came back in with his application and met a young woman carrying a baby, who was going out.
“Morning,” Junior said.
The young woman looked startled that he’d spoken, and then nodded shyly and kept walking.
Junior didn’t know her name, but he knew she lived in the Bottoms and had been part of the big renovation that had happened there.
He hurried back to the service desk and handed the application to Wilson.
“Here you go, Wilson, and thanks.”
“Sure thing,” Wilson said.
“Oh, who was that young woman who just left? She was carrying a little boy. She lives in the Bottoms.”
“Oh, you must mean Barrie Lemons. She has two kids. One school age, and then the little guy. She was having a rough go of it until Cathy Terry rebuilt all those houses.”
“Yeah, my brother Ray helped roof some of those houses,” Junior said. “Well, I’d better get going. Thanks again.”
He started to walk off and Wilson called him back.
“Hey, Junior?”
Junior stopped and turned around. “Yes, sir?”
“Can you start work tomorrow?”
Junior’s eyes widened. “Yes, sir!”
“It’s stocking shelves and sacking groceries. Forty-hour week. Pay is ten-fifty per hour. Payday is every two weeks. Two days off. Time and a half for overtime…if you want it.”
Junior felt like crying.
He walked back to the customer service desk, his voice shaking.
“I didn’t expect this, but I sure appreciate it,” he said.
Wilson shrugged. “I’m taking a chance here and we both know it. Don’t let me down.”
Junior kept nodding. “I won’t, sir. I won’t let you down.”
“From 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with an hour off for lunch. We’ll go through the routine tomorrow morning after you clock in. Just come to the service desk first and we’ll get you started.”
“Thank you, Wilson. Thank you so much. I won’t let you down, I promise.”
Junior walked out in disbelief. It was a sign. This was it. The chance he’d been waiting for. He had a purpose. And he had a freaking job. By the time he got back in his car, he felt like crying, but he laughed instead. Next stop, the Blessings library to find out about classes for getting his GED.
He pulled up in the parking lot, then sat for a couple of moments, thinking about how hard this was going to be. He hadn’t studied anything but the bottom of a beer bottle since dropping out of school, but getting a high school diploma was something he wanted to do.
He pocketed his keys as he got out, and started walking toward the steps of the library. There was sunlight in his eyes, and for the first time in fifteen years, there was peace in his heart.
“I’m doing this, Mama. I’m going to make you proud.”
* * *
Ava’s engagement ring was the new talk of the ER, and as word spread throughout the hospital, the questions about her relationship with Hunt Knox began to change.
Rhonda Bailey, one of the nurses she worked in the ER with, was the first one to ask.