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Camellia's Smile

By Debra Lynn Collins

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Chapter One

Camellia Stewart expelled a long breath and blinked back the tears clouding her sight. She had to keep driving. She couldn’t stop. She had to get to the man who had raised her, the man who’d always put her needs before his own to make sure she had a happy life. The man she called her hero. The man who cried when she packed her car to move to Birmingham, Alabama, three-hundred miles away to pursue her career.
This was the man she called Granddad.
She gripped the steering wheel tighter and pressed harder on the accelerator. “Father God, please let my granddad be okay.”
Even though fear gripped her heart, she knew her faith in God would sustain her.

Three and a half hours later, Camellia whipped her car into the emergency room parking lot. It only took her a few seconds to find an empty space. Jumping out of her car, she sprinted across the lot. Her flip-flops thundered in her ears as they smacked the hot pavement. She hurried through the automatic doors and made a beeline for the information desk.
Her long legs wobbled like Jell-o as she approached the desk. “Can you please tell me where Jake Payton is? I’m his granddaughter.”
“Let me check.” The blonde nurse glanced down at a clipboard and then nodded. “Yes, they just moved Mr. Payton to ICU on the sixth floor.”
“Thank you.” She choked out the words and dashed toward the elevator.
Once she reached the sixth floor, she picked up the phone in the waiting room and told the woman on the other end of the line who she was.
“Yes, I’m Mr. Payton’s nurse. Come to the automatic doors and I’ll buzz you in. When you come through the doors, your grandfather’s room is the first one on the left.”
Seconds later when she eased into her granddad’s room and saw him, a nauseating fear rolled in her stomach as terror gripped her throat. Her granddad’s broad shoulders looked frail underneath all the tubes and wires. The soft beeping sound of the monitor pierced her ear drums like a blood curdling scream. “Granddad,” she whispered.
Her nana peered around the curtain next to her granddad’s bed. “Cammie, I’m so glad you’re here.” The loving nickname her grandparents had always called her seemed to calm her jangled nerves. Nana eased to her feet; her shoulders had a stoop to them that wasn’t there the last time she’d seen her. Her dress flowed past her knees, and her thick heeled shoes clipped on the floor as she made her way to Camellia. She gathered her in her arms and squeezed her.
They held each other in silence for several seconds until Camellia pulled back and looked into her nana’s soft blue eyes. Eyes the same color as her own. She had inherited not only her nana’s eye color but her blonde hair as well. Only Nana’s hair was now streaked with gray.
“I can’t believe he had a heart attack. How is he?”
“He’s stable right now, but they’re taking him to have open-heart surgery in a couple of hours.”
“Nana, all you told me when you called was that he’d had a heart attack. What happened?”
“He had just finished feeding the farm animals when he collapsed in the yard. I thought I’d lost him.” Tears glistened on the older woman’s eyelashes as she spoke. “But, you know your grandfather, he’s a fighter.”
Camellia couldn’t speak past the knot in her throat. All she could do was nod.
“God is going to bring my precious Jake through this. You just wait and see, honey.” Her nana eased back over to the side of his bed, placed her hand on his forehead, and pushed a lock of graying hair to the side. She turned back and smiled at Camellia. “We have to trust God to do it.”

Hours later, after surgery, they got the news they were hoping for. Her granddad had come through surgery just fine. He was still in serious condition, but they had high hopes he would make a full recovery.
“When can we see him?” Nana asked the doctor.
“He’ll be in recovery for at least the next couple of hours. As soon as they get him settled back in the ICU you can go see him. Just remember, he is heavily sedated, so he’ll be sleeping for the next few hours.” The doctor offered Nana a sympathetic smile. “If you need me or have any questions, the nurses on the floor will get in contact with me. Now, if you and your granddaughter would like to head back to the ICU waiting room, the nurse will let you know when you can see him.”
“Thank you so much.” Camellia reached out, took hold of the doctor’s hand, and gave it a firm shake.
He smiled, gave them both a nod, and patted Nana’s shoulder before leaving the room.
After they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, Camellia wrapped her arm around the shoulders that had thinned over the years. “Nana, after we see Granddad why don’t you go back to the house and get some sleep tonight? I’ll stay with him, and if anything changes, I can call you. You look so tired, you need to rest. You can get a good night’s sleep and come back in the morning. I don’t want you to end up in the hospital, too.”
“Darling girl, your grandfather and I have been married for forty-five years, and we’ve never been apart, not one single night. I don’t intend to start now. But I wanted to talk to you about this. I need you to go back to the house tonight.”
“Me? What? No. I’m not leaving you. If you’re not going home, I will just stay with you then.” Camellia knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She loved these two people more than anyone or anything else in the world, and she was going to stay right by their sides.
“Cammie, I really do need you to go back to the house for me. Moe and Lasso haven’t been fed today and here it is seven-thirty at night. I can’t stand the thought of my babies going hungry.”
“Nana, you know those dogs will be okay. I know what you’re doing. You’re still looking out for me, and as much as I appreciate it, you need me here. I’m staying.”
When the elevator doors opened, they stepped out together. Nana took her by the arm and guided her through the doors into the ICU waiting room. After they both were seated on the sparsely padded chairs, Nana reached out and tucked a loose strand of Camellia’s hair behind her ear, something she had done all of her life. “Honey, they will only let one of us stay in the room with him. I couldn’t stand the thought of you sleeping in one of these hard chairs in here all night. Don’t make me worry about you, too. Please, go back to the house, feed my dogs, and get a good night’s sleep. Besides, I don’t even remember if I locked the house or not. That’s something else I would be worrying about. You can come back here in the morning.” Her pleading eyes touched Camellia deep in her heart.
Her defenses started crumbling. “But, Nana, I can’t leave you here all by yourself.”
“No buts. I can rest here much easier if I know you’re taking care of my dogs and watching over the house. I need you to do this for me. And on top of that, all the animals on the farm have to be fed in the morning. We can’t let them go hungry either. And I won’t be by myself, I have the Lord with me.”
Camellia had always been an obedient child. She looked into her nana’s eyes, and knew she couldn’t tell her no. With a sigh of surrender, she took hold of the now-wrinkled hand that had lovingly comforted her so many times when she was younger. “Okay, but only if you promise you’ll call me if you need me for anything.”
Nana wrapped her arms around Camellia and gave her a tight squeeze. “I promise.”

It was nine-forty when Camellia pulled to a stop in front of her grandparent’s two-story farm house. Even in the dark, she could picture exactly how this farm looked, down to every last tree, bush, and fence post. But, when she glanced around at the dark house, there was an eerie stillness that chilled her to the bone. She shut off the engine, got out of her car, grabbed her suitcase from the trunk, and climbed the creaking steps to the front door.
When she gripped the door knob, she smiled to herself when the knob didn’t turn. “You couldn’t remember if you locked up the house or not, yeah right. Nana you are one clever woman.” Camellia fumbled through her keys until she found the house key.
The moment she opened the door, she was greeted by Moe and Lasso, her grandparents two Yorkies. She squatted, gathered the two small dogs into her lap, and returned the love. “Hi, babies. I take it, you two are glad to see me. Are you hungry? Come on, let’s go get you two dinner.”
After feeding the dogs, she took a shower and climbed into her grandparent’s bed. Thankful that her granddad was still here, she cried tears of fear, relief, and thanksgiving until she finally fell asleep.
A loud noise jarred her. She bolted straight up in bed and strained her ears. Had the noise been just a dream? She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand beside the bed. It glowed 5:47.
Bang. Thump. Bang.
No, it wasn’t a dream. Someone was definitely outside.
Camellia threw back the covers, darted to the window, jerked back the curtain, and peered outside. The barn light was on, so she could see everything. There in front of the barn was a black pickup truck. She watched in heart-stopping horror and the blood in her veins turned to ice when she spotted someone coming out of the barn carrying a sack of feed. The man tossed it over into the bed of his truck, turned, and went back into the barn.
Hot, boiling anger seared through her, replacing the fear. Her granddad was in the hospital after surviving a life-threatening heart attack, and here was some thief, stealing from him. Well, not as long as she was here, he wouldn’t.
Like a rock from a slingshot, she catapulted down the stairs, jerked up the house phone, and dialed 9-1-1.
“9-1-1. What’s your emergency?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.
“Yes, there’s a man stealing things from my grandparent’s barn. The address is 506 County Road 921, Payton Drive. Please hurry, I don’t know what all he’s taken or how long he’s been here.”
Camellia clamped her teeth into her bottom lip and held her breath until the operator spoke to her again. “We have an officer on his way now. What’s your name?”
“I’m Camellia Stewart. I’m Jake and Helen Payton’s granddaughter. What should I do?”
“Stay on the phone with me. Make sure the doors are locked and stay put. We have an officer in your area, and he should be there shortly.”
The operator fired questions at her like a machine gun. Do you know who these people are? How many are there? What kind of vehicle are they driving? Are they male or female? Do you see any weapons? Are you in a safe place?
She tried to answer each question that was hurled at her until frustration took over. “How much longer will it be before someone is here?” Camellia almost shouted into the phone.
“Ma’am, please just remain calm. As I told you before an officer will be there shortly.” The voice on the other end began to fire questions at her again.
Shortly? Just how long was shortly? A sense of danger, fear, and helplessness assailed her as she tried to steady her shaky hands. How much stuff would that thief take in that amount of time? What if he left before the police got here?
The bitter taste of panic rose in the back of her throat. She couldn’t allow him to get away with doing this. What could she do?
Suddenly it dawned on her what she had to do as her gaze caught on her granddad’s gun cabinet. He had taught her how to shoot a gun when she was just a young girl, and she had gone hunting with him more times than she had fingers and toes. He even bragged about what a great shot she was. Maybe, just maybe, she could sneak up on the man and at least hold him at gun point until the police got here.
She knew the operator wanted her to remain on the phone with her until the police arrived, but Camellia decided to take matters into her own hands. After all, she couldn’t just wait here like a frightened child hiding under their bed. This man had to be stopped, and she was the only one who could stop him.
She pushed the off button on the phone and raced over to her granddad’s gun cabinet.
With a turn and a click of the key, she unlocked the gun cabinet, took out one of the shotguns and a box of ammo, and quickly loaded the gun. “Father God, give me strength and courage to do the right thing.”
Easing out of the front door, while the man was inside the barn, she tipped-toed around the back of the truck. Her heart pounded so loud in her ears, she was afraid the man would hear it. She peered into the barn, thankful he had his back to her and was bent over about to pick up another bag of feed. One step at a time, she crept up behind him, and stopped several yards from him so that he couldn’t snatch the gun out of her hands.
She lifted the gun and pointed it at him. “Hold it right there. Don’t move. I have a gun aimed at your back. Now, I want you to slowly put your hands up in the air so I can see them. Do it now!” It took everything inside of her to keep the tremble out of her voice. Only problem was, the tremble showed up in her knees instead. Good thing he had his back to her and couldn’t see them.
She swallowed hard as reality crashed in on her.
What was she doing?
Could she really shoot this man if he charged her?
The man didn’t say a word. Instead, he did as she asked. He slowly straightened and raised his hands above his head.
She took a step back, knowing she had to continue to keep her distance because he was at least six foot tall and looked to be very muscular from the way his t-shirt fit. The man could very easily overpower her five-foot-four frame.
His body flinched, and Camellia’s knees went from a tremble to shaking so violently that she feared they would buckle under her. “I said don’t move. Do you want me to shoot you?”
“Nope, I don’t think I feel like dying today. Can I at least turn around so I can see who’s holding me at gun point?”
“You can turn around but do it slowly and no funny business. I do have a gun, and I can assure you, I know how to use it.” This time, Camellia couldn’t keep the shakiness from her voice. She just hoped the thief hadn’t noticed that fact.
He circled around slowly and looked directly into her eyes. He didn’t look anything like she pictured a thief would look like. His classically handsome face took her by surprise as he stared at her with eyes as dark as the night. His clean-shaven jaw and silky short-cropped dark hair would make any movie star jealous.
“I don’t know who you are,” he said, “but if you’re going to rob me, I can tell you, you won’t get much. All I have is forty dollars in my wallet, but you’re welcome to it.”
“Rob you?” She drew in a deep, steady breath and matched his glare. “Aren’t you the funny one? But you won’t be laughing in a few minutes.”
To her relief, sirens filled the air. “Do you hear that? That’s for you. Did you really think you could come and steal from this family and get away with it?”
“Steal from this family? What are you talking about, lady? You’re the one with the gun.”
“That’s right I am. I’m protecting my grandparent’s place from the likes of you.”
His brows dipped low to his eyes as surprise rolled across his face. “Wait, I think—” He leaned forward as if he was going to make a move on her.
Camellia raised the gun tight in to her shoulder, ready to fire if need be, and shouted, “I said don’t move.”
“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up higher. “But I assure you, lady, this is just a huge misunderstanding. If you’ll let me explain, I can clear this up in two minutes.”
When the sirens grew closer, she took a few steps backward, never once taking her eyes off the thief. From the corner of her eye, she saw the police car coming down the driveway. She had never been so happy to see blue lights as she was right now. “I don’t want to hear it. You can explain it to the police officer while he’s taking you to jail.”
The police car came to a halt on the dirt. The officer jumped out of his car, gun poised and aimed in their direction as he slowly moved toward her. “Ma’am, I want you to put the gun down on the ground and step away from it.”
What? She frowned, clearly confused. Didn’t the cop know she was the victim here? What was wrong with him? “You don’t understand. I’m the one who called you. I’m Camellia Stewart. The Payton’s are my grandparents. This is the man I called 9-1-1 about. I caught him stealing feed out of the barn.”
“Camellia, is that you?” When the officer came close enough to her where she could see his face, she recognized him immediately. It was Kurt Fletcher, one of her high school classmates.
“Kurt? Thank goodness it’s you.”
“Camellia, I want you to listen to me and put the gun down. Now.” Kurt didn’t lower his gun but kept it aimed at her.
“Wait! What are you doing, Kurt?” She glanced between the two men, keeping her rifle trained on the thief. “You need to arrest this man. He’s stealing feed from my granddad’s barn. I caught him in the act.”
“We’ll discuss it when you do as I say. I’m not going to ask you again, Camellia.”
“Okay, okay.” The harshness she heard in his voice, and the seriousness she saw in his face, told her she had better do as he said. She slowly lowered the gun to the ground and stepped sideways until she was about five feet away from her rifle and the trespasser.
“Thank you, Camellia,” Kurt said as he picked up the gun. Never taking his eyes off of her, he walked backward to his parole car and placed her rifle inside the car. As he strolled back toward them, he holstered his pistol. “I’m sorry I had to be harsh with you, Camellia, but I have to follow protocol, it’s my job. When a weapon is involved, I have to make sure I have control of the situation.” Kurt then bobbed his head at the thief. “Hey, Brody. Are you okay?”
Brody? Kurt knew this man?
“Yeah, but I sure am glad you showed up when you did. This crazy woman might have shot me.” He pulled off his John Deere cap and swiped his forehead with his forearm.
Camellia looked at Kurt. “What’s going on? Didn’t you hear me?” She pointed at the man. “He was stealing feed right out of the barn. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”
“You didn’t explain it to her?” Kurt asked the man.
“I tried to but she wouldn’t give me a chance. Besides, when you have a gun being waved in your face, you tend to be compliant.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Go ahead, Kurt. Why don’t you do the honors?”
Kurt placed one hand on her shoulder. “Camellia, this is Brody Tarvin. He recently bought the place next door. We had some bad storms to move through here last week, and a tree fell on Brody’s barn. You know how kind-hearted your grandfather is. Well, he offered to let Brody store his feed here until he could repair his own barn. So you see, he wasn’t stealing the feed, he was only taking what was his.”
Realization of the colossal mistake she had made began to sink in. A hot wave of humiliation splashed through her, and her focus shifted to the hard ground. “I… I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know.” She forced herself to look at Mr. Tarvin.
“You might have if you would’ve just asked.” Mr. Tarvin’s direct stare flustered her and added to her shame. Irritation crawled up her spine at how much he was enjoying her embarrassment.
She popped her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You can just wipe that smug look off your face, Mr. Tarvin. How was I to know you weren’t stealing the feed? What kind of man doesn’t come to the door and knock to let someone know why he’s here? I could have shot you.”
“Yes, you could have.” His lips curled upward. Camellia fought the urge to wipe that smirk off of his face with a pitchfork full of manure. “And how was I to know there was a gun-reeling woman in the house that I had to be aware of. Why didn’t you just ask your grandfather before you came running out here and threatened to shoot me?” Brody bobbed his head toward the house.
The vision of her precious granddad lying in that hospital bed with tubes running everywhere slammed into her heart. She blinked back the hot tears that swelled in the back of her eyes. “For your information, mister, the reason I didn’t ask my granddad is because he isn’t here. He had a heart attack yesterday morning, and he’s in the hospital.”

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