Finding Her Courage Page 8

  Avery. Was that her name? Camille’s eyes moved to the left. Avery was smiling at her. Camille would not be won over that easily.

  “I’m no decorator or anything,” said Avery. “Everything I know comes from those home makeover shows.”

  Uh-huh. Stay calm. Deep breaths. She turned back to Ty, wanting to yell, but her jaw felt wired shut. How could he bring in someone else to help him? This was her project; she had notebooks full of ideas. Didn’t he like them? Didn’t he trust her? Her teeth started grinding. “I texted you.”

  Ty’s brow bunched up. He pulled his phone out, pushed some buttons and held the screen up for her to see. “I didn’t get it.”

  Nice try. Camille looked at her phone. All three texts she’d sent Ty were there, along with little red flags just beneath them. Could not be sent. Oh. She swallowed her embarrassment and forced another smile. “I forgot my phone loses its signal every two minutes out here. I’m sorry.”

  Avery put her hand on Ty’s shoulder. “See? I told you she’d be here.”

  It took Avery a full thirty seconds to take her hand off Ty’s shoulder. Not that Camille was counting. “I had to go into town. Evie woke up sick.”

  At the mention of Evie, Ty’s irritation softened. “Sick? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. Just a cold. Nikki’s with her.” Nikki had said it was only a cold, but Camille wasn’t taking chances. She’d thought a doctor’s visit would take twenty minutes tops, but that was before she’d realized Sweetheart had never heard of urgent care.

  “Well, I guess I’m not needed anymore,” said Avery.

  Ty looked at her. “I’m sorry, I totally forgot. Camille, this is Avery. Avery, Camille.” They shook hands. Avery’s were small and sweaty. “Camille, Avery is Em—”

  Daisy ran into the barn. “Heads-up, Phoebe’s limo just pulled in.” She saw Avery and broke into a grin. “I thought I saw Co-Coe running around out here. Come say hi to everyone.” She gave Avery a hug and they both offered Ty and Camille a thumbs-up as they left the barn together.

  Phoebe walked in. She was alone. “Do you know there’s a car smoking outside your barn?”

  “Smoking?” Ty took a step toward the doors.

  “It’s just Buffy,” Camille said. “She’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

  He grinned at her. “You named your car Buffy?”

  But Camille wasn’t gonna let Ty off the hook just because he smiled at her. He’d brought in outside help. That was even worse than thinking she wouldn’t show in the first place. But now was not the time to get into it.

  Camille started walking Phoebe through her ideas for the barn. She loved them all, especially the clotheslines with the pictures.

  “Of course, we can set it up the same way in the hangar, if you want the reception in there instead. Ty mentioned you wanted to...fly out after you’re married.” It was hard to think about, and even harder to say out loud.

  “Actually, I don’t know about that anymore. I like what you were saying about the stables. Getting married on horseback would be like something out of a fairy tale.”

  Ty shot her a thumbs-up, but Camille held fast to her irritation. They wrapped things up back at the barn.

  Phoebe’s face was glowing. “I don’t want to say anything for sure before I talk to Brett, but let me just say that I loved your ideas, Camille.” She looked at Ty. “I’ll call you by tomorrow and let you know either way.”

  The limousine driver came around and opened Phoebe’s car door for her. She got in and they watched her drive away. Ty tapped Buffy’s hood. The smoke had stopped. “You know, if we sell George’s place, you can probably buy a new car.”

  New car? Buffy wasn’t going anywhere. And anyway, she had way more important things to take care of than cars. “Any money I get is going to the bank so they don’t take our house in Chicago.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized she’d said them.

  Ty’s face tightened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize things were that bad for you. Why didn’t you say something? I’d never have put up such a fight about selling.”

  And there was the pity. Lurking just behind it would come the judgment. Exactly what Camille didn’t want or need.

  “It’s none of your business. I’m sorry I said anything.” She knew she was being testy, but meeting Avery had pushed all the wrong buttons.

  He tried changing the subject. “How about we celebrate? We can pick up Evie and get lunch out somewhere.”

  “Evie’s sick. She’s not going anywhere.”

  The crooked grin he was giving her turned upside down. “Right, I forgot.” He rolled back on his heels. “Look, Camille, I’m really sorry about last night. If I said or did anything...”

  Did he really think she was still upset about last night? “I’ve gotta get back to Evie. Let me know if you hear anything.” She started Buffy up and white smoke puffed out. Just one puff, then it went away, and Camille went home.

  * * *

  Camille closed the front door harder than she meant to. Nikki looked up from the couch, elbow deep in a bag of chips and a can of bean dip.

  “So?” Nikki sat up.

  “Phoebe loved my ideas. She’ll let us know by tomorrow.” Nikki jumped up for a high five. Camille tapped her hand with two fingers and went into the kitchen.

  Nikki followed. “Everything else okay?”

  “Fine.” She took some orange juice from the fridge and poured a glass. “How’s Evie?”

  “Asleep. No fever, just the sniffles.”

  Good. Camille downed the orange juice, but it wasn’t enough to get rid of the sour taste in her mouth. Nikki leaned against the wall. “All right, what happened?”

  Camille set the glass on the counter. “Nothing.”

  She went upstairs to check on Evie, and when she came back down, Nikki was standing on the bottom step, blocking her path. “It’s obvious something’s bothering you. Just tell me.”

  Fine. It would probably be better to get it off her chest anyway. “Ty didn’t get my texts. So, he asked some other woman to meet Phoebe with him.”

  Nikki uncrossed her arms. “What woman?”

  “I don’t know. Avery something. They were talking decorating ideas when I got there.” She went back into the kitchen.

  “Did Ty have another decorator on speed dial or something?” Nikki didn’t sound nearly upset enough.

  “No, I mean, she wasn’t really a decorator. She was just helping out till I got there.”

  The little crinkle that had formed on Nikki’s face flattened out. “Oh, so what’s the problem then?”

  This was no time for jokes. “Are you serious? He was talking to another woman. Decorator, I mean.”

  “But you said she wasn’t a decorator.”

  Why was Camille letting Nikki fluster her like this? “She’s not, but...but that doesn’t mean she won’t swoop in and try taking credit for my work.”

  Nikki frowned. “You know, you sound a little jealous right now.”

  Jealous? Of what? Nikki was getting this all wrong. “Why would I be jealous?”

  Nikki hesitated. “Are you sure this is all about decorating tips? Maybe you like Ty a little more than you want to admit.”

  Camille’s feet started shuffling. They stared at each other. “I like him fine. As a neighbor.” So long as he didn’t buzz her house again, she’d continue liking him just fine.

  “Are you sure that’s it?”

  “If you’re trying to help, you’re doing it wrong.”

  But her sister was the master of not letting things go. “You know, Wesley would want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy.” She moved out of the kitchen and into the living room. Nikki followed her. Camille went upstairs to her room. Nikki kept on her heels. “I want to take a nap.”

  “In a minute. I just
want to say one thing, then I’ll stop. I promise.”

  It was better than listening to her for the next hour. “Make it fast.”

  Nikki drew in a breath. She kept her voice low so as not to disturb Evie. “You’re allowed to have fun and enjoy someone’s company. Liking someone isn’t the same as loving them.”

  Camille put her hand on the door. “Is that it?”

  Nikki bit her bottom lip. “If you did like Ty, and I’m only saying if...” Her eyes drifted to Camille’s hand. “Then wearing your wedding ring all the time might send him the wrong signal.”

  An unseen hand crushed Camille’s heart. If that was Nikki’s best advice, she could keep it. “I’ll be down later.” She shut the door and made it to the edge of the bed before her knees began to give, and she sat down before she fell down.

  Why did thoughts of Wesley have to hurt so much? She looked at her ring and twisted it around her finger. There was no way this was coming off. There was no reason to take it off anyway. Nikki was way off base with everything she’d said.

  She lay down, and Wesley’s face flashed in front of her, but it was followed by another less familiar face.

  George’s Wi-Fi was pretty good here. She grabbed her phone off the side table and did a quick internet search. There were thousands of videos of Blue Angels zipping across the sky in their planes. She clicked the first one that came up, then lay back and watched a plane circle through the air and move into a barrel roll, wondering if it was Ty she was watching.

  Chapter Seven

  Ty couldn’t stop grinning. He grabbed the kitty litter and a broom and tossed them in the back of his truck, then headed over to Camille’s. It was way too early to knock, but Ty couldn’t sit still. Not after Phoebe’s text. The kitty litter he’d laid down last time had gotten knocked around by the wind. He swept it up and tossed it in a trash bag.

  The stains were better but still visible. He laid down fresh litter then stepped on it to make sure it settled in. One of the floorboards was loose. Ty put his full weight on it to test it out, then bent down for a closer look. A nail had popped out. An easy fix. He dug his tools out of his truck and started hammering on the floorboard.

  The front door squeaked open and Camille poked her head out. “Ty?”

  “Sorry, I should’ve left the hammering till later. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He stood and faced her.

  “You didn’t.” Her eyes moved to the floor. “What are you doing?”

  “Your floorboard was loose, so I’m fixing it.”

  Tiny dimples creased the corners of her mouth. She stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind her. “It’s seven in the morning.”

  That was late on a ranch, but he’d known she kept to city hours. “I was up.”

  “Is that more kitty litter?” The dimples cranked up another notch.

  “I figured if we’re gonna sell this place, it should be at its best.”

  A V-shaped crinkle formed right between Camille’s eyes. “Well, we’re not ready to sell just yet. We haven’t heard back from Phoebe.”

  He didn’t know how he kept his face straight. “Actually, we have.”

  The crinkle deepened. “We have?”

  He nodded and unleashed his grin. “We got it.”

  Camille’s dimples cranked all the way up and she pulled Ty into a hug. It felt good to hug her instead of bicker with her the way they’d been doing.

  Her voice was soft when she spoke, a light dusting of powder against his skin. “I’m sorry for flying off the handle yesterday.” Rosy cheeks were a good look on her, but Ty didn’t need her embarrassment or her apologies.

  “Don’t worry about it. I haven’t exactly been at my best temper either. It was kind of a stressful weekend.” He hesitated. “Kind of fun though too.” Careful. Business only, remember?

  But Ty loved seeing that sparkle in her eyes. Her hands flew up and almost hit his nose. “Oh. Today’s the twelfth. That means the wedding is in two and a half weeks. We’ve gotta get started. I have a thousand things to do.”

  “I already thought of that.” Ty pointed to his truck. “I thought we could pick up whatever will fit and set up deliveries for the rest. Then get some ice cream.”

  She blinked. “Ice cream?”

  “To celebrate. Banana Blitz opens at nine. The hardware store is already open, and the craft store will be open by the time we get to town. How’s Evie?”

  “Better. Her throat isn’t as sore, and she slept through the night. She’ll probably be fine in another day or two.”

  “Think she’d like it if we brought her back a sundae?”

  “I think she’d love it. Give me five minutes.” She went in the house and Ty put his tools away.

  When she came out again, Nikki was with her. “I’ve got more buyers coming this week, so don’t go buzzing your planes around.”

  “I won’t.”

  Nikki grinned. “And tell Dillon not to go buzzing anything either, or I’ll have to pinch him.”

  “If I tell Dill there’s a surefire way to get pinched by you, he’ll be flying circles around this place all afternoon.”

  Nikki’s grin widened. She promised to call Camille if anything happened with Evie, then they headed into town.

  Camille filled up a cart at the hardware store, and Ty put it on his business card. He hardly ever went into craft stores, and Camille had fun taunting him with yarn.

  “I’ll have to teach you to knit so you can help with the decorations.”

  He paused beside some bright yellow yarn. “What are we knitting?” He’d never so much as picked up a ball of yarn before.

  “We need a thousand chair socks by tomorrow. But don’t worry, it’s easy.”

  Did she say... “Chair socks?”

  “Yep.” She stared at him with a totally deadpan expression. Ty stared back, then broke into a grin.

  “You actually had me for a minute. Chair socks.” He picked the yellow yarn off the shelf and threw it at her as she ducked and burst into giggles.

  “For the record, chair socks are a real thing.” She put the yarn back on the shelf. “But I wouldn’t use them at a wedding, and I have no idea how to knit.”

  Next up, ice cream. Dorie, the owner, greeted them inside the shop. Ty told Camille to pick out anything she wanted. Just one condition.

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s gotta be at least two scoops. Maybe even three.”

  She grinned and he paid for three two-scoop hot fudge sundaes, including one to bring back for Evie, which they’d pick up when they left. Outside on the picnic tables, just two bites in, Camille got fudge on her nose. Ty laughed, and when she demanded to know what was so funny, he handed her a napkin. She wiped her face, embarrassed but adorable.

  Stop. This. Now. Business only.

  But ice cream was business, wasn’t it? They’d been working all morning, so that made this a business meal. Pure and simple.

  A woman’s voice sounded behind them. “I should’ve known I’d find you here, stuffing your face.” Ty turned. Co-Coe sat at Avery’s feet wagging her tail. She whisper-barked at Ty, then ran over and tried to jump in his lap. Ty picked the dog up and stroked her soft fur.

  When he looked at Camille, her spoon was sticking straight up out of her sundae and her hands were clenching the tabletop. Maybe it was Co-Coe. Some people were weird about dogs getting too close to their food. He put her down and she ran to the other side of the table, resting her paws on Camille’s legs, looking for the same treatment.

  Camille gave the dog a friendly pat but kept her other hand white-knuckled to the table. Avery rested one knee on the bench beside Ty. “So, what are you guys up to?”

  “Phoebe called. We got the job.”

  Avery squealed and gave Ty a hug. “That’s amazing.” She beamed at Camille. “I knew God sent
you to Sweetheart for a reason.”

  Camille’s face turned three shades of red, but she didn’t look embarrassed. More like angry. If Ty had only just met her, he might not have been able to tell the difference, but working side by side with her this weekend was enough to clue him in.

  Dorie opened the door and poked her head out of the shop. “I saw you two out the window. Guess what I’ve got?” She kneeled down and held out a Puppy Paws ice-cream cup. Co-Coe sprinted for it. Avery chased after her. “Nice seeing you again,” Avery called over her shoulder.

  Ty returned to his sundae. Camille stirred her spoon around, not eating.

  “Are you okay?”

  She blinked. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” A forced smile ran across her face and she started eating again. But she kept her eyes on Avery as she and Co-Coe headed away from the shop.

  Invisible fingers snapped in place. Ty finally got it. Camille was still upset about Avery helping out the other day. This was his fault. What could he say to make things right? “I’ve known Avery awhile now. I think you’d really like her if you got to know her.”

  Camille pushed the rest of her sundae to the side. “I’m sure I would. Do you see a lot of each other?”

  “Mostly just at church.”

  Camille’s head tilted to the side. “Church?”

  “Yeah. She’s there most Sundays.”

  A thin crease formed in the corners of Camille’s eyes. “You know, I was thinking about your offer the other day, to go to church with you. And now that you mention it again, I think Evie and I would like to take you up on it.”

  “That would be great.” Maybe if she saw Avery at church, she’d be able to put the other day behind her. A month from now they could be best friends.

  Camille won’t be here a month from now.

  His stomach churned at the reminder, and two scoops didn’t seem like such a great idea anymore. But it didn’t matter where Camille was a month from now. This was just business. That wouldn’t change a week from now or a month from now. Or ever.