Falcon Song: A love story by Kristin Cross Read Free Book Online Page A

intimacy with you such a hurtful thing. Because I want that Kate.”
    He groaned and buried his face in her hair. “I need that, Kate. I need you.” He looked up and into her eyes. “And yeah, I want to talk to you, and laugh with you and work beside you and all of that. But I don’t want all of those things anymore than I want to have you in my bed every night for the rest of forever and ever and ever. Actually, it’s more than want. We’re way into need on the Richter scale here. Honestly, we’re probably even past need.”
    Her eyes got big and he slowed and then said more gently, “I’m sorry, Kate. But you deserve gut honesty too. I’m just trying to tell you that I wish we could get married now. I wish you knew that there’s never a question of where my heart is. Even when there are crowds of different flavors. I will always come back to you, Kate Birch. Always. And I do want… Need intimacy with you. That’s the truth.”
    He stayed looking into her eyes and after a moment or two she stretched up and kissed him. At first gently, and then with the same passion that had been in his voice when he’d been telling her of his need. Finally, she pulled back and looked up at him and said, “Then fly, Jason. Hurry and fly. Because I need you too.”   

 
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    On their way into church the next day, Jason felt her grip on his hand tighten as they approached the door. Earlier, he’d gotten a less than enthusiastic welcome from her mother as she invited him in the door when Jason came to pick her up and he’d made a mental note to ask Kate just exactly what she’d told her. Now as they prepared to face their friends at church, he was infinitely glad no one here had an inkling about how much he’d messed up.
    Even after the spiel he had given Kate the night before about the atonement, it was all he could do to walk inside those church doors himself. Thankfully, just what he’d hoped would happen when he’d encouraged Kate, did happen. Listening to the service and the lessons about the Savior and his pure charitable love for all men made truly coming back into the fold seem honestly doable. He could feel Kate loosen up a little as she sat beside him as well, and slowly but surely, that belly deep sick feeling began to dissipate.
    They did feel better for having come to church, but the worry in her eyes that he’d wondered about lately was more apparent than ever and he wasn’t surprised when she refused an invitation to Sunday dinner at his parents’. Pleading tiredness, she left him on her front porch and he went over to his parents’ alone and lonely.
    He asked her out again several times over the next week, but she only went with him three times and even then she seemed far more distant than he’d hoped. Every time he mentioned doing something with Cody that shadow would reappear in her eyes and he had to wonder if she’d ever want to do anything with his best friend and band partner again.
    Finally, the night before he had to fly out for a concert in Mobile, she seemed to get back to the Kate he knew. He took her to a quiet dinner at an elegant restaurant and then back to his apartment where he played his guitar for her. She sat with her back against the couch at his feet like she’d done since she was a child and for awhile there it felt like the Jason and Kate from before that fateful night with the champagne. Even when a couple of women at the restaurant were whispering and obviously talking about him, Kate seemed to be herself for that whole evening and he was able to feel half way decent about flying out the next day and leaving her.
    She rode with him and Cody to the airport in Oklahoma City like she usually did and Jason was glad she was able to greet Cody in a relatively normal manner as they picked him up, Jason had been worrying about how the two of them were going to deal with things since that awful night. Kate was none too effluent about her greeting, but she still