The Stubborn Suitor, Book 1 (The Stubborn Suitor #1)(5)

Being Madison’s mother was what gave her life meaning. Yes, Cami enjoyed her job at the hospital and she loved helping people. She loved her time relaxing with Maggie and she really did hope to someday meet a man she could spend the rest of her life with. But all of those things paled in comparison to the joy and meaning Cami found in being a mother. With the threat of having that taken away from her, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with her “little monster” and read bedtime stories until they both fell asleep.

Unfortunately, one thing Cami was not in the mood for was dealing with her mother. She loved her mom dearly; the woman had raised Cami alone after her father had left when Cami was ten. And she was eternally grateful now that her mother provided free childcare four days a week while Cami worked. She knew her mother loved her and only wanted the best for her, but sometimes that desire for the “best” could come off as judgmental or condescending.

Yet there wasn’t much Cami could do to avoid her mom this evening. She had to pick up her daughter, after all.

Cami parked and slowly climbed the stairs to her mother’s second-story apartment. She used her own key to let herself in and was surprised to find the place uncharacteristically quiet. Usually, Madison would greet Cami at the door with shrieks of “Mommy!!!” before throwing herself into her arms.

The only sound to greet her now was the gentle hum of the air conditioning as Cami made her way into the apartment. The old, worn leather sofa was empty, as was the rocking chair. The room was dark and abandoned. It reminded Cami of the countless nights she’d spent alone in the apartment as a child while her mother worked. Very little had changed in this place over the last two decades, besides some added portraits of Madison on the walls, and a newish flat-screen TV.

She wandered into the kitchen, where she found her mother at the table, a cup of tea in her hand as she flipped through a gossip magazine. She looked tired, with her gray hair pulled back in a messy bun, loose tendrils falling in front of her drooping eyelids. She looked up as Cami entered the room, offering her daughter a loving but weak smile.


“Cami, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said.

“Where’s Madison?” Cami asked, coming to stand next to the older woman.

“She’s passed out in the bedroom. We went to the park, and she spent the afternoon running around with a neighbor’s dog. She was exhausted.”

“Sorry I missed that,” Cami said with a sad smile.

She could picture the little monster, running through the grass after the mutt, shrieking with joy. She smiled at her mother, who was now looking at her with an inquisitive expression. She must have seen the stress on Cami’s face. Cami really wasn’t ready to have that conversation with her mother, so she turned to go.

“I better get her home.”

“No rush,” the older woman said. She patted the chair next to her. “Come, have a seat.”

Cami thought about arguing, but knew that she’d never win that fight against her mother. Besides, her mom didn’t spend much time around other adults. She owed her a few minutes of visiting. So Cami pulled out the chair and sat down beside her.

“You look tired,” the older woman said as Cami relaxed into the chair. “You work too much!”

“I really don’t want to get into this with you again, Mom.” Cami was emotionally and physically exhausted, and she really didn’t want to rehash this argument once again.

“You’re missing out on so much of her childhood,” her mother replied, changing approaches to continue her point when Cami clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

Cami sighed deeply, wishing she hadn’t taken a seat. The truth was, she did feel like she was missing parts of Madison’s childhood. But that was the point of working long hours four days a week. She then had three full days to spend with Madison—at least when her daughter wasn’t spending the weekend at her father’s house. But she was doing her best—or what she thought was best for Madison.

“I don’t have a choice, Mom,” she replied indignantly.

“Of course, you do! You could work part-time. Move in here with me. That way you wouldn’t miss so much of your baby’s childhood.”

“I can’t do that, mom. You know I can’t.” Cami was growing angry. “This apartment only has two rooms.”

“I can sell this place and move into a town home or something.”

“Not going to happen, Mother,” Cami said.

The thought of living with her mom sent another wave of nausea through her stomach. Cami loved her and was eternally grateful for the support she offered in taking care of Madison, but she would pull her hair out if she had to live with the woman.

“Something has to happen, honey,” her mom replied. “You work too damn much.”

“Why is everyone saying that today?”

“Who else has been saying that?” the older woman questioned.

Cami sighed. She definitely did not want to get into Ken’s phone call with her mother. She’d only worry and make things all the more stressful.

“No one, Mom. I just…I don’t have a choice. Ken has made it clear he isn’t going to help, so if I want Madison to have everything she deserves in life, I have to work. You worked more than I do when I was growing up. I turned out fine.”