Page 135 of After We Fall

“That’s appalling,” I say again, unable to find other words.

“Just out of curiosity, is this the way you’re going to run our household when we get married and have six boys?”

“You’re going to have to ask me to marry you to find out.” I place my hands on his chest and push up to whisper in his ear, “But first we have to get out of this airport because we’re not going to make it.”

He rubs his cheek against mine and says, “Oh, we’re going to make it.”

Discussion Questions

1.Gary Chapman wrote a book called The 5 Love Languages, where he claims each person has a preference for one of the following love languages: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. As a humorous claim, Penelope’s love language is efficiency. What is your love language (one of the five, or a humorous one), and why?

2.The first time Luke met Penelope, he said, “Excuse me, ma’am, I don’t think you’ve had the pleasure of meeting me. I’m Luke.” How would you have responded? Share any other cheesy pickup lines you find amusing.

3.Penelope earned a master’s degree in business administration that prepared her for work with Harlan’s company, and a master’s degree in misery from a group home that prepared her for work with Meredith’s halfway house. What fake degree have you earned in life? (For example, a master’s degree in listening to your friends from the University of Compassion, or a master’s degree in loading the dishwasher from Clean University.)

4.Luke claims “the beauty’s in the wild.” What does that phrase mean to you? Is this something you could connect with in the book? In Penelope’s journey? In your own life?

5.The scene where Meredith drops a piece of chewed gum on her wedding dress came right out of Deborah Clack’s life. Ten minutes before her own wedding, her father leaned over to pray for her, and his gum dropped on her pristine white dress. Nervous laughter became joyous laughter when they extracted the gum and saw that it left no mark! Did you ever have a time when you laughed off a serious moment?

6.Both Luke and Penelope grew up in homes without marriage, good relationships, or fatherhood modeled. Other people came into their lives to fill the gaps. What do you think their lives would have been like if others had not come alongside them to help? Did anyone come alongside you to mentor you or encourage you over the course of your life?

7.Penelope goes against Luke’s wishes and risks talking to Finley without him. The conversation results in a life-changing injury for Penelope. Have you ever tried to take something into your own hands, only to have made the situation worse?

8.Harlan surprises Penelope with his big-brother protection and support of her when he asks Luke what his intentions are with her. Have you experienced a time when someone else’s act of protection for you made you feel unexpectedly safe and cared for?

9.Migraines plague many people. This story gives an account of one person’s experience with them. In her personal experience as well as in her research, the author found numerous causes of and treatments for migraines. Do you have different insight or experiences?

10.Have you ever had a dream for yourself that fell apart, but the pieces that were left came together to be something better for you in the long run? What did that look like and feel like? What do you dream of now? Is there a baby step you can take to capture a piece of that dream?

Read on for a sneak peek

of Still Here After, the final book in

THE

SHELTER AND SKY

SERIES

AVAILABLE APRIL 2027

1

“Do you think she shot her husband with that old rifle?” I ask Professor Evelyn Wimberley out of the corner of my mouth.

“Probably,” she answers. Her posture mirrors mine, relaxed in spite of her formal attire, arms crossed. The sequins dotting her emerald jacket are flashier than the ones at the hem of my secondhand cocktail dress. “Probably dug up a grave behind that sham of a house and stashed the body, never to be found again.”

I tilt my head and study the painting on the ballroom wall in Colorado Springs’ prestigious Broadmoor Hotel. A weathered woman on a sagging porch white-knuckles the long barrel of an antiquated gun. Tall reeds of yellowed grass in the painted country scene coax me to believe, if I take one step closer, I can brush my fingers along their silky frayed tips and smell the backwoods breeze.

The professor clucks her tongue twice and points one authoritative, stubby finger toward the picture. “If I’d buried Howard behind my house, our loyal dog would’ve dug up the grave and given him mouth-to-mouth.” She turns her stocky, impeccably dressed body toward me. “I’ll take the painting.”

I shake my head at her on-brand generosity. “Evelyn, you’re here as my guest. Please don’t feel obligated to purchase anything this evening.”

Thirty-two pieces of donated art sprawl across the room, beckoning to generous philanthropists. All to benefit Twelve Bluebells Ranch, a halfway house for young women in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Patrons stride over the marble floors in their high heels and wing tips, clinking champagne glasses while they search for the perfect piece to adorn their grand fireplaces and personal libraries.

My mahogany desk chair at the hotel’s Contemporary Gallery sits empty tonight while I volunteer at the late summer gala.

“I blame this spontaneously budgeted item on you, Daphne Fielding,” Evelyn says.