Lisa let out a soft chuckle. I knew the love I felt for Noah was clear in my words to his mother. I could see it in her eyes she knew how much I loved her son. Noah was our instant tie to each other. The common ground between us. I also knew if Lisa wasn’t dying, we would have most likely become very close.
“I love him. I’ll love him forever. I promise you.”
Nodding her head, Lisa wiped another tear away. “Thank you, Grace. Thank you.”
“Thank you for raising such an amazing man.”
Lisa’s eyes sparkled as she nodded her head in agreement. There was a light knock on the door as I said, “Come in.”
Noah and Emily walked in with Grayson following behind them. Noah glanced between his mother and me. I could tell he was nervous, unsure of what was said. “Everything okay in here?”
Letting out a soft laugh, Lisa held her hand out for Noah. “I wanted to get to know Grace a little better, and it’s hard with everyone standing around listening to us talk.”
Noah’s eyes drifted over to me. They were filled with uncertainty as he looked back at his mother and to me again. Smiling, I attempted to seem normal, but my mind was all over the place. Why did Lisa think Noah was taking pills? Was Noah taking pills? Would he lose it when his mother died? What if I was in College Station and he was here . . . alone?
Trying to push my fears away, I stood and stepped away from Lisa’s bed as she visited with her children and her nephew. Feeling my phone go off in my pocket, I excused myself and headed out to the small waiting room by the elevators.
Closing my eyes, I leaned against the wall as I pulled my phone out and read the text. It was a message from Alex asking how everything was going.
Slipping the phone back into my pocket, I fought to hold my tears back. Just when it felt like I had gotten Noah back, a nagging feeling told me I was going to be in for one hell of a fight to keep him.
Noah
My eyes never left Grace as she walked out of my mother’s room. What had they talked about? Was it good? Surely my mother liked Grace. Emily had told me to settle down as I paced back and forth the entire time Grace was alone with my mother.
Not knowing where Grace had gone off to, I excused myself and went to find her.
Seeing a nurse walking toward me, I smiled as I asked, “Excuse me, ma’am. Have you seen the girl I came in with earlier?”
Giving me a polite smile in return, she nodded and said, “She headed toward the elevators.”