Page 100 of A Home for Harmony

“Maybe I’m trying something different, but I’m asking you to answer my question.”

She always did like to give people the benefit of the doubt. If this came back to bite her in the butt, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“He’s thirty-eight.”

“So eleven years older than you since you’re turning twenty-seven in a few days?”

“You’re good at math,” she said, grinning.

“Don’t joke your way out of this,” her mother said. “What could you possibly have in common with him?”

“Age is a number,” she said. “Mom. Don’t do this to me. For once, can’t you just accept that I know what I want and who I might love? I’ve never felt this way about a guy before. I really haven’t.”

Her mother's eyes shifted over her face. She was waiting for several negative comments to flow out.

Surprisingly, they didn’t come. “I’ll try, but I’m reserving judgment.”

Hmm. That went better than she thought it was going to go.

She picked up one platter her mother put together. “These look pretty.”

“Thank you. I’m trying.” Her mother kept throwing that word out, but it didn’t matter what word you used if your actions didn’t follow.

She walked back to Micah and set the plate down. “My mother is a fantastic cook. We are going to eat well today, Micah. But I’m lucky to have a guy that likes to cook.”

“I’m sure he’s had a lot of years to do it,” his mother said. “Maybe that is what you need in your life, someone to take care of you since you didn’t get it from your father.”

Harmony ground her teeth and scrunched her face. So much for a peace offering.

“Mom,” Erica said. “That’s mean and you know it. Not only to my sister, but to Dad. What did I tell you before Harmony arrived?”

“What?” she asked.

Erica shook her head, but her mother had no problem sharing. “She said you’re very happy and in love with Micah and that if I was mean or blew it, that you might not come back again as you’re already avoiding my calls more than normal. Is that true? Are you avoiding me?”

She looked at her sister. “We’ve all been avoiding your calls for years,” she said, grinning. “Don’t put the sole blame on me, Erica.”

“Oh,” Theo said. “She didn’t. I told Mom the same thing. She needs to grow up and let it go. I don’t think she liked hearing that there are times you’re more mature than her.”

“Thank you,” she said, her head perking up.

“Harmony is much more mature than most her age,” Micah said. “She’s running a successful business and is extremely busy.”

“Online income,” her mother said. “Since you’re in law enforcement, what do you think of this? I think it’s a risk to put herself out there and foolish. She’s always been so soft and someone is going to take advantage of her. She refuses to believe that.”

“You’ve never said that was your worry,” she argued. “You always say it’s the easy way out of a job and doesn’t take a lot of work, not that you’re worried about me.”

“Of course I’m worried about you,” her mother said indignantly.

“Your mother doesn’t do that well of a job conveying her true thoughts and feelings,” Jerry said.

“Oh, she conveys her true thoughts,” Erica said. “More than we want to hear.”

She laughed when Erica said that. Daisy did too.

“I don’t think Harmony is going to be taken advantage of,” Micah said. “She knows what she is doing. She takes a lot of precautions and she’s turned my thought of influencers around some. Not completely, but opened my eyes that they aren’t all superficial.”

“How would you feel if you had a daughter that did something like this?” her mother asked. “Or was easily influenced by people online?”