Page 60 of Her Faithful Protector

So much for tender loving care. No questions about the kidnapping. Nada, zip, nothing. You would have thought a scientist would have had more curiosity.

“Mother, I can just as easily arrange for a nurse in my own apartment.”

“Nonsense, everyone would expect you to be staying with your father and me.”

Ah-ha, now everything makes sense; she doesn’t want to lose face with her university friends.

“She can stay with me,” Nic said as he stepped up beside her mother. “I have plenty of leave I can take so it wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

Before Camilla could respond to his offer, her mother turned on him. It didn’t seem to bother her that she was a foot shorter and probably a hundred pounds lighter than him, she was going to have her say. “I don’t know how you even found out about Camilla’s ordeal, or how you came to be here, but you are surely not involved. You should never have been involved with my daughter from the beginning. The best thing that ever happened was the day you disappeared and were never heard from again.”

“Mother.” Camilla was aghast. She’d known that her dad and mom disapproved of Nic years ago, but never to this extent. “Do you know what Nic did? He and his teammates risked their lives to save me and the other students. He’s a hero.”

Enid Ross looked like she had sucked on a lemon. “He’s just a glorified thug that our government has on the payroll to do their dirty work.”

She knew that her mother was an elitist but she’d never heard her like this before. It was profoundly upsetting. How could she have been raised by this woman?

“Mother, Nic serves our country. I am proud of what he does. He is an honorable man, and he helped to save eleven lives two days ago.”

“Camilla, I’m not going to argue semantics with you. I came here to talk about your recovery. Your shoulder is going to require a great deal of time to heal, and then there will be months of rehabilitation. I have no idea when you can go back to your job at the university. We need to develop a plan for your future.”

“Jesus lady, you can’t possibly be worried about Cami’s career right now. She was just kidnapped. You can’t possibly understand what she’s gone through. She needs a hell of a long time to just recover from that.”

“Nonsense. My daughter is strong. She can rise past that. It’s her physical well-being that I’m concerned about.”

Camilla watched Nic’s incredulous expression. She wanted to laugh. She remembered spending time at his parents’ house—the times when his parents had been there—and she had loved them. They had been so warm and welcoming. It was a whole different dynamic at the Hale household. Camilla had almost been embarrassed to introduce Nic to her parents, and her mother was proving why again. But the woman was her mother, and Camilla wouldn’t have expected anything different.

“Mrs. Ross—”

“It’s Doctor Ross,” she interrupted.

“If you’re a damned doctor, then you should really understand that Cami needs love and support right now, not to be railroaded by some unemotional robot.”

“I’m a doctor of physics, not a medical doctor.”

Camilla swallowed a laugh. Really, that’s what her mother wanted to defend herself about?

“If Camilla would allow it, I want her to come home with me, so I can take care of her.”

“Wait a moment, did you just ask me, Nic? Was that an actual question, not an edict?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. “Actually, it was a plea. Please Cami, come to my place.”

“That’s utter nonsense. Camilla, you haven’t heard from this boy since he left you years ago, why in the world would you even consider allowing him to have anything to do with you now?”

Boy?

“Mother, can we sort this out some other time. It’s too much for me to take in right now.”

“Fine. I’m going to check in with your doctor, maybe even your surgeon, and then I’m going to my hotel. I will come and visit you as soon as visiting hours begin tomorrow morning. You’ve had enough fuss for one day.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.” Camilla nodded. That was when it occurred to her that her mother hadn’t even touched her during the entire visit. She watched as her mother turned toward the door.

“Nic, come along,” Enid said, looking back at the man who was standing next to her bed.

“I’m not leaving unless Cami asks me to.”

“Her name is Camilla.”