Catch a Falling Star (19 page)

“Maybe you can't have both things.” Kendall swished the water with her feet, careful to keep the liquid in the basin this time.

“That's what Tony says.”

“Smart guy. Of course, we knew that. He proposed to you, didn't he?”

Kendall watched as a nail tech settled in front of her, placing a plastic bin of manicure tools beside her stool. “We'll go looking again. Maybe you'll find a dress you love even more than that other dress. Or maybe your mom will change her mind when she sees you wearing it a second time.”

“All I know is, one of us is going to have to change.”

“Speaking of change—Rachel, you're never going to believe who showed up in my office.”

“Who?”

“Griffin Walker and his brother, Ian.”

“Who?” Rachel scrunched her nose as she tried to match the name
Griffin Walker
with a mental image.

“Ian's
the teenager who had an anaphylactic reaction during my birthday dinner, remember? Griffin's his older brother—and his guardian.”

“I thought you told me the guy didn't want you to be his brother's doctor. What happened to the whole ‘tomato, tamahto' thing between you two?”

“It's the craziest thing. The guy has a Jeep—”

“That's enough to make you like him.”

Rachel's laugh interrupted Kendall's response. “Hush. Then his Jeep broke down on I-25 and I rescued him. And then he called and asked for help fixing the thing.”

“What? Does Griffin Walker think you work for Triple A on the side?”

“I offered to help.”

“You and Jeeps. Never understood the attraction.” Melissa leaned forward, careful not to jostle the nail technician working on her feet. “Are you interested in this guy?”

“Nooo. I met his ex-wife.”

Rachel buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. “Kendall, this is starting to sound like a soap opera—not that I watch those things.”

“I know, I know. I'm just trying to be a friend to Ian. His parents died about five months ago.”

“So that's why his older brother is his guardian.”

Kendall nodded “Exactly.”

“What about that other guy—what was his name?”

“Heath Parker.”

Now they had both Sonia's and Melissa's attention. Sonia spoke first. “Girl, what is going on? We don't get together for a couple of weeks and suddenly guys are everywhere in your life.”

“It's not like that at all. Griffin Walker is all about being a single guy—he told me as much.” This time it was the memory of a
handsome doctor causing her to relax back in the chair and close her eyes. “But Heath Parker? Well, all I can say is, stay tuned.”

“There's potential?”

Kendall tried to ignore the excitement threaded through Melissa's question. No need to overreact.

“I hope so. As far as Griffin Walker is concerned, I'm nothing more than his brother's doctor. And that's fine with me. But Heath Parker? I'm interested to see where this relationship might go. And I haven't said that about any guy in a long time.”

“K
endall, it's Griffin.”

Kendall swiveled the chair in her office away from the roll-top desk cluttered with lab reports and patients' charts. Twelve fifteen—and the last patient of her regular Wednesday half day was a no-show. She'd been debating putting off doing her notes and going for a swim, but the thought of walking upstairs to grab her inhaler and change out of her work clothes into her bathing suit exhausted her. And then Evie had said Griffin was on the line. Why was the man calling again? The way he'd shut her out after the run-in with his ex on Saturday, she half expected him to call and request that Ian's charts be transferred to another practice.

“Griffin.”

“Um, I was wondering if you could help me out—”

Kendall decided to put the man out of his misery. “Jeep problems again? If you need a tool, come on over and get it.”

“My Jeep's fine. I need help getting Ian's Jeep.”

“You bought it?”

“Yes, but I didn't realize the dealership was closed from Sunday to Wednesday. And normally they close by five, but the owner said he's working late and if I can get there by six thirty, he'll wait for me. I checked with the guys here at work, but everyone else has plans. And I'd take Ian, but he has to work on some kind of group project for school. You game?”

Kendall stared out the window at the Colorado blue sky. No clouds. She squinted. Was that an Academy glider circling the Front Range?

Why would she want to spend any more time with Griffin Walker? He obviously considered her nothing but a good last resort. But what about her desire to help Ian? How could she avoid one brother and still help the other? And that was all Griffin was asking—for her to help him do something nice for his brother.

“Kendall, you there? I know this is last-minute, but if I have to put up with Ian asking about this Jeep one more night—”

Fine. She would do this for Ian.

“What time were you planning on doing this?”

“I get off close to five. If you could swing by and pick me up, that would be great. After we get to the dealership, you're free to go.”

Griffin Walker didn't want her hanging around any longer than necessary. But then she was doing this for Ian—not to spend time with his going-to-be-single-forever older brother.

“Fine. That gives me time to do a few things. Read lab reports about people's immunoglobulin levels. Those sorts of things.”

“Give me a flight plan any day.”

“If I tried to read one of those, who knows where we'd end up.”

She managed to shove all thoughts of Griffin out of her mind while she beat back the papers on her desk, went for a swim, and took Sully for an extra-long walk, all the while insisting that he not pull her arm out of the socket.

“Wanna go for a ride, boy?” She toed off her tennis shoes, hanging Sully's leash on the brass hook by the back door while the dog bounded around her. Kendall surveyed her outfit: khaki-colored linen-blend cargo pants and a white V-neck T-shirt paired with a yellow racer-back tank top. A quick run of a comb through her hair, a quick brush of her teeth, slip her feet into a casual pair of espadrilles, and she was ready to go. This was helping out a friend—and Ian was that friend. She proved it to herself by forgoing makeup. She stared at herself in the mirror, noting how fatigue painted dark circles under her eyes. Well . . . maybe a two-minute makeup fix. Even Griffin deserved someone who didn't look as if she were anemic.

Twenty minutes later, she sat outside the Walkers' house, watching Griffin run down the driveway at the sound of her honking the CJ5's horn. The man certainly knew how to fill out black jeans and a black polo shirt, which only served to accent his graying hair. Not that he'd catch her looking at him. Griffin opened the door but stopped with one leg in the Jeep, one out, when he realized Sully lounged in the front seat. “You're bringing Sully?”

“Why not? He likes going for rides in the Jeep.”

“I invited
you
to help me—not your dog.”

“Love me, love my dog.”

Kendall ignored Griffin's muttered comment that sounded as if he'd said, “Don't make me choose, woman. Don't make me choose.”

As if there were any choosing going on.

Sully settled in between them, resting his long nose on Griffin's shoulder.

“Tell your dog to move.” Every time Griffin tried to move the dog's head, Sully burrowed closer.

“He's happy. Let him be.”

“Don't shed on me, dog.”

“Goldendoodles don't shed. It's part of their charm.” Kendall eased the CJ5 into the traffic on I-25. “Let's hope rush-hour traffic doesn't work against us.”

“I called to say we were on our way. Thanks for helping me out. After we talked, I tried getting my friend Doug, but he wasn't available.” Griffin stretched his legs out. “You really need to get a CJ7, Doc.”

“Stop bad-mouthing my Jeep. I like my 5 and I'm not trading down.” Before he could respond, she changed the subject. “How's Ian?”

“As good as can be expected.”

“Do you think he's finally settling in?”

“Not like he has a choice.”

Kendall weighed what to say next and went with the say-it-like-it-is policy. “You have a choice, Griffin.”

“What do you mean?” She heard the bite in his tone, even as he continued to stare out the windshield at the long line of cars advancing up Monument Hill. “I'm stationed here. I can't move to make Ian happy.”

“I'm not suggesting you move. But you can do whatever it takes to help him adjust, to like it here.”

As she looked right to move over to pass a slow-moving truck in the left lane, Kendall saw Griffin tug at the thick gold chain hanging around his neck.

“I'm not sure being here is the best thing for Ian.”

His words brought her up short. What did he mean?
Without thinking, Kendall reached over, placing her hand on Griffin's forearm. “Of course it is. Ian needs you. You're the only family he has.”

“I am not cut out to be the guardian of a sixteen-year-old kid.”

“Lots of men your age are fathers by now, Griffin.” She had to shift gears, causing her to remove her hand from his arm—but not before she noticed that it was toned. Muscular. “Some of your buddies must have kids Ian's age. Ask them how to connect with Ian.”

Silence stretched between them as taut as Sully's leash when she tried to restrain him from chasing a rabbit. When Kendall looked over at Griffin, he stared ahead, his lips thinned to a straight line. What had she said to irritate him?

“I'm a single guy, Doc.” A rough edge graveled his words. “I don't hang around parents much, talking about the dos and the don'ts.”

There he went again, erecting the barrier of singleness between them. Could he make it any clearer he had no interest in changing his status? “Single or not—and I get that your choice is
single
—you're still Ian's brother. He needs you. Your parents obviously wanted your brother to be with you if something happened to them.”

“I wish I knew why.” Griffin rubbed at the pressure between his brows with his thumb and index finger.

“Maybe you should stop asking why and start asking God how you're supposed to develop a relationship with Ian.”

Griffin reached over and tugged a lock of hair lying against her neck. A quicksilver shiver raced up Kendall's neck.

“You've always got an answer, don't you?”

“I try to. Got me through residency.”

“You always wear your hair short?”

“Hmm? Um, yeah. Pretty much my whole life.” Kendall fingered the feathered ends, trying to stay focused on the highway and not be distracted by Griffin's perusal. He shifted in the seat and watched her as she drove. “Because of my asthma, I spent a lot of time in the hospital. If I wasn't in the hospital, I was at the doctor's office. It was easier to take care of if it was short. When I got older and went to medical school . . . well, long hair would have been a hassle.”

“Good thing you look nice with short hair. Some women look like guys.”

“Maybe that explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Why you thought I was a guy when you first met me.”

Instead of laughing as she expected, in the dim light of the Jeep, Kendall just caught the grimace that marred Griffin's face.

“Sorry. Was never good at the compliments.”

Griffin Walker was trying to compliment her?

“Oh, I don't believe that. I bet you've broken quite a few hearts in your days.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I have.”

Only the way he said it, Griffin didn't sound proud.

“After my wife and I divorced, I was all about women. And they certainly didn't seem to mind the attention. Or my no-strings-attached clause.”

Kendall kept her eyes trained on the patch of highway illuminated by her headlights. This conversation was going unexpected places.

“I piled up a lot of regrets after my divorce. Most of them have names.” Griffin shifted again in his seat so that he stared out the windshield instead of looking at Kendall. “Once I became a believer, I thought about contacting each of them. Saying I was sorry. Seemed like the least I could do.”

“Or the most.”

“So you think I should call all those women?”

“
All those women?
Like there's a list a mile long?” She held up her hand, shaking her head. “No, don't tell me. That's none of my business. And to answer your question, no, I don't think you should call them.”

Silence filled the space between them. Kendall waited. What could she say? Griffin spoke first.

“Doesn't the Bible say if you've sinned against your brother—well, your sister—you should go and make amends?”