Page 71 of Make or Break

Mom pulled her phone from her purse and held it out to me. “Show me how to do this so I don’t have to depend on you.”

“You aren’t going to block me or Brandy are you?” I asked with a wink.

“No, but it seems a pain in the neck for you to handle this for me.”

“It’ll take all of ten seconds,” I said, then leaned toward her to show her what I was doing.

Mom frowned at the phone. “What happens if she calls me again?”

I sat back because I didn’t know.

“Is that an iPhone?” Mickayla asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Sarah’s calls will be sent to voicemail, but Mrs. Banks won’t receive the message.”

I wanted to know how she knew that, but Mom spoke first.

“Call me Linda, Mickayla. Have you had to block many people?”

Mickayla gave her an innocent smile. “Not me, but my friend London has had to block her fair share, and one of them used to be a close friend. Women have a way of letting each other know when we’ve figured something out.”

“Say no more,” Mom said, putting her phone back in her purse.

With an arm around her shoulders, I pulled Mickayla to my side.

She tried to pull away. I held firm. She looked up at me - concern shining from her eyes. I kept my expression neutral.

The small unhappy sigh she gave made me laugh.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Mickayla. He’s always been extremely affectionate, and Brandy told no lies. You two are very close.”

Mickayla grimaced. “Brandy coming by was unexpected. For that matter, I hadn’t realized Tundra was taking me along on his house-sitting duties.”

Mom shrugged and offered a small smile. “It was good you two were there. Marjorie hasn’t stopped talking about the lady who looks like a princess and asked for her help rummaging around the kitchen.”

Mickayla chuckled. “I find that hard to believe, she wouldn’t say two words to me the whole time. I figured she was tired.”

Mom shook her head. “That girl’s quiet and shy the first time she meets someone, but so far, she’s got good instincts.”

“Do you want me to give you a tour, Mom?” I asked.

She glanced at the stairs and back to me. “I should get going, sweetie. I’m not up for stairs today. It’s great to see you’re getting settled in.”

I stood. “Let me walk you out.”

“It was so nice to meet you, Linda,” Mickayla said.

Mom nodded at her. “You, too.”

Outside, I walked slower than usual since Mom had hold of my arm. “You wanted to surprise me with this visit, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ron.”

I gave her some side eye. “You do. You’ve never liked it when Brandy meets someone before you.”

Mom stopped and patted my hand. “This isn’t that, honey. I wanted to see what your sister was talking about, and the fact Marjorie likes her so much had me curious, too.”