Catch a Falling Star (40 page)

Griffin refused to release her. “Tell her to come back. Tell her you're giving me a thorough physical.”

“Don't be ridiculous.” Just the thought made her knees go weak. “By now Evie's told everyone just who ‘Mr. Smith' is.”

“Fine. Then tell her that I haven't finished kissing you yet.”

“That's enough, Griffin.” Kendall slipped out of his arms, sidestepping his attempt to kiss her again. She motioned to the chair across the room. “Go sit over there. Behave.”

Kendall straightened the collar of her lab coat before opening the exam room door. The sight of her entire staff waiting for her brought her up short.

“Do you have the results I was waiting for?”

“Yes. Paul handled them.” Renee tried to conceal a smile—and failed. “Do you need any help with Mr. Smith?”

“No, no. I can take care of Mr. Smith myself.”

Evie stood at the back of the group, biting her bottom lip. “Am I fired?”

“I'm not certain what I'm going to do about this—and your part in it, Evie.” She paused half a second before giving her receptionist a slow wink. “I just may give you a raise.”

From behind her, Griffin came, took her hand, and pulled her back into the office. Before shutting the door, he said, “I'm going to insist she give you a raise, Evie. A good one.”

A star-filled sky. Griffin Walker. And an after-dinner drive in his Jeep up Gold Camp Road.

Romance came wrapped in all sorts of unexpected packages.

Dinner? Sharing barbecued ribs at Griffin's favorite restaurant. This, despite jet lag tugging at her eyelids, insisting she give into her body's demands for sleep after a nonstop, weeklong celebration with Rachel, Sonia, and Melissa. Who knew the women had no intention of sleeping while they were in Mexico? Instead, the trio interrupted every single Skype session with Griffin, dragging her off to parasail or snorkel or hike to some ancient ruin.

Tonight's after-dinner activity? Stargazing while wrapped in Griffin's arms as they stood in his Jeep, taking advantage of the fact that he'd removed the soft top. The entire expanse of the sky stretched over their heads.

“You comfortable?” Griffin snuggled her up closer to his body, careful to keep them balanced as they stood on the backseat.

Kendall leaned against him, her head resting against his chest. Inhaled the heady mixture of the crisp night air and Griffin's appealing clean scent of soap. She'd have to make sure to
find out his preferred brand and stock up on it. “Couldn't be better.”

“I missed you.” He rested his chin on the top of her head.

“So you said—every time we Skyped.” She turned and kissed his scruffy jaw—just because she could. And because she wanted to. “Speaking of Skyping, the girls interrupted us right when you were going to tell me the significance of your tattoo.”

“Really? My tattoo?”

“I'm curious.” Kendall settled back in his arms. “I want to know why the man I love would get some kind of freaky-looking wolf-dog-beast-thing tattooed on his back.”

“It's not that big a deal.”

“Then tell me.”

Griffin exhaled a sigh. “Since it's so important to you. The tattoo is of my Academy cadet squadron's emblem. We were Third Squadron, called Cerberus Three. In Greek mythology, Cerberus was a three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld.”

“And you got this tattoo because—?”

“Some of my friends and I decided to celebrate ‘Hundreds Night'—that's when we have one hundred nights before graduation—by getting the tattoo. End of story. Satisfied?”

“One more question.”

“Mmm-hmm?”

She tilted her head to try and make eye contact with him. “You planning on getting any more tattoos?”

“Nope. I'm good.” He brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “You know, this is one of the few times we've been together in my Jeep that it hasn't broken down.”

“Thanks to my mechanical skills.”

After Griffin's chuckle faded, they stood in silence for a few
moments, the shadows of the night sealing their embrace. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance as an invisible breeze rustled the nearby evergreen branches.

“Look at that!”

Griffin pointed to an arcing point of light streaking across the night sky. Before it disappeared, he reached up his hand, closing his fingers as if he'd grabbed hold of something.

“Got it.”

She could hear his smile as he held his closed hand up in front of them. “Got
what
?”

“A falling star.” With his left hand, he turned her left hand over, prompting her to hold her hand open, palm up. Then he placed his fist in the palm of her hand, before taking her other hand and covering them both with his left hand.

“When I was a little boy, my dad told me that if you catch a falling star before it disappears, it's yours to keep.” He leaned close so he could whisper in her ear. “I'll share it with you.”

His words brought tears to her eyes even as laughter spilled over her lips. “Griffin—”

“You want to see what a falling star looks like?”

Griffin moved her top hand away from his and then unfolded his fingers. In the darkness, she could see the outline of a ring on the palm of his hand.

“Griff—”

It was as if Griffin had reached up and plucked the jewel from the stars strewn across the cobalt-blue sky and somehow formed it into a ring. If she touched it, would it disappear?

“This is the magic of catching a falling star.” Griffin's words, spoken low, served only to deepen the feeling of an enchanted moment for just the two of them. He slipped the ring, warm from being held in his hand, onto her finger. “It can turn into a dream come true. This was my mother's engagement ring. I
remember how she said that when my father put it on her finger she found something better than a fairy tale.”

The ring was a mere outline of a band and the glint of a jewel.

“My mom was a woman of strength and gentleness—like you.” Griffin lifted her hand and placed a warm kiss where his offering rested. “It's an emerald, surrounded by diamonds.”

“I'm sure it's exquisite—and I'll treasure it because it was your mother's ring.”

“I can't do this properly and kneel, since we're in the Jeep. But Kendall, I couldn't be more serious. Will you—”

“Yes.”

“I didn't finish.”

“My answer is still yes. Now stop talking.”

“You always gonna be this bossy?”

“Only when I need to be.”

Kendall turned in his arms, her hands sliding across the soft material of his cotton shirt, and then holding on as his kiss overwhelmed her. His tenderness left her completely undone—an intoxicating mixture of wanting the kiss to last forever and needing to pull away to catch her breath. Loving Griffin Walker would always be a dizzying adventure of falling in love, following where God led them . . . and believing, no matter what, that they were each other's oh-so-unexpected dream come true.

My husband, Rob:
Thank you for never once asking, “Why don't you cook anymore?” And thank you for being an amazing brainstorming partner. You're really good at helping me think out loud, you know? And thanks, too, for answering all my medical questions—the fictional ones for the book, I mean.

My kiddos, including my daughter- and sons-in-love:
Thank you for accepting that your mom is a writer, which means y'all cook dinner when I don't. And thanks for cheering me on. It's a wonderful thing for a mom to embrace the support of her children.

Rachel Hauck, aka “Mentor Mine”:
There came a time during the writing of
Catch a Falling Star
when I said you were either going to make me a better writer—or you were going to kill me in the trying. Well, I'm still alive. Thank you for pushing me past myself. I treasured every email, every Facebook comment, every phone call—and especially the times we Skyped! Let's do it again, shall we?

Susan May Warren:
Thank you for locking the doors when I thought about abandoning the Dark Side of the writing road and escaping back to the familiarity of nonfiction. Whenever I doubt myself, I hear your voice in my head saying, “You can write fiction, Beth.” Your encouragement keeps me going when I want to quit.

The My Book Therapy Core Team
(Alena, Edie, Lisa, Melissa, Michelle, Reba): Every writer needs a “safety net”—the people who talk her off the ledge when she feels like jumping. Each one of you represents a strand of “safety” for me.

My “Spiritual Ground Support”
(Barbara, Shari, and Sonia): Thanks for praying for me as I wrote
CAFS.
Being able to send the three of you emails saying, “Here's what I need this week . . .” made such a difference for me. You gave me hope—and laughter, too. Lots of laughter.

Angela Gainer:
A conversation with you was the catalyst for
Catch a Falling Star.
Thank you for being my friend . . . and for sparking this story idea.

Sonia Meeter, my “Preferred Reader”:
Thank you for being my first set of eyes on this story—for letting me know when it worked, and when it didn't. Without your insights I wouldn't have been able to write Evie's part of the story.

Rachelle Gardner:
You've taught me that an agent is an invaluable resource of professional, advisor, mentor, and friend. When someone asks who represents me, I am always proud—and oh so grateful—to say you.

Holly Halverson:
I went into edits of
CAFS
with confidence, knowing you were on the team.

The team at Howard Books
(Beth Adams, Jessica Wong, Bruce Gore, and Laura Jorstad): Thank you for continuing to support my dream—and always answering my questions! I love telling people I'm a Howard Books author.

Doug Moore:
I wanted a Jeep guy and a Jeep gal for this book—but what did I know about Jeeps?
Nothing.
Thanks for answering all my Jeep questions. Any mistakes in the manuscript are mine and mine alone. And, yeah, now I want a Jeep.

Warren Priddy:
Years ago you crashed through my preconceived notions about pilots and showed me how a man of faith can also fly jets. Thanks to you and Francie for helping me make Griffin Walker come to life on the page.

Beneath her smart, sassy exterior, Dr. Kendall Haynes is wrestling with the reality that life isn't turning out exactly like she imagined. But she's not the only one facing off with this unpleasant truth. A “chance” encounter with Griffin and Ian Walker on her thirty-sixth birthday leads her down an unexpected path that slowly unearths the tenderness of her heart.
Catch a Falling Star
is a story about hope in the midst of despair, honesty in the midst of pain, and courage in the midst of uncertain odds.