Catch a Falling Star (8 page)

“How?”

Heath shook his head. “Ah, today is not a day to talk medicine. Although I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have listen to my ideas and give me feedback. According to your pastor, you're quite well respected in town.”

“You mean, I work long hours.”

“No. He told me about your practice. A solo practitioner in this day and age? Almost unheard of.” Heath tightened his grip on the leather leash when Sully tried to run after a boy who biked past. “And your monthly asthma clinic at Front Range Mission Outreach? Methinks you have a generous, caring heart, Kendall.”

“The same could be said of you.”

“But we weren't talking about me, were we?” He walked in silence for a few minutes, eyes trained on several children swinging, legs pumping hard and fast, propelling them high into the air. “Let's talk about something more important.”

“Such as?”

“Such as when we're going to go out again. Dinner later this week?”

“I
'm glad you were free this afternoon, Kendall.” Rachel unbuckled her seat belt, tugging her straw cowboy hat off her head and releasing her long hair. “This way we have some one-on-one time before we meet up with everyone else tonight and go looking for my wedding dress.”

“Me, too. This was a great idea.”

“Thanks for leaving the top off the Jeep today.”

“No problem. This is crazy-warm weather for April.” Kendall tucked her keys in her hip pouch and climbed out of the CJ5. “I'm starving. You?”

“That's why we're here.” Rachel led the way into the rustic restaurant tucked into the mountainside along Highway 24. The vivid mural painted on the outside was a colorful hint that one side of the building was dedicated to Colorado wines. But today they were focused on the restaurant. “Is a table outside good for you?”

“Absolutely.” Kendall already knew what she was ordering—the Buffalo Wine Burger. Her mouth watered at the thought of char-grilled meat flavored with just a dash of red wine topped with grilled onions, roasted green chilies, and sautéed mushrooms. She always topped it off with a slice of Swiss cheese.

Rachel placed her order for a portobello mushroom sandwich and the waitress brought their drinks, leaving the two women to relax at their creekside table. The faint sound of water tripping over rocks gentled Kendall's spirit, wiping away the last remnants of work stress. Sunlight through bare tree limbs and evergreen branches and a whisper of a breeze tickled the back of her neck.

“This is a great way to spend my afternoon off.” Kendall closed her eyes, inhaling the hint of springtime in the Rockies.

“And this is the perfect place to eat.” Rachel leaned back in her wrought-iron chair, legs stretched out in front of her. “Sometimes I forget it's up here.”

“I know. And then I eat here again and I think,
Why don't I come here more often?
”

“Exactly. I'll have to mention this place to Tony. We should bring his family here when they come out for the wedding.”

Kendall scrunched her nose, tempted to peek at her phone. But even without checking, she would bet it had been less than ten minutes since Rachel last mentioned Tony. Or the wedding. It was all right. Rachel was in love. Engaged. Tony and the wedding were top priority.

“Speaking of the wedding—” Rachel turned her head so she could look at Kendall. “—I wanted to check something with you.”

“Sure. Is there something I can do?”

Even as she asked the question, Kendall doubted Rachel needed anyone besides Melissa-the-über-organized to keep track of all the wedding to-dos.

“I wanted to make sure I didn't hurt your feelings.”

“Hurt my feelings? How?”

“When I asked Melissa to be my matron of honor, instead of asking you—did I hurt your feelings?”

Kendall made certain she didn't look away from Rachel when she answered. “I'm fine, Rachel. Really.”

“You didn't answer the question.” Rachel sat up, twisting around to face her. “I did, didn't I?”

Now would be a good time for the waitress to come back with their food, but of course Kendall ordered her burger medium well, not rare. “Rachel, the four of us are all friends. You're free to arrange the wedding party however you want. The important thing is that we all are going to be a part of your wedding.”

“Still evading the question, Dr. Haynes.” Rachel reached over and clasped her hand, her diamond glinting in the sunlight. “And I have my answer. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings.”

“It's fine. Really. I'm happy for you.” Kendall squeezed her friend's fingers. Once. Twice. Let go. “It's your day. You plan it the way you want it to go.”

“I wasn't
not
picking you, Kendall. It's just that I thought it would be easier for you if you weren't the maid of honor, you know?”

“No . . . I don't know.”

“We've been friends how many years now? Five? How many weddings have we attended together?”

“Probably an even dozen.”

“And we both dreaded them.” Rachel shook her head as if replaying scenes from weddings past, her long, dark hair swishing around her shoulders. “Watching another single gal walk down the aisle while we either wore a dress she picked out for us or sat in the pew and wished it was us.”

Kendall sat with her chin resting in the palm of her hand. “Wow, you make us sound like two sorry single women.”

“Well, I know there were days we felt sorry for ourselves.” Rachel stopped talking as the waitress delivered their food.

For a few moments, Kendall focused on her late lunch. The ciabatta bun was as fresh as always, the lettuce crisp when she bit into her burger. She'd swim an extra ten minutes tomorrow to pay for this indulgence.

Rachel swallowed a bite of her sandwich, wiping the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “I remember watching another thirty-something woman like me get married about a year ago. Deanna Jensen—I met her through work. As she walked down the aisle, this thought skipped across my mind:
Now her life begins.
”

Kendall watched her friend take another bite of her lunch. Swallow. Take a sip of her Diet Coke. Then Rachel looked at her, her sparkling blue eyes dimmed.

“Wasn't that a terrible thing to think?
Now her life begins
? Like nothing before the wedding ring counts.” Rachel's voice sharpened. “This woman is a successful physical therapist with her own practice in Denver. That doesn't count for anything?”

“You're not saying anything I haven't thought myself.” Kendall forced herself to swallow a piece of her burger lodged in her throat.

“Why would we think something like that? We've worked hard and accomplished a lot for being in our mid-thirties.”

“Did you think
Now life begins
when Tony proposed?”

“A little tiny voice in my head started to whisper it, but I stuffed a sock in it.” Rachel stabbed a fork in her coleslaw.

“Good for you.”

“I remember when my sister had her first child. She told me the ob-gyn talked about prodromal labor and how nothing before four centimeters counted as real labor. Can you imagine? You can be having contractions—but somebody decided
it doesn't count.” Rachel crumbled her napkin. “If I think my life begins because I'm finally engaged, then it's like everything before this is a prodromal life.”

This was one of the reasons Kendall valued Rachel's friendship: because she spoke her mind, even when it made others—and herself—uncomfortable. She wasn't outspoken just to be outspoken. Rachel wrestled with life out loud and invited others to join her in wrestling with doubts and truth.

“Were you content with your life before Tony proposed?”

“Yes. And no.” Rachel shoved her plate away, shifting in her seat and staring out across the deck. “God and I went nose-to-nose on the topic of the desires of my heart more than once. I'd been engaged once before—”

“You had? When?” And why didn't Kendall know this?

Rachel ran her hands through her hair, shaking it away from her face. “During college. Senior year. Oh, my. I was sooo in love with Gary. We were the perfect couple. Everyone told us so.”

“What happened?”

“He proposed. I said yes. And then he expected me to give up my plans to go to medical school.”

“But didn't he know that was your goal all along?”

“Yep.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, I cried. Prayed. We were both believers, so we talked with our pastor. There was just no common ground. Somehow it became all or nothing for Gary.” Rachel lifted her hands and then let them fall back into her lap. “If I loved him, I would not go to medical school. Period. And I felt like if he loved me, he wouldn't ask me
not
to go to medical school.”

“And—?”

“And so I gave him back the ring. Went to medical school. Cried myself to sleep for weeks when I heard he proposed to
another girl a year later. They got married. Had a passel of little Garys—five boys. Could you see me as the mother of five boys?”

“So he broke your heart.” Kendall watched her friend and could see that even as she joked about what she'd lost, her eyes glistened.

“I think we broke each other's hearts. I don't think I was completely myself with Gary. Back then, I was more about letting a relationship define me than knowing who I was.” Rachel sat up straighter, stiffening her shoulders. “Look at me, like I'm the Answer Woman. I started off wanting to apologize for hurting you. Then I confessed my doubts. Now I'm talking about my past life.”

“It's what friends do on a beautiful April day in Colorado.” Kendall paused as the waitress refilled their drinks. “We talk about life. The questions that have answers—and the ones that don't.”

“Speaking of questions, whatever happened with the kid who had the allergic reaction at On the Border? Did you ever hear anything?”

“Believe it or not, he and his brother showed up in my office the next morning.” Kendall wiped her fingers on her napkin. “The ER doc recommended me for a follow-up and we had an opening. Let's just say I don't expect Ian Walker to become a regular patient.”

“Really? Why not?”

“His older brother—his name's Griffin—well, he and I didn't hit it off. Oil and water. Tomato, tomahto. Bert and Ernie. Wait, they get along.”

“You saved his brother's life.”

“I'm a doctor. It's what I do.” Kendall couldn't hold back a gurgle of laughter. “Sorry. That sounded way too egotistical. I
gave the elder Mr. Colonel Walker the name of another doctor. End of story.”

The two women paid their bill and walked back out to Kendall's Jeep. As they buckled up, Kendall couldn't resist sharing what had happened on Sunday. “There is one guy who might be interested in me.”

“What are you talking about?” Rachel pulled her hair back in a ponytail and then anchored her cowboy hat on her head.

“Heath Parker, a doctor I've met before at some medical conferences, was at church. He invited me to lunch.”

“And?”

“And . . . who knows? He mentioned dinner later this week. We'll see what happens.”

“Aren't you excited?”

“Rachel, I'm thirty-six. Could I get excited? Sure. Am I going to let myself get excited? No. I've learned the hard way to assume nothing, absolutely nothing, when it comes to men.”

After dropping off Rachel at her apartment, Kendall drove home and quick-changed into a pair of dark gray jeggings, a light, fitted fuchsia sweater, and a wide leather belt. Then she slipped on a pair of black wedge shoes before reapplying her makeup and gelling her hair.

“Here's the deal, Sully.” She held his don't-leave-me-home-alone sad face between her hands and scratched behind his ears as she forced him to look her in the eyes. “I'm going dress shopping. I'll be back later. When I come back, I expect you to let me in. Got it?”