Catch a Falling Star (28 page)

Memories of last evening lingered in Kendall's mind as she walked into the office the next morning. Being with Heath helped her shove memories of Griffin—and his impetuous kiss—out of her mind. And why not? With his charismatic
personality and low-key sense of humor, Heath helped her relax while at the same time making her feel special. It wasn't until she'd kissed him good night and settled into bed that Griffin Walker invaded her thoughts. Then the lurking memory of his kiss refused to be ignored.

Why was she letting Griffin—a man who seemed to regret kissing her before it happened—distract her from Heath, the man who wasn't afraid to admit he cared about her? Kendall wasn't going to let Griffin's kiss disrupt her life—well, more than a few nights' sleep. Thoughts of Griffin Walker had derailed her long enough. She was tired of being the girl—the woman—no one wanted. And Heath's actions showed that, at least to him, she
wasn't
that woman. But why wasn't Heath the one invading her dreams at night? She needed to focus on everything right in her life. Her practice. Her patients. And all the possibilities with Heath.

Griffin was her friend. Nothing more. Because that was all he wanted—friendship. The kiss had been . . . what? Some sort of glitch on his emotional radar? Kendall should thank Ian for interrupting them. And Griffin said he was only going to kiss her one time, so she didn't have to wonder if he'd ever kiss her again. All she had to do was stop thinking about Griffin.

Just. Stop.

She'd keep telling herself that until it happened.

Kendall stood in the doorway leading into the Rocky Mountain Family Practice. Evie and Renee were already at their desks. Kendall couldn't help but notice that Evie looked as if she'd spent the entire night sitting up watching movies. Her wavy black hair was pulled back in a careless bun at the nape of her neck, and she'd forgone her normal makeup routine. That wasn't like her receptionist.

“Do you need anything?” Kendall placed a hand on Evie's shoulder.

“Hmmm? I'm fine. Long night.” Evie focused on powering up her computer.

“Everyone at home doing well?”

“Now that I'm here, yes.”

“Evie, about Javan—”

“I can't talk about it now, Dr. Kendall. Please.” A sheen of tears caused Evie's eyes to glitter.

Kendall squeezed the woman's shoulder. “I'm sorry.” How could she salvage this conversation? Put it back on more normal footing? “Would you check something out for me when you get a chance?”

“Sure. What do you need?” Evie pulled a notepad forward and picked up one of the bright-colored Sharpie pens she preferred to use.

“Dr. Parker was talking to the missionary couple he met with last night. He mentioned a supplement to them . . .” Kendall tried to remember the name. “I'm not sure what he called it. I think it was something with a
k.
”

Kendall didn't miss how Evie stopped writing for a moment, seeming to almost want to ask her a question. “Have you heard of this supplement before, Evie?”

“Not directly, no.”

“But?”

“Well, a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Parker came by to pick up the first two boxes he had shipped here. I found him talking to Peter Harrington's parents. He was saying how this supplement he knew of was supposedly so beneficial for kids with allergies and asthma.”

“This same supplement?”

“I can't say for sure. I couldn't hear the name—it sounded like
cup of
or something like that.”

“Odd.” Not that anything was wrong . . . just odd that Heath
would suggest a supplement to some of her patients without mentioning it to her first. “Anything else?”

“It's probably nothing—”

Kendall stepped closer, lowering her voice. “What, Evie?”

“You know how Dr. Parker stopped by earlier this week, looking for the third package? Paul told me that when he stepped out of an exam room, Dr. Parker went into the exam room.” Evie fiddled with the pen in her hand. “He didn't realize it until he went back in to finish up his notes on the patient he'd just seen. Dr. Parker was sitting at the desk.”

Kendall's mind scrambled to understand what Evie was telling her. “What did Heath . . . I mean, Dr. Parker say?”

“He was on his cell phone. He told Paul that he'd ducked into the room because it was empty and he'd gotten an unexpected overseas call.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

Didn't it?

“Dr. Parker apologized and left the room right away.”

“And that's it?” Kendall ran her fingers through her hair, tousling the ends.

“As far as I know.”

“I'm sure it's nothing. But do me a favor and call the Harringtons and get whatever information you can for me—starting with the name of the supplement. And then do some investigating on your own.”

Evie reached for the phone on her desk. “Sure thing. I'll let you know what I find out.”

“T
hat should just about do it, Ian.”

Kendall stepped back, hands on her hips, checking the fender of her CJ5. Ian stood beside her, surveying his work. It was warm for the second week in May—a perfect day to be outside and smoothing out the dent on the Jeep. Sully lounged in the grassy area near the back door of the building, chewing on a bone.

“Did I do a good job, Dr. Kendall?” Anxiety threaded through Ian's voice.

They'd spent the morning removing the damaged front fender of her CJ5. Then she instructed Ian how to pound out the dent. The last step? Some touch-up paint. Her dad always told her to take pride in her work.

“Yep. It doesn't have to be cherry—that's car lingo for ‘perfect.' But it looks great. As soon as I can manage a free weekend, I'm heading up into the mountains with this thing.” Kendall
told Ian to pick up the rubber mallet and the block of wood they'd used to bang out the dent while she grabbed her dad's dent puller.

“Do you off-road?”

“I did some—for a while. But it's a pricey hobby. You're always breaking something on a boulder. And, while I don't mind doing my own repairs on my Jeep, I don't like doing them on the side of a mountain.”

“You're kidding, right?”

“Nope.” She held open the door into the building, nodding for Ian to go ahead. “Come on, I'm ready for a break. It's hot for May. What happened to the typical ‘Springtime in the Rockies' weather?”

“If it was snowing, we would have to do the repair in our garage.” Ian waited while she unlocked the closet where she stored her tools.

“True.” And the last thing she needed was to be hanging around Ian's house—and his older brother. Griffin had dropped Ian off earlier and left with a quick wave and barely a glance in her direction. “What time did Griffin say he'd be back?”

Ian checked his cell phone. “About now.”

“Let's go wash up then. Do you want something to drink?”

“Got a Mountain Dew?”

“Funny thing—I just happen to have a six-pack.”

As Ian sat beside Sully and chugged down the soda, Kendall placed a bowl of pretzels in front of him. “These are for Ian—not you, Sully.” She shoved the dog's face away from the food. “So, what's the latest on you staying in Colorado?”

“I'm not.” Ian stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the Front Range. Even with it being the second week in May—and warm—snow still covered the Peak with a scattered pattern of white.

“Griffin didn't change his mind?” Kendall sat beside him, drawing her legs up underneath her.

“Wouldn't matter if he did. I want to go to the Jamisons'.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It's no big deal.” Ian grabbed a handful of pretzels. “I'm used to moving around. I did that a lot before I came to live with Mom and Dad.”

“How old were you when that happened?”

“Four—that's when I first came to them as a foster kid. They adopted me a couple of years later.”

“Were you in the foster care system before the Walkers adopted you?”

Ian drained the bottle of soda before answering. “On and off. Sometimes I was with my mom. Most of the time, I wasn't. You get used to it.”

“I bet you loved becoming part of the Walkers' family.”

“Not at first.”

“What do you mean? Weren't you glad to have a mom and dad?” Kendall watched the younger Walker brother, trying to imagine what his life had been like.

“I didn't trust anybody by that time. My mom? She'd be there—and then she was gone. I don't know who my dad is, but I had a lot of ‘uncles.' ” Ian used his fingers to make quote marks in the air. “I didn't believe the Walkers—Mom and Dad—would keep me. The first year I stayed with them, I slept in my clothes and kept my suitcase packed.”

“Oh, Ian . . .”

“Yeah, I made them miserable—especially Mom.” He sniffed, wiping at his nose with the back of his hand. “But she told me she could love me longer than I could hate her. And she was right.”

Kendall touched Ian's shoulder. “I had no idea. You must miss them both so much . . .”

“Yeah. But I thought . . . well, Griffin was there and I thought . . . but it was stupid.”

Why couldn't Griffin see how much his brother needed him? How much Ian wanted a relationship with him? At sixteen, Ian belonged in a family just as much as someone like Javan did.

Javan.

Why hadn't she thought of him and Ian before?

She leaned toward Ian. “Would you do something for me?”

“Sure thing, Dr. Kendall. You want me to walk Sully?” Ian started to get up from the couch, all ready to take the dog outside.

“No, not that. Although you can take him for a run in a minute if you want to.” Kendall paused, debating on how to present the still-new idea. “I have a friend who is adopting a little boy. His name is Javan and he's angry—acting out a lot. Kind of like you said you did with your mom. My friend is thinking about stopping the adoption. Would you be willing to talk to her, tell her your story?”

“Sure . . . if you think it would help.”

“I do. I absolutely do, Ian.”

Now all she had to do was figure out a way to get Ian and Evie together.

So much for a fast getaway.

Griffin managed to avoid talking to Kendall earlier this morning when he dropped Ian off to work on her Jeep. But there was no sign of either of them when he drove around the back of her building a few minutes ago. Just the newly repaired Jeep, displaying Kendall's and his brother's workmanship. He could call Ian on his cell and have him come downstairs, but
that was rude. He wanted to keep his distance from Kendall Haynes—without being a complete jerk.

Then again, kissing her in the hallway the other night—what was that? Beyond stupid. The memory of her tenderness, the comfort he found in her arms, intertwined with the passion that ignited between them the second their lips touched—all of that lingered with him. He wasn't embarrassed when Ian discovered them; he was relieved. Without Ian's appearance he would have kept right on kissing Kendall Haynes until one of them said stop.