All I Want Is You Read Free Page A

the aid of a walker or scooter. He often required oxygen, and he’d had enough minor “heart episodes” that the nurses kept a close eye on him. Christy knew he’d always been happy with the care he received, that it was a top-­notch facility. “But you see now why I didn’t want to dump that on you,” he concluded.
    Yes, she definitely did. Her heart sank as she absorbed the almost paralyzing news. “But I’m still glad you told me,” she said, trying to sound as if she had some control—­over anything. “It’s better that I at least know the situation. And you have no idea how badly I wish I could help. If I had the money, I’d give it to you in a heartbeat, but as it is, I can barely . . .”
    Oh crap. She was tired and, that quickly, had said more than she’d meant to. Her grandfather was among the masses to whom she’d never confessed her money woes. Since he was a thousand miles away and living on a fixed income himself, it had seemed pointless to give him something extra to fret about, especially when he’d been mourning the death of her father, his only child.
    â€œThat’s sweet, my girl,” he said after she trailed off, “but you can barely what?”
    And now she was the one sighing and not answering. Finally, she said, “You have enough to worry about without me adding to it, so let’s just focus on—”
    He interrupted her. “You can barely what, darlin’?”
    Christy struggled to take a breath. Stark concern had thickened his voice. And while she’d never wanted to trouble him with this—­ugh—­she supposed she had no choice now but to be honest, even if the timing seemed beyond rotten. “Well, Grandpa, the truth is . . .”
    And then she told him. All of it. The lapsed homeowner’s insurance policy—­she’d gotten nothing for the house and belongings, all of which had been reduced to black rubble and ash. The lapsed life insurance policy—­she’d still not paid for her parents’ funerals, though she sent the funeral home in Destiny a few dollars as often as she could and the owners were kind about it. And then there were the student loans and other bills she struggled to pay each month. “But . . . we’ll figure something out,” she concluded, trying to stay positive. “For both of us.”
    â€œWhoa, whoa, whoa there, darlin’,” Grandpa Charlie said then, his tone admonishing her. “My predicament isn’t your problem to take on. And now that I hear what you’ve been goin’ through, I regret dumpin’ this on you even more. Shouldn’t have called when I was in a low mood—­and I shoulda kept my big trap shut.”
    But she protested. “No, your predicament is my problem, I’m making it my problem, and I’m going to find a way to fix it.” Though even as the words left her mouth, she had no idea how. She only knew that she loved her Grandpa, and that they’d both suffered enough the past few years, and that she wasn’t going to let him suffer further. It was one thing for her own security to be at risk—­but when it was her Grandpa’s health and comfort at stake . . . it instilled in her an instant resolve to somehow—­ somehow —­repair the situation.
    When she disconnected with him a few stressful minutes later, her heart pounded too hard in her chest. The last time she’d gotten a phone call that brought bad family news, she’d found out her parents were dead. This wasn’t that—­far from it, thank God—­and yet as she tried to slow her breathing, she found herself yanked back in time, reliving the devastation.
    â€œUm, everything okay?” Bethany asked doubtfully.
    â€œNo,” Christy said. “In fact, right when I thought things couldn’t get much worse, they did. In a