Lucy took a breath. "Okay. I'll talk to him. Tomorrow. I'll go to the rink during practice and—and tell him I was wrong. That I want to try again. If he'll let me."
"Good. And Lucy? If he says no, which he won't—but if he does—we're all still here for you. You have us. You have Uncle Walter. You have this town. Even if Jake doesn't want to try again, you made the right choice coming home."
After Rei left, Lucy sat alone at Mac's Tavern and tried to imagine what she'd say to Jake.
I was wrong. I chose Paris over you and it was the worst mistake of my life. I miss you. I love you. Can we try again?
Too simple. Too raw. Too desperate.
I realized Paris wasn't what I wanted. I want to be here, in Timber Falls, building my restaurant. And I want you. If you'll have me.
Better. More balanced. Less pathetic.
Lucy pulled out her phone and started typing a text to Jake:I'm back in Timber Falls. Can we talk?
Her finger hovered over send.
Then she deleted it.
No. Not over text. She needed to see him face to face. To look in his eyes when she asked for a second chance. To be brave enough to risk rejection.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow she'd go to the rink. Tomorrow she'd tell Jake she'd made a mistake.
Tomorrow she'd find out if love was enough to fix what she'd broken.
Jake found out Lucy was in town when Emma told him at Saturday morning youth hockey practice.
"Coach Jake! Miss Lucy is back! My mom saw her at the grocery store yesterday!"
Jake's heart stopped. "She's—what?"
"Miss Lucy! She's back in Timber Falls! Aren't you excited?"
Jake was frozen. Lucy was here. In town. Not in Paris. Here.
"Coach Jake? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Em. I'm fine. That's—that's great news."
But Jake wasn't fine. He was spinning. Lucy was back. After three months, she was back.
And she hadn't told him. Hadn't texted or called or reached out. She'd just—come back. Without warning.
What did that mean? Was she back permanently? Temporarily? For him?
Jake somehow made it through the rest of practice. Afterwards, Marcus cornered him in the parking lot.
"You heard."
"Emma told me. Lucy's back."
"Yeah. Arrived yesterday. Staying with her uncle."
"Did she—" Jake's voice was rough. "Did she say why she's back?"
"All Rei told me is that Paris didn't work out. That Lucy was miserable and missed home."
"Home. Not me. Home."
