Page 5 of Luna

Another moan drew his thoughts back to the moment and the woman in his arms. “Almost there, Miss Campanelli,” Hunter said, trying to sound reassuring. He glanced in both directions before he jogged across Court Street, then made his way to Ilsa’s shop.

Thankfully, only a screen door blocked his entry when he reached the front of the store.

“Ilsa! I need help!” he hollered through the screen. A noise that sounded like a stampede grew in volume as Ilsa, Marnie, and two of their daughters raced from the workroom at the back of the store toward the door.

“Gracious! What happened?” Ilsa asked, pushing open the screen door and motioning for Sophie, Marnie’s daughter, and Laila, Ilsa’s only child, to step out of the way.

“She fainted on the train platform.” Hunter turned sideways to make it through the door without hitting Luna’s head or feet on the frame. “Do you recognize her?”

Ilsa craned her neck, trying to see Luna’s face, which was half pressed against Hunter’s chest.

“She looks like Caterina.” Ilsa’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed a perfect O. “Luna? Luna Campanelli? Oh, good heavens!”

Hunter nodded and followed as Ilsa led the way through a doorway to the back of her store.

“Place her there, please.” She pointed to an overstuffed chair.

“I’ll pour a glass of cold water,” Marnie said, hurrying over to a pitcher on a tall table.

“Maybe a cool compress would help,” Ilsa said, leaning over Luna and unfastening the jacket she wore, then removing her hat and gloves. “She’s likely overheated.”

Sophie dampened a cloth, and Laila handed it to her mother. Ilsa dabbed at Luna’s forehead and cheeks.

“Perhaps we need smelling salts to revive her,” Marnie said, bustling over to a shelf and rifling through a box of what appeared to be medical supplies. She glanced over her shoulder at her daughter. “Sophie, please go get Caterina.”

“Yes, Mama.” Sophie dashed out the back door, leaving it ajar.

“Should I go find Daddy?” Laila asked as she hovered beside the chair, watching as Ilsa continued wiping the cool cloth over Luna’s face.

“Yes, please,” Ilsa said, tipping her head toward the door. “He didn’t have any appointments at the photography studio today, so he’s likely either making ice or delivering it.”

“I’ll find him!” Laila ran out the door, her dark ringlets flying out behind her in her youthful exuberance to seek out her father.

Hunter wondered what Laila would look like when she was all grown up. At ten, she was a beautiful child with a mass of curly dark hair, big blue eyes, and a petite stature like her mother, although she more closely resembled her Campanelli relatives. He could see a resemblance between her and Luna.

His gaze turned back to the young woman as Ilsa wiped Luna’s hands with the cool rag. Without a hat to hide it, he could see just how shiny and thick Luna’s brown hair appeared and how fragile she looked with her skin so pale against the dark fabric of the chair.

“Found them!” Marnie carried a small jar over to the chair, removed the lid, and waved it beneath Luna’s nose.

He leaned forward as Luna stirred, coughed, and batted a hand in front of her face, as though trying to ward off something that smelled terrible. Her nose wrinkled, and he felt the most preposterous desire to bend down and kiss the tip of it.

“It might be best if she sees you first, Hunter,” Marnie said, giving him a nudge forward after she set the smelling salts on the worktable.

He hunkered down by the chair and took Luna’s limp hand between his, brushing his thumb across her palm.

“Miss Campanelli? It’s Hunter, your friend from the train. Do you think you could open your eyes now?”

He watched as Luna swallowed, and then slowly she opened her eyes. Her gaze, at first wild and panicked, latched onto his. Both fear and recognition registered in her incredible brown peepers. She pushed herself up in the chair and glanced around. Her face went from pale to bright red in the length of a heartbeat.

“Oh,” she said, placing a hand to her throat, her gaze dropping to her lap. “What happened, Hunter?”

“Well, we were standing on the platform, and an automobile backfired. The sound seemed to …” Hunter searched for a polite way to say it sent her into a fit of terror. “The noise upset you a bit, and then you fainted.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m … It was …” Luna sighed and lifted her gaze to his again, her eyes bright with tears. “Thank you for helping me.”

“No need to apologize, Miss Campanelli. You are most welcome for my assistance. I’m just glad I was there to catch you.” Hunter grinned at her and straightened. “I brought you—”

A bang cut off his words as the door sailed wide open, and Caterina Campanelli Rawlings burst inside with Sophie on her heels. “Oh, our sweet bambina!”

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