Even if it hurt.
Especially because it hurt.
Lucy opened her phone's notes app and started writing—a letter to Jake, to herself, to the future.
Day One. I'm doing it. I'm choosing brave. And I'm choosing us. Six months. We can do six months.
She wrote until the flight attendant made her put her phone away for takeoff.
And then Lucy Chen flew toward her future, leaving her heart in Timber Falls.
Jake stood at the airport long after Lucy's plane took off, staring at the departure board like it might bring her back.
Finally, Marcus appeared at his elbow.
"Come on, man. She's gone. Let's get you home."
In the truck, Jake was quiet. Marcus, blessedly, didn't try to fill the silence.
Back at his apartment, Jake looked around at the space that had been theirs for the past few months. Lucy's coffee mug was still on the counter. Her toothbrush in the bathroom. A sweater draped over the chair.
Signs that she'd been here. That this had been real.
His phone buzzed.
Lucy:Landed in New York for my connection. Miss you already.
Jake stared at the message. Six months of this. Six months of texts instead of touching. Video calls instead of holding her.
He could do this.
He had to.
Jake:Miss you too. Text me when you land in Paris. I'll stay up.
Lucy:It'll be the middle of the night for you.
Jake:I don't care. I want to know you got there safe.
Lucy:Okay. I love you.
Jake:I love you too. Now go catch your flight to Paris. Go start your adventure.
Jake set down his phone and looked out the window at Timber Falls. The town that had been home his entire life. The town he'd chosen to stay in.
For coaching. For community. For the life he wanted to build.
And for Lucy. Always for Lucy.
Six months. He could survive six months.
And then she'd come home, and they'd figure out what came next.
Together.
Jake pulled out his laptop and opened his calendar. Marked the date six months from now—August fifth.
The day Lucy would come home.
