Page 3 of Landry

“You two were pretty chummy,” Gisele said. “Did he ask you out?”

Camille nodded.

“And?”

“I turned him down.”

Gisele shook her head. “How are you going to get laid if you turn down every man who asks you out?”

Camille gathered her purse from where she’d stashed it beneath the table. “Because I realized something tonight. Just because I like dancing with someone doesn’t mean I want to sleep with him. I want to feel something more than gratitude for him asking me to dance. I want the elusive spark when I touch him, or he touches me. Whether it’s love or lust, I don’t care. I just want to feel something.”

Gisele nodded. “Yeah. I get it. I felt it with Rafael from the very beginning. I can’t imagine settling for less.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Are you leaving?”

“I am.” Camille slid the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “I want to hold my baby girl and kiss her goodnight.”

“It’s still early,” Gisele said. “You sure you don’t want to dance a little more?”

Camille bent and kissed Gisele’s cheek. “Thanks for being a friend. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“You bet,” Gisele said. “I want to try a bite of the pie recipe you plan to enter in the fair.”

“Stop by the house tomorrow evening. I’m making two just in case one doesn’t turn out as I plan.”

“I’ll be there.”

Camille left the Crawdad Hole, climbed into her car and texted Chrissy, Shelby’s older sister, who lived with her husband, five little boys and one baby girl in the house behind Broussard’s Country Store. She’d offered to watch Ava while Camille went out with Gisele and her husband’s teammates.

Ava loved visiting Chrissy and Alan Broussard’s house, filled with children, laughter and love. Camille’s little girl had always wanted a brother or sister, or both. Being with Chrissy was her way of getting her fix of siblings, since her mother clearly wasn’t going to give her some of her own.

Chrissy met Camille at the door, holding Ava in her arms.

As soon as Ava saw her mother, she leaned her sleepy body toward Camille and fell into her mother’s arms.

Camille happily hefted the child up onto her hip and hugged her close. “Hey, baby, did you have a good time?”

Ava’s eyes drooped. “Yes, ma’am.” She lifted her head to stare at her mother’s face. “Can we go home now?” Camille’s daughter yawned and rubbed her knuckles across her eyes. “I want to say goodnight to Billy Ray.”

Chrissy gave Camille a lopsided grin. “She talked a lot about her friend Billy Ray. Is he someone she met at Mother’s Day Out?”

Ava tucked her head against Camille’s neck and closed her eyes.

Camille shrugged. “I asked Ms. Shanna about Billy Ray. She said they don’t have any kids by that name in the program. No little boy has been by the shop by that name.” In a little more than a whisper, she added, “I’ve heard her talking in her bedroom and out on the porch. When I check to see who she’s talking to, there’s nobody there. I think Billy Ray is her imaginary friend. Should I be worried that she makes up a friend to talk with?”

Chrissy shook her head. “Not at all. She might be lonely. As parents, we have other responsibilities that eat up our time. You should drop her off with me more often.”

“Oh, sweetie, that’s so nice of you to offer, but your hands are more than full with six children and a business to run.”

Chrissy snorted softly. “One more child among my horde won’t be any more of a burden. She helps keep my boys entertained with tea parties and makeovers, much to Alan’s dismay. The boys are teaching her how to cast a fishing line. Alan promised to take her fishing when he gets a break from the store.”

Camille smiled. “That’s sweet of him. I’m not sure how she’ll feel about stringing a worm on a hook.”

“Actually, she’s better at it than any of my boys. She has more patience. Oh, wait.” Chrissy reached behind her and snatched Ava’s teddy bear from a table in her foyer. “Don’t forget Fuzzy.”

Camille took the bear with her free hand. “Can’t forget Fuzzy,” she said with a grin.

“You know, I have some bears that are in better shape that my boys never play with. I’d love to give them to Ava.”

Camille smiled down at the threadbare stuffed toy. “Thanks, but Ava and I are a one-bear family. This little guy is the only toy we took with us when we left New Orleans. It’s all I have left from my mother. She gave it to me when I was Ava’s age. Besides me and Ava, it’s the only thing that has survived all the change that’s happened in the last twenty-five years of my life. I think we’d be lost without it.”

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