Page 51 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bargain

I ruffle his mop of dark hair. “Nothing you need to worry about, buddy.” I drum my fingers on the table as Camille gathers the last few things from the fridge and heads over to us. “You really should see Doc, though, Pops. It’s been a few years since he’s been up to examine you—”

“That’s because, as I just stated, I’m healthy as a horse.”

“Well, I’d like to keep you that way rather than have to send you off to the glue factory.”

Camille sits to my right, directly across from him, fighting a smile at my comment.

Pops inclines his head toward her. “That’s what I haveherfor now.”

“I’m not a doctor, Pops. You know that.” She grabs a ladle and points it at him. “And I don’t have any of the equipment the clinic does to actually, you know, run tests…”

“Test, schmests.” He reaches out and pinches Davey’s cheek playfully. “I’m going to live forever. Aren’t I, kid?”

Davey nods, the sweet innocence of a child who has no concept that what was just said is far from the truth. He reaches out a tiny hand and snags a piece of bread, shoving it into his mouth and chewing on it while my focus shifts to Camille.

He may not understand the statement, but I catch the pained expression on her face.

Davey has already lost his father, and before too long, he’s going to lose Pops, the man he seems to have bonded with so tightly over the last several months.

Hopefully, that’s not for many years down the line, but death is as inevitable as the sun rising and setting.

I’m certainly not ready to think about it coming for him any more than I was when I thought he was declining due to something a lot more serious than a vitamin deficiency.

And Camille isn’t, either.

She quickly pulls the lid off the pot. “Let’s dig in.”

My stomach growls at the scents coming from the cast-iron crock. “I’m starved…”

Camille dishes it out, starting with Davey and Pops, then placing a heaping pile of the stew into my bowl. “I imagine you are. You were working hard today.” It’s said as a casual observation, but I catch the hint of concern in her tone. “Does that ever bother you?”

I dig in and take a bite, releasing a little groan at the delicious flavors that melt in my mouth. “God, this is good.”

Camille gives me a tight smile. “Thank you, but you didn’t answer my question.”

Intentionally.

But I should have known she wasn’t going to let this go so easily.

I feign ignorance and inhale another bite before raising a brow. “What was it again?”

She narrows her eyes on me. “You know exactly what I asked.”

Pops takes a bite and waves his fork at her. “Don’t bother, sweetheart. The day you get Dalton to admit any sort of weakness is the day Hell freezes over.”

“Pops—” I issue him a warning, then glance over at Camille to gauge her reaction to hiscompletelyuncalled-for comment.

Her blue gaze stays locked on me, as if she can see the answer to her own question if she looks hard enough. “I believe that.”

The accusation in her tone makes my back stiffen.

I’ve been nothing but open and honest with her since the day we met, yet it doesn’t seem to be enough for her. She wants me to hand over that part of me I’ve never shared with anyone when she is the worst offender at keeping things locked away and refusing to accept her own weaknesses.

“I could say the same for you…”

She recoils slightly, squeezing her eyes closed.

Icy regret hits me instantly.

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