A_Wanted Man - Alana Matthews by Intrigue Romance Read Free Book Online Page B

spell?”
    The doctor’s eyebrows went up. “Dizzy spell?”
    Nana looked at Callie as if she’d just betrayed a sacred trust. “I see Judith has been flapping her mouth again. So what if I get dizzy once in a while—what’s the big deal?”
    The doctor took a cotton swab from the drawer. “Dizzy spells are not the kind of thing you want to ignore, Ms. Glass. Especially a woman your age.”
    “What are you talking about? I’m only seventy-six. It’s not like I’m on my deathbed.”
    “And some of us would like to keep it that way,” Callie said.
    The doctor nodded. “I think we should check you in for the night and run some tests. Try to find out why you’re losing your balance.”
    “I’m perfectly fine,” Nana said.
    “This cut on your forehead says different. And I’d just as soon rule out anything serious before I release you.”
    Nana shot Callie another glance. “See what you’ve done?”
    “Knock it off, Nana. It’s for your own good.”
    The old woman sighed. “I don’t see why you feel the need to try to run my life.”
    Callie couldn’t help but smile. “Now you know how it feels.”
     
     
    I T TOOK THEM NEARLY an hour to get Nana Jean registered and into a room. By the time the nurse was done fussing with her, Nana had calmed down a bit, reluctantly coming to terms with the idea that she’d be spending the night.
    “I hope you don’t expect me to eat their food in the morning.”
    Callie was sitting in a chair next to the bed. “I’ll bring you a treat,” she said. “One of those cinnamon-raisin muffins from Bartly’s Bakery.”
    Nana’s eyes lit up. “Oooh, I do like those. That Edith Bartly knows her way around an oven.”
    “See? Being here’s not so bad.”
    Nana scowled. “I still say it’s a waste of—”
    “ No, Nana.” Callie leaned forward and touched her wrist. “Anything that keeps you well is not a waste of time. If something were to happen to you, I don’t know what I’d do with myself. You’re the only real family I’ve got.”
    Callie suddenly felt tears in her eyes, but did her best to hold them back. To see the woman who raised her lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube in her nose got her thinking about just how tenuous life could be. She knew full well that, in a matter of seconds, someone you cared about—someone you loved—could go from a filling a hole in your heart to creating one.
    She’d had enough of that in her life.
    She knew she couldn’t hang on to Nana forever, but she wasn’t about to let the old woman slip away because of some stubborn, misplaced sense of pride. She could only hope that these dizzy spells were nothing serious.
    Nana smiled. “Look at you, getting all misty-eyed. I don’t think I’ve seen you cry since…” She paused. “Well, it’s been a long time.”
    Callie wiped at her eyes. “Not crying,” she said.
    “It’s all these nasty germs in the air, right?”
    Now Callie smiled. “Right.”
    Nana was quiet for a moment, lost in a thought. Then she said, “I don’t tell you this very often, Cal, but since the day you were born, you’re the reason I breathe air every morning.”
    “Oh, Nana…”
    “It was hard losing your mom—my sweet little Mary. Seeing the life go out of her eyes right there in front of me. But then I saw that light in you and I knew…I knew why I was put on this earth.”
    Callie gently squeezed her wrist. “Now you’re trying to make me cry.”
    “Looks like it’s working, too.”
    There was a sharp knock and Callie swiveled her head, surprised to find Rusty standing in the doorway.
    “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “You feeling okay, Ms. Glass?”
    “Just fine. Not that anyone’s interested in listening to me.”
    “I’m sure the doctor knows what he’s doing,” Rusty told her, then shifted his gaze to Callie. “Tried calling you, but I guess they make you turn your phones off in here.”
    Callie quickly wiped at her eyes and nodded. “Did the judge sign