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Back Nana Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Title page
  2. Prologue
  3. Part One
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. Part Two
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. Part Three
  52. 47
  53. 48
  54. 49
  55. 50
  56. 51
  57. 52
  58. 53
  59. 54
  60. 55
  61. 56
  62. 57
  63. 58
  64. 59
  65. 60
  66. 61
  67. 62
  68. Get on the Mailing List!
  69. Also by Brandon Massey
  70. About Brandon Massey

Watching the dog, Monica sighed. Duchess had usually joined her on these early-morning walks, the tiny Maltese stubbornly keeping pace with her. She felt her dog’s absence as she might have felt a missing limb. Gathering her strength, she went to take a long stride across the pavement—

And fell as her hamstrings twanged painfully. She tumbled to the ground, barely managing to break her fall with her hands, her palms scraping against concrete.

The fall caused a spell of dizziness to wash over her. Lying on the cold sidewalk, she pulled in deep breaths of the cool air, trying to regain her equilibrium. Her throbbing legs felt as limp as cooked pasta.

What’s the matter with me?

She wasn’t fatigued; she had just enjoyed an incredibly restful night of sleep. But her body was betraying her. Everything ached, and she felt clumsy.

Grimacing, she pushed to her feet. The effort was as difficult as if she were in an ocean fighting against strong tides. By the time she got back to a standing position, she was sweating.

The tremendous exertion needed to complete something as simple as balancing on both feet reminded her of the aftermath of her second pregnancy. She’d needed a C-section, and the recuperation from that procedure had been grueling, requiring several days of strenuous effort to recover sufficiently to execute simple physical tasks.

But the rehab from major surgery was sensible, expected. What she was experiencing at the moment was downright puzzling.

Completing a walk—completing any exercise—was out of the question. She dragged herself back inside the house.

“Back so soon?” Grace asked, emerging from the kitchen. “Are you okay, darling?”

“I need to sit down for a few minutes.” Carefully, wincing slightly with the movement, Monica lowered herself into an upholstered chair in the living room. “My joints are aching something awful. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Let me fetch you a cup of tea. It ought to help soothe you.”

Monica nodded her thanks, but she was going to need more than herbal tea to get her through the day. She was going to need some painkillers.

If this condition persisted much longer, she would need to see her doctor, too.

23

Troy worked for North Point Radiology Associates. It was the largest radiology practice in the Atlanta area, and the exclusive radiology provider for Northside Hospital, out of which their service operated. The hospital had three locations in the metro Atlanta area, and he was attached to the largest facility, in Sandy Springs, barely a ten-minute drive from his house.

He was one of forty-eight physicians in the practice, and a key member of their interventional radiology team. For him, there was no such thing as a slow day at the office.