Melanie dramatically motioned for Cameron to go on. “The floor is all yours, babe.”
“The beginning?”
“No,” Melanie chuckled, shaking her head. “They don’t have time for us to unpack thirty years.”
“So, fall 2018?”
“The perfect place to start.”
Chapter 1
Cameron
Cameron West was many things. She was a mother, a doctor, and had a chair on the hospital board. The degrees on her office wall made her an alumnus of three of the most prestigious colleges in the country.
But the one thing she never was?
On time.
She has been late since she was born. Cameron alwaystriedto be on time, but the universe always seemed to work against her. Her notorious habit was so well-known that her staff often told her appointments were set for fifteen minutes before the actual start time.
Despite putting it on her resolution list every year, Cameron knew there was little hope in her habits changing. Especially since her fiftieth birthday loomed large in a few months. Cameron was set in her ways, for better or for worse, and she had accepted that. She didn’t want to change, even if she could.
Cameron glanced at the clock on the microwave and sighed. She had ten minutes to drop her youngest off at school and get to the hospital. But with the school and hospital on opposite sides of town, Cameron knew she’d be late to work. Again. At leasttoday, she didn’t have any early morning appointments. Well, at least none she could remember.
Picking up the coffee pot, Cameron carefully poured the hot, life-sustaining liquid into her favorite thermos. She tightened the lid as she walked over to the stairs.
“Dylan, are you ready?”
“Been ready.” Her daughter’s voice startled her from the living room. She looked annoyed at Cameron, which was typical for her pre-teenage self these days. “I’ve been sitting here for like twenty minutes.”
“Oh,” Cameron tried to play it off as if she knew that with a wave of her hand. “I thought you went back upstairs.”
Dylan narrowed her eyes at Cameron as she stood and put on her backpack. “Mhmm.”
Her kids knew her better than just about anyone. They’d grown up with Cameron’s unfortunate time management skills and were used to them by now. Jonah, her oldest, was her mini-me. The poor boy couldn’t be on time if he tried, which he did. He was working so hard during his sophomore year of high school to do better, and Cameron could do nothing but admire him for his determination.
Then there was Dylan.
She was the opposite of Jonah and Cameron. Dylan was born early, walked before most babies, and was ridiculously on time foreverything.At twelve, her main annoyance was Cameron still being her chauffeur. Cameron knew she was eagerly waiting for the day she turned sixteen and could drive herself to play practice or to hang out with her friends.
Or get to school on time.
Dammit.Cameron looked at the clock again. They were both going to be really late now.
Dylan scrolled on her phone as Cameron drove above the speed limit to the school. Being constantly late seemedto correlate with her lead foot, but Cameron wasn’t a neuroscientist. She didn’t have the time nor the patience to figure out if they were indeed related.
Pulling into the drop-off line, Cameron smiled over at Dylan.
“Have a great day, sweetie.”
“You too.” Dylan hurried out of the SUV without saying another word or kissing her cheek, like she used to do when she was little. Cameron watched her baby girl join her friends as they walked into the school together.
Cameron knew how lucky she was to have two amazing kids. They were her entire world. She’d chosen to have them both on her own with no partner. Dating was never high on Cameron’s list, but she always knew she wanted babies. Jonah and Dylan had filled a void in Cameron’s life that she didn’t know existed until she held them in her arms for the first time. They were her babies, and she loved them fiercely.
Parking the SUV in her spot at the hospital, Cameron grabbed her oversized purse from the backseat and headed inside.
Taylor Memorial Hospital was a large hospital for the small town of Moonflower Cove, Maine. It was several stories tall and had every department imaginable under its roof. The hospital was easily among the best in New England, and Cameron was proud to work there. In fact, she’d been working there for the last twenty-something years. She’d done her residency and fellowship there and never left. It was her home away from home. Especially since some days, she spent more time at the hospital than at heractualhome.
