"And now you're back to hiding. What happened?"
Rachel looked down at her hands, at the catalog she'd been pretending to work on. "I panicked. He took me to meet his whole team after one date. Everyone was looking at us like we were already a couple, asking about the future—"
"So you pushed him away."
"I asked for space," Rachel corrected, but even she could hear how weak it sounded.
"Same thing, dear. Different words." Mrs. Henderson leaned on the desk. "May I offer some unsolicited advice from someone who's been married for sixty years?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really." Mrs. Henderson smiled. "Real love is absolutely terrifying because it means giving someone the power to hurt you."
Rachel's fingers stilled on the catalog. "But how do you know Mac is a good one?"
"Because I've lived in this town my whole life. I watched that boy grow up after his mother died. I saw how he took care of his father." Mrs. Henderson's expression softened. "I've seen him at this library a dozen times, checking out books he doesn't want just to have an excuse to talk to you. That's not a man who's going to hurt you, dear. That's a man who's already half in love with you and doesn't know how to hide it."
Her throat closed. "What if I hurt him instead?"
"Then you apologize and do better. That's what relationships are, two imperfect people trying their best and forgiving each other when they fail." She picked up her books. "But you can't do any of that from behind this desk."
16
Rachel
Rachel spent the rest of the week in a fog of her own making. Work. Home. Mr. Darcy. Books she couldn't focus on. The same dinner she'd eaten for the past four nights because thinking about food required more energy than she had.
Her phone stayed silent except for Sophie's occasional check-ins and one text from Ellie that said:Thinking of you. ??
No messages from Mac. Which was what she'd asked for. What she'd explicitly told him she needed.
So why did it hurt so much?
Friday came too quickly and not quickly enough. Rachel changed outfits three times, why did it matter what she wore to a hockey game where Mac wouldn't even see her?, before settling on jeans and a gray sweater that was warm but not trying-too-hard.
Mr. Darcy watched her from his perch on the bed, his orange tail flicking with what she interpreted as judgment.
"Don't look at me like that," Rachel told him. "I'm going to support local sports. That's all. This has nothing to do with Mac."
Mr. Darcy's expression clearly conveyed his disbelief.
"Okay, it has everything to do with Mac. But I'm going to sit in the stands and watch a hockey game like a normal person and then go home. That's it. No drama."
Mr. Darcy yawned, unimpressed with her life choices.
The Evergreen Cove Ice Arena was packed when Rachel arrived at 6:45, the stands already filling with families and teenagers and what looked like half the town. The air smelled like popcorn and ice, and the energy was electric, people excited for Friday night entertainment and hometown pride.
Rachel spotted Sophie immediately, sitting about halfway up in the middle section. Sophie waved enthusiastically, and Rachel made her way through the crowd, apologizing as she squeezed past knees and stepped over bags.
"You came!" Sophie hugged her before Rachel could even sit down.
"You're very persistent," Rachel said, but she was smiling despite her nerves.
"I know. It's one of my most charming qualities." Sophie handed her a bag of popcorn. "The game starts in ten minutes. Cole says it's going to be a good one, they're playing the Mountaineers, who are their biggest rivals."
Rachel looked down toward the ice and spotted Ellie near the team bench, in the physical therapist's section. Ellie caught her eye and waved warmly, giving her an encouraging smile. Rachel waved back, grateful for the support even from a distance.
"Ellie's working tonight," Sophie explained. "She's always down there during games in case anyone gets injured. But she's glad you came, she texted me like five times asking if you'd actually show up."
