“Where are you and Hunt going to live? Are you living in his mother’s house? Is that why he’s fixing it up?”
Ava shook her head. “No. It was in her will that they sell it and divide the money among all five of the kids.”
“Ah, so where are you going to live, then?” Rhonda asked.
“Houston. When Hunt leaves, I’m going with him.”
Rhonda’s expression fell. “Oh…I was afraid you were going to say something like that. You know I wish you guys all the best, but I sure am going to hate to see you go. I love working with you.”
“And I love working with you. I love Blessings. It will always be my hometown, but my home is wherever Hunt is. I’ve loved him forever.”
Rhonda smiled. “Then I’m happy for you, but you better be telling the powers that be that you’re leaving so they can start interviewing for replacements. With both you and Hope Talbot gone, we could find ourselves shorthanded in emergencies.”
“You’re right, and I will,” Ava said. “I’ll check in with personnel during my lunch hour and let them know.”
“What do Larry and Karen think about you leaving?” Rhonda asked.
Ava grinned. “Oh, you know how Mom and Dad are. They’re happy for us, and they love to travel. Houston will just be one more place they have an excuse to visit.”
* * *
While news about Ava’s imminent exit from Blessings began to spread through the hospital, there was also good news spreading through Blessings regarding Davey Randolph, the little boy Hunt had flown to Savannah. He had been taken from the critical list and moved from the ICU into a regular hospital room, and with permission from his parents, his first visitor was Richard Borden—penitent and begging forgiveness.
Chapter 16
Three days later, the Knox family had finally removed the keepsakes and pictures they wanted from the house, and the roofers had long gone.
The new roof made the house look good, like a woman with a new hairdo. Hunt felt good about the progress. A lot had been done in a short time, and the painters were due tomorrow. Once they had come and gone, the old house would have a new face to go with the new hair.
Hunt had spent days cleaning up and covering up everything that didn’t need painting. All of the hardware was removed from drawers and cabinets. The doorknobs were covered up, and windows taped and covered to keep paint off the panes. He’d done everything he could think of to speed up the process, and now it was up to the professional paint crew who would begin work tomorrow.
But today was the yard sale, and there was a line of cars on both sides of the street, with locals digging through what was left of Marjorie Knox’s life.
Junior was at his new job, so Emma and Birdie were taking the money, and Ray and Hunt were loading up purchases for the buyers.
There wasn’t a thing left inside the house now, and Hunt’s bag with his clothing was in the truck. The truck would sell at auction on the same day that they auctioned off the house, so he still had it for now. And at Ava’s invitation, he was moving in with her until he was done.
Days ago, Emma had put up signs about the yard sale all over town, and the response today was steady and productive.
The furniture Hunt feared wouldn’t even sell went first. Dan Amos bought almost all of it and, with Hunt and Ray’s help, loaded it up in a small moving truck and took off to Savannah to have it refinished and reupholstered. He would use it to furnish another rental house.
As for the rest of the items scattered about the yard, they were quickly disappearing.
Once Hunt saw Emma and Birdie in tears, and knew how they felt. It was hard to see people going through their mother’s things, talking about the condition, bargaining for a better price, and tossing some of it aside. It felt like they were judging Marjorie, and it hurt. But it was life, and they were doing what she wanted.
By the time Ava got off work at three and came by to check on the progress, everyone had gone home and there wasn’t anything left. Hunt was sitting on the tailgate of the truck when she drove up, and got off and came to meet her.
“Hi, darlin’,” Hunt said as he gave her a quick hug. “Did you have a busy day?”
“Oh, always,” she said. “But it appears you guys did, too. I can’t believe it’s all gone.”
“Dan Amos bought most of the furniture. The rest of the stuff went pretty fast after that,” Hunt said.
“Oh, for his rental properties! I never thought of that,” Ava said. “So, what’s the plan? Do you want to bring your Harley and the pickup to my house, or what?”
“Since you offered, I’ll follow you home on the Harley, then when you bring me back, I’ll get the truck and stop by the bank to deposit the money from the yard sale before I come back to your house.”
“Sure thing,” Ava said. “I’ll go home and open the garage. I never park in it because I use it for storage, but there’s plenty of room to park the bike.”
“Great,” Hunt said. “I’ll just lock up the house and be right there.”
Ava got in her car and headed home. A couple of minutes after her arrival, Hunt pulled up and rode the bike into the garage, then they went back to get the truck.
As soon as Ava stopped in the drive, Hunt leaned over and kissed her.
“See you in a few.”
“I can’t wait,” Ava said. “Finally, we’ll be living under the same roof.”
“Practicing for the real thing,” he said, and then he was out and striding toward the truck.
Ava began her usual ritual once she was home, stripping off the work scrubs at the washer and going to shower.
By the time Hunt arrived, she was in old jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt and barefoot. Her long hair was clipped up on the top of her head, and she was at the kitchen table having pop and cookies and going through her mail.
He came in the back door, pausing in the doorway to admire the view. When she looked up and caught him watching her, she waved toward the refrigerator.
“Beer and pop in the fridge, and I saved you some cookies.”
Hunt was still in awe that this beautiful woman not only loved him but was going to marry him. He wanted to pick her up in his arms and take her to bed. Instead, he got a Coke and grabbed a couple of cookies as he sat down.
“What was your take at the yard sale?” Ava asked.
Hunt unscrewed the lid from his pop and took a drink. “About fifteen hundred dollars, which was surprising considering how old and worn out the stuff was, but you know what they say… ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ What about your day?” he asked.