Page 50 of Landry

When he opened his eyes again, he assumed he’d only closed them for a minute. But the sun was shining through the window.

His gaze shot to the bed.

Camille wasn’t there. Ava lay against a pillow, her pale cheeks no longer flushed red from fever. She lay so still it worried Landry.

He leaped to his feet and leaned over the little girl, watching for the rise and fall of her chest.

When he couldn’t see much movement at all, he placed a finger beneath her nose to feel for her breath.

“She’s alive,” Camille said behind him.

He turned to see her standing there with a mug in her hand, the scent of coffee filling the air.

“When she was a baby, I would do the same thing you just did. I’d worry that she wasn’t breathing and watch for the rise and fall of her chest. When that didn’t reassure me, I’d feel for warm air coming from her mouth or nose.” Camille’s lips twisted. “You don’t realize just how fragile life is until you have a child. Then you spend the rest of your life worrying about their health and happiness.”

Landry sighed. “Why do people have children?”

“I always wanted children,” Camille said. “It might be selfish of me to say this, but I need to be needed. I need to love. I couldn’t imagine life without Ava in it.”

The love shining from Camille’s eyes as she gazed at her little girl made Landry’s heart squeeze hard inside his chest. He’d never known such a pure love. And if ever a child deserved that kind of devotion, it was Ava—sweet, kindhearted Ava, who worried about a runaway boy over her own safety.

“Is she going to be okay?” Landry asked.

Camille smiled. “Yes. The fever broke. She just needs rest. I usually take her with me to the store, but she needs to spend the day in bed. I’ll have to close the store for the day.”

“I could stay with Ava here if you need to work today,” Landry offered. “I don’t think anyone will bother you during the daylight, and I can have Remy send some of the guys by to check on you periodically.”

Camille frowned. “No, it’s okay. I can close the shop.” She grimaced. “Oh, wait. I have an order I have to get out before noon.”

“Isn’t the fair today and tomorrow?” Landry asked. “There will be a lot of people in town, a lot of missed sales.”

“Shoot. The fair starts today. I have pralines, peanut brittle and a pie I want to enter in contests.”

“You have to go to the shop today,” Landry said. “If you don’t feel comfortable having me watch over Ava, do you have someone else you trust more?”

Camille shook her head. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just know you might have better things to do.”

“Nothing better than hanging out with Ava,” he said with a smile. “We can read books and play poker. She does know how to play poker, doesn’t she?”

Camille shook her head. “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re for real or just yanking my chain. No, she doesn’t know how to play poker.”

“We’ll remedy that gap in her education first thing.” Landry winked.

“Are you sure you want to watch a five-year-old all day?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “I just worry about you.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll drive to the shop instead of walking, and I’ll close the doors a little earlier than usual.”

“When do you need to leave?” he asked.

“I have a couple of hours,” she said. “I need to bake my pie entry for the fair contest and stir up a batch of pralines and peanut brittle.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

Camille shot a glance toward Ava. “As a matter of fact, yes. I could use some help stirring while I roll out the pie dough. Ava’s sleeping soundly. She should be all right.”

“Give me a minute to wash my face and put on a shirt,” Landry said.

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