Page 49 of Landry

Ava had not been as asleep as they’d hoped and had possibly already succumbed to whatever bug she’d caught.

Landry’s heart pinched hard in his chest. He wished he could take all the bad things out of the child’s mind along with the sickness to make her feel better, happy and carefree as a child should be.

Camille pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead.

“You’re going to stay with her, aren’t you?” Landry said softly.

Camille nodded.

Landry adjusted a pillow against the iron headboard. “Let me take her for a moment while you get situated.”

After Landry lifted Ava into his arms, Camille lay back against the pillow, slipped her legs between the sheets and held out her arms.

Even though he’d only held the child for a short time, Landry could feel the heat of her fever. “Are you sure we don’t need to get her to the ER?” In his head, he was already calculating how long it would take to get her to the nearest hospital in Thibodeaux.

Camille shook her head. “I’ll monitor her temperature. The medicine should bring it down. If she’s not better by morning, I’ll take her.”

Landry laid Ava in the bed beside her mother and pulled just the sheet up over her little body.

Camille turned on her side, facing Ava while holding the little girl’s hand in hers.

For a long moment, Landry stared at the mother and daughter, his heart melting. There had to be something he could do.

He left the room, hurried into the bathroom and found a clean washcloth. He ran cold water over it, squeezed out the excess moisture and returned to Ava’s bedroom.

Gently, he laid the cool cloth over Ava’s forehead.

Camille smiled up at him. “Thanks. You should get some sleep.”

He couldn’t sleep knowing Ava was sick with a fever, and he didn’t want to leave them, but Ava’s bed was already too small for two people, and there was nowhere to sit other than on the floor.

Landry walked back into the living room and stared at the couch. He wouldn’t be able to sleep there, not knowing whether Ava’s temperature was still high. Sleeping in Camille’s bed was out of the question without Camille. When he spotted the wooden rocking chair, he grabbed it, carried it into Ava’s bedroom and set it beside her bed.

“You can’t sleep in that,” Camille said.

“I’ll be fine. Get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on Ava.”

Camille reached out with her hand.

Landry took it in his and held it until Camille fell asleep beside Ava.

After an hour, he stood and touched his hand to Ava’s forehead. Her skin was warm and damp, but not nearly as hot as it had been before the medicine. She moaned and mumbled in her sleep.

Camille reached out a hand and stroked her cheek. “You’re okay, baby. Mama’s here.”

Ava responded by turning her cheek into her mother’s palm and sighing.

Landry sank into the rocking chair and counted the minutes until the next hour had passed. He rose, carefully inserted the thermometer under Ava’s tongue and waited for the results.

When he read the gauge, he was marginally relieved that her temperature had dropped by a degree. He wouldn’t be happy until it was back to normal and the sweet little girl was smiling and healthy once more.

An hour later, he rechecked her temperature. It had gone up half a degree. Landry wet the rag again with cool water and laid it across Ava’s forehead.

Each time Landry checked on Ava, Camille spoke softly to her daughter, reassuring her that she was all right.

As the gray light of dawn edged through the window, Ava’s temperature had gone down below one hundred.

The tightness in Landry’s chest eased. He sat back in the rocking chair and allowed his eyes to close just for a minute.

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