But when the puck dropped and the game started, something clicked.
Jake read the game differently from the bench. Saw patterns he'd never noticed as a player. Could coach his team through shifts, make adjustments, guide them to better positioning.
They won 4-2. The team celebrated on the ice, and Jake felt something he hadn't felt in months: pride. Not in himself, but in them. In what they'd built together.
"Great game, Coach!" Owen shouted, still buzzing with post-game energy.
"Great game, guys. Hit the showers. Recovery day tomorrow, then we start prep for Saturday."
After the team left, Jake stood alone in the quiet locker room. He'd done it. Coached his first game as head coach. Won his first game.
He wished Lucy was here to share it with.
Jake pulled out his phone and started typing a text:First win as head coach. Wish you could have been here.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then deleted it without sending.
What was the point? Lucy had made her choice. She was in Paris, building her career, living the dream she'd chosen over him. Texting her would just open wounds that were barely starting to heal.
Jake pocketed his phone and headed home.
But as he drove through Timber Falls—past Main Street, past The Bread Basket (still open under Sarah's management), past the familiar shops and houses—Jake felt something shift.
This was his town. His home. His choice.
And maybe—maybe—it was enough.
Maybe he didn't need Lucy to be happy. Maybe he could build a full life here—coaching, being part of the community, eventually maybe even dating again (though that thought still felt impossible).
Maybe choosing Timber Falls over Nashville had been enough. Maybe he didn't also need Lucy.
Except he did. He wanted her. Missed her every single day.
But wanting wasn't enough. She'd made her choice. And Jake had to respect it.
Even if it meant spending the rest of his life missing her.
Jake parked outside his building and sat in his truck for a long moment.
Then he did something he'd been avoiding. He took off his keys and removed the spare key to Lucy's apartment—the one she'd given him months ago, before Paris, when they'd been constantly switching between apartments.
He should have given it back before she left. Should have cleaned out the drawer where she'd kept clothes, the toiletries she'd left in his bathroom. All the Lucy-shaped pieces of his life that he'd been clutching onto like talismans.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd box it all up. Tomorrow he'd start really moving forward.
But tonight, Jake would let himself miss her one more time.
Tomorrow he'd let her go.
Tonight, he'd hold onto what they'd been.
Just for one more night.
Chapter 19
October in Paris was cold and gray.
