He readjusted his grip and tried again, gritting his teeth at the effort. His own father had lived to eighty-seven years old—why was he so useless at just sixty-nine? The heart surgery he’d had five years ago had really messed him around. At the time, he’d been convinced he was as doomed as a gummy-mouthed wether, but it turned out that he wasn’t entirely toothless. He’d fought back, and survived, and not left his great-nephew alone again. That counted for a lot. He just wished Harry hadn’t been forced to quit school to pick up the slack where his weakened body couldn’t cope. And since that embarrassing incident out in the state park the previous year, his new medication had helped with the dizzy spells, but made him weaker. He couldn’t afford to be weak. Not now. He’d promised Ruby he’d c
