Free A Love Worth Waiting For and Heaven Knows by Jillian Hart

for her. Manage her finances and make sure she had everything she desired. He’d watched out for her, flown her out for holidays and vacations. Called her faithfully every week.
    And now there was this Harold. This man who was going to be responsible for Nanna. Who wanted to marry her.
    Marriage. That single word could cinch up Noah’s stomach tighter than anything could. Whatif Harold didn’t treat Nanna right? What if he hurt her? Ran off with her money, or broke her dreams right along with her heart?
    In Noah’s view, those outcomes were more probable than the happily-ever-after other people imagined.
    Noah’s guts burned. Pain pounded in his chest. This had to be upsetting him more than he realized.
    Taking the weed tea and the remaining cookie, he climbed the steps to the cooler second story. Boards squeaked beneath his shoes. A dim light lit his way to the top.
    One thing for sure, this house needed a remodel. Nanna could trip and fall on these stairs. And what about that draft? She could catch pneumonia, and at her age that was a concern.
    He’d talk to her about it at breakfast. But for now, he’d check his messages and his e-mail. Make sure no crisis was brewing back home.
    The door whispered on old hinges in the guest room at the end of the hall. Lamplight glowed from the night table near an old fashioned, four-poster bed. Several of Nanna’s afghans were folded at the foot of the bed, topped by her page-worn Bible. A yellow ribbon marked one of the pages.
    Leave it to Nanna to speak to him, even when she wasn’t in the room. Noah set aside the tea and cookie and opened the precious book. Nanna had chosen a passage from Psalms. “Lord, remind me how briefmy time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.”
    He sat down on the bed. Okay, he could see where she was going with this. He kept reading. “We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.”
    Like an arrow hitting its target, Noah felt the words take root in his heart. Fine, he knew he was unhappy. Stress was taking a toll. He had an appointment in the morning for blood tests, a CT scan and an MRI. Pain roared like a jackhammer in his chest.
    He took the bottle of pills from his jacket pocket and studied them. There were only a few, enough to get him through until morning. He wasn’t going to take one. He knew, as had happened last time, the pain was winding down. By morning, he’d feel okay. Not great, but not horrible, either.
    â€œWe need more tests.” That’s what the doctor had told him when Julie had gone to find a pay phone. “We could be looking at a real problem.”
    Help me, Lord. Noah bowed his head and prayed.

Chapter Six
    J ulie yawned, refusing to think about how late she’d been out last night. She was no night owl, and she was paying for it this morning. Her alarm clock had rousted her from sleep hours ago, and she was still in the sweats she’d pulled on over her nightshirt.
    Caffeine was bound to help. She took a sip from her steaming cup of coffee and flipped open the book in front of her. Were they making the print smaller today? No, her eyes were tired. The cleanup had gone later than she’d planned, but that wasn’t the real reason she was tired. She’d tossed and turned half the night.
    She’d been worried about Noah Ashton. He’d been in so much pain. She’d been afraid for him, and she still was.
    Maybe she ought to call, after all. It was a few minutes past nine. Surely Nora had been up for hours. With any luck, Noah was back from his early-morning appointment.
    A knock at the door echoed through the house. Julie leaned in her chair to get a good view out the door. There was a green pickup visible through the glass door. Granddad! What was he doing here?
    Probably come to plow her driveway. She turned the dead bolt and yanked open the door. “Perfect