Chapter 48
When Camilla walked in, Lance tipped his head and gave her a lazy grin. “Miss Hedgehog, welcome home p>
With just a few words, he sounded like he owned the place.
“Lance, what are you doing here?” Camilla asked.
Jasper piped up first. “Mom, I invited Lance p>
“You did p>
“Yeah, I saved his number last time. Lance talks to me a lot.” Jasper looked pretty pleased with himself.
Now that she thought about it, Jasper really had spent a lot of time in his room these past couple of days. Every time he came out, he looked like he was in a great mood. Camilla had just figured he’d found some new toy. She never would have guessed it was Lance on the other end of those talks.
Still, it was a little… odd. Lance had always been the kind of person everyone was careful around, the kind you tiptoe for. It just seemed strange that he’d take time out of his day to chat with her son.
She fixed Jasper with a serious look. “Jasper, Lance has his own work to do. You shouldn’t keep calling him whenever you want. That’s not okay, okay p>
Jasper protested, “But I didn’t bother him. It was Lance who p>
“We’re friends, Jasper and me. Friends never bother each other, right? Miss Hedgehog, you really take things too seriously.” Lance’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he looked at Camilla. He picked up a drawing from the table and held it out.
It was a sketch of a hedgehog, a bit abstract and cartoony, with a frown and eyebrows drawn low in a way that looked… honestly, a lot like Camilla when she was being stern. He tilted the paper for Jasper to see. “So, what do you think? Doesn’t it look like your mom p>
Jasper glanced between Camilla and the drawing, squinting, weighing the evidence. Finally, he gave a tiny, slow nod.
Camilla felt a flicker of annoyance as she noticed Lance’s teasing smile. She reached for the drawing, grabbed a pen, and quickly added a lion next to the hedgehog. The lion was all exaggerated features, winking and grinning sideways. Cartoon sketches were nothing for her, and she made sure the lion’s expression was absolutely over the top.
As she finished, she couldn’t help laughing a little. “There. And who’s this? Mr. Rude Lion p>
It was a childish challenge, and as soon as the words slipped out, the mood in the room shifted, just a little. Camilla regretted it immediately. Why am I acting like this, just because of a silly drawing?
Lance paused, watching her. Then he let out a low, easy laugh. “Feeling any better p>
“Huh p>
He leaned in. “You came in here looking like the world was ending. How about now? Feel a little lighter p>
Camilla blinked. She really did feel a little better, as if the dark weight she’d been carrying around all day had finally started to lift.
Lance let the moment pass and turned his attention back to Jasper, chatting with him about whatever kids talk about.
Just then, Susan poked her head in. “Dinner’s ready p>
Camilla told Susan to go ahead and help Jasper wash his hands. She turned to Lance. “Jasper didn’t cause you too much trouble these past couple days, did he? I’m p>
“We’re friends already. There’s no such thing as trouble.” Lance shrugged, unfazed. “But, hey, if you really feel guilty, you can make it up to me with a home-cooked meal p>
He offered her a lopsided smile, totally at ease inviting himself over.
In the end, Camilla couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Over dinner, Lance asked about her injury, and Camilla made a point to thank him for the ointment he’d sent. Lance brushed it off. “Don’t mention it. I wasn’t going to use it anyway p>
Later, when Lance got up to leave, Jasper trailed after him, totally reluctant to let him go. He insisted that, once Snow was feeling better, they all had to take the dogs for a walk together.
Honestly, Camilla couldn’t help noticing how easily Lance and Jasper clicked. There were moments she felt like an outsider in her own house.
Susan commented in a low voice, “Camilla, I’ve been around Jasper for years, and it’s rare to see him take to someone this much. Mr. Lance seems so intimidating at first, but who knew he was so soft-hearted p>
Camilla pressed her lips together. She still had no clue what Lance was really after.
That night, when she went to tidy Jasper’s bed, her eyes landed on that doodle they’d made together, forgotten on his desk. Almost without thinking, she picked it up and brought it back to her room.
Normally, Camilla would hate people giving her weird nicknames. But “Miss Hedgehog”… it actually didn’t bother her. There was something kind of sweet about it.
She found herself smiling. Who would have thought a silly little drawing could sweep away all her gloom? For the first time in a while, she drifted off and slept straight through the night.
The good mood only lasted to the next morning. Right after she woke up, Camilla got some nasty news. Apparently, Barnard had somehow pulled strings and managed to get Davina released, and it had already blown up enough that Calvin heard about it. He was furious, demanding that Camilla get back to the Carter Estate immediately.
Camilla hadn’t even checked her phone yet, didn’t have all the details. Still, it wasn’t hard to guess that, for Calvin to be this angry, Barnard’s stunt must have put the Carter family’s reputation on the line.
She decided not to bring Jasper along and drove herself out to the estate.
Barnard wasn’t there when she arrived, but Calvin was waiting with a face like a thundercloud. The second she stepped through the door, a teacup came flying in her direction.
“This is what you call handling things? Didn’t you say you had it under control p>