Catch a Falling Star Read Online Free

top. Rubbing her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. But she was a stickler for hygiene, and her bedtime routine awaited. And before that, Sully needed a quick walk outside.
    Half an hour later, Kendall sat on her bed, a faded, black-velvet jeweler’s box cradled in her hands. She probably should keep this in a bank box of some sort rather than in a fire safe in the back of her closet. But she liked keeping her most treasured possession nearby.
    Flicking back the lid, she traced the outline of Mina’s ring.
    How many times had she stared at the ring as a little girl, watching its delicate white-gold filigree glint in the sunlight as her Mina embroidered or made bread or stirred a pot of soup on the stove? How many times had she asked to wear the ring? She would slip it on her finger as she lay in bed, waiting for the tightness to ease in her lungs, while Mina read her fairy tales of princesses hidden away in towers waiting to be rescued. Howmany times had Mina patted her hand, whispering that one day the ring would be hers ?
    She’d lost count.
    But she never lost sight of the dream hidden in the jewel’s red depth. One day, she’d have it all: Romance. Love. Marriage. A husband. A family. And yes, a career, too. Because she was going to be a doctor. With all the time she spent in the hospital during her elementary and middle school years, she had at least part of a medical education just by osmosis. She would put all those hours, days, weeks, months spent in a hospital room or a doctor’s office to good use and grow up and help kids like her whose lives were affected by asthma and allergies.
    And she had.
    She was living her dreams.
    Almost.
    She closed the box, the soft click a whisper of a rebuke. But it took two to make happily ever after come true—and lately no one pursued her. Well, not anyone who she wanted to be “caught” by. Kendall shook her head, catching her reflection in the mirror, the corner of her mouth twisting in the parody of a smile. Her last few dates hadn’t been worth a let’s-try-again to see if things would go anywhere. Both guys were hoping to get her one place: in bed. Her sister might laugh at her old-fashioned ideals, but Kendall had managed to resist temptation this far. More like fight it off.
    Of course, at this rate, she might die a virgin and an old maid, clutching Mina’s ring in her gnarled hands.
    If that was God’s will, then she was content with that.
    Right?
    Yes, yes, she was.
    She had to be.

CHAPTER TWO

    N o matter how you tricked it out, Griffin considered a doctor’s waiting room a little corner of hell.
    Dr. Haynes’s office wasn’t bad—especially compared with the military, one-size-fits-all medical offices he tried to avoid. Maybe the civilian doc hired a professional interior designer to put everything together. Muted, earth-tone walls. Comfortable chairs that weren’t so close together you needed to hold your breath to prevent inhaling your neighbor’s germs. Several watercolor paintings with words woven through them. Were those Scripture verses? Since the events of the last eighteen months had stopped him from stiff-arming God, the thought intrigued him. But Griffin wasn’t wandering around a doctor’s office. Stroll through enemy territory? No, thank you.
    Griffin shut his eyes to block out the view of his surroundings, but it only served to increase the volume of the mental soundtrack he’d tried to ignore for months.
    â€œWe’ll review your health again in May, Colonel Walker, and decide then if you can return to active flying status.”
    These months in limbo were a tortuous wait-and-see marathon. Never fly again? That was his whole life—the only thing he cared about.
    Ian shifted in the seat next to him, pulling Griffin back to reality. He needed to focus. Compartmentalize. Today’s medical visit was about Ian—not him.
    â€œDoes any doctor