Page 157 of Her Defiant Warrior

She was standing there in an oversized sleep shirt, with her hair tousled, looking like her dog had just died. He thought fast.

“I just hate it when Brax knows me better than I know myself. I did fall hard and fast.”

Her beautiful blue eyes got wide. “You did?”

“I did. I talked to another friend, Kostya, about you. I told him how honest and kind you were. I explained about you making cookies for the old couple down the hall. I told him how smart you were, and how you wanted to make a difference for lower-income people who wanted to get loans for start-up businesses. I told him how you went out of your way to find an Argentinian recipe to make me cookies from my home, which were delicious, by the way. Then I told him how being around you makes me feel better about myself.”

“You said all that?” She smiled big.

Mateo nodded.

“What did Kostya say?”

“He said I’d better spend more time with you.” And that wasn’t a lie, but goddammit, he better get to tell her the truth pretty damn soon.

“Then that works out great, because I’d like to spend more time with you,” she grinned.

Matt had left after helping her tidy up the kitchen and taking off the duct tape. Lainey had to admit, being able to use all the sockets in the kitchen really made a big difference. Xena came over and jumped up onto the couch beside her.

“He’s a good guy, isn’t he?” she asked her dog. “You came out from your doggy bed and everything.” She couldn’t believe how much Xena trusted Matt. That never happened.

Xena pushed her muzzle under Lainey’s hand, demanding to be scratched.

“Do you want scratches, or are you giving me strength to call my mother? You know how she loves her Sunday talks. Whereas I would prefer a tooth pulled without Novocaine.”

Xena whined and pushed even closer.

“You understand. You’re a good girl. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Lainey pressed on the key that would call her mother.

“Well, it’s about time, MacLaine. I have left four messages for you, without a return phone call. I raised you better than that.”

“Mother, I told you that Sundays are my day to call family. I’ve been telling you that since the day I moved to Virginia.”

“Well, this is urgent.”

Lainey sighed. “It’s always urgent.”

“I’m not feeling well, and the doctor says that I need to take things easy, just like your sister.”

Lainey frowned. “What exactly did the doctor say? Is there something in particular that is wrong?”

“I have a brain tumor.”

“What? Oh my God, Mom. When did you find out? Have they done a biopsy?”

“They’ve done exhaustive testing. This new doctor, who is an absolute quack, took blood and put me in one of those tube scans⁠—”

“You mean an MRI?”

“Whatever they’re called. They roll you into a coffin and give you terrible music to listen to and tell you not to move. She’s a new doctor. For thirty years, I’ve had the same doctor, and now we have this new woman. Can you believe it? A woman!”

“Have you seen a neurologist? An oncologist? A surgeon?”

“She’s a total quack. She hasn’t referred me to any specialist like she should. She had the nerve to tell me that my headaches were probably caused by stress, and I probably had anxiety. She said that a lot of women benefit from taking a pill and seeing a therapist. As if I was a common case. She even wrote that down in my official file! MacLaine, it was mortifying. Can you imagine someone calling me common?”

“She didn’t call you common,” Lainey corrected. She felt a headache starting. Maybe she needed an MRI. “What else did your doctor say?”