I cup her face, studying every detail—the way autumn sunlight catches the golden flecks in her brown hair, the slight curve of her red lips, the trust I see in her eyes.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that,” I tell her, resting my forehead against hers. “I was terrified you’d run to Seattle and I’d lose you before we had a real chance.”
She brushes hair off my forehead. “I’m not running anymore. This is my home. And you are my person.”
That’s when I remember Emmy’s envelope. I pull it from my pocket. “Emmy asked me to give you something Bailey found in the old general store. She said you’d want to read it—that it would answer a question for you.”
Neesha opens it slowly, unfolding a letter yellowed with age. I watch her expression shift, her brows furrow as she reads. When she finishes it, she looks up and her eyes are filled with tears.
“It’s from Victor MacDonald—he signs it ‘V,’ just like the love letter I found in the donated books.”
“Wait…the man related to Alexander MacDonald?”
She nods. “Victor met his wife, Catherine, here in Maple Falls.” She gazes at the water, shaking her head. “I think some places really are meant for love stories.”
“Is that what happened to us? We were sucked into the romance of Maple Falls?”
“I should have seen it coming,” she says. “Cute guy moves in next door, immediately starts fixing things, then offers to be my practice date. I didn’t stand a chance.”
I laugh and wrap my arms around her. “You are everything to me,” I whisper against her hair.
When she pulls back, she’s smiling. “Can we really do this? You and I?”
I kiss her cheek, breathing in her familiar scent. “I never doubted it. Now let’s go home.”
CHAPTER 26
LUCIAN
It’s game night and we’ve all filtered into the locker room when Coach strides in, clipboard in hand. But instead of his usual pregame talk, his expression is serious.
“Before you all get into gear, I have an announcement. Simpson’s off the team. Effective immediately.”
The silence that follows is deafening. Then Cade lets out a low whistle. “About time.”
“Management reviewed game footage after receiving multiple complaints,” Coach continues. “What we found was a pattern of targeting his own teammates. Simpson’s been putting careers at risk and that’s not something I’ll tolerate.”
My teammates glance at me, knowing I’m the one who’s had the biggest target on my back.
“Simpson caused several incidents over the past few months,” Coach says. “Including the hit that injured Lowe—completely preventable if Simpson had done his job instead of pulling back.”
Carson shakes his head in disgust.
“This kind of behavior doesn’t just get you kicked off our team—Simpson’s been reported to the league. His reputation will follow him wherever he tries to play next. Turns out whenyou make enemies of your own teammates, word gets around fast.” Coach looks around. “Anyone else have questions about what loyalty means on this team?”
Dead silence.
“Good,” he says, a smile curving his lips. “Now I finally have the team I want. Let’s go play some real hockey.”
As Coach leaves, the locker room erupts in celebration. “One less distraction,” Weston says beside me, echoing my thoughts exactly.
Jamie grins at me. “What goes around comes around—and it’s about time.”
As I take out my skates, my phone buzzes, and I see Northwest Development & Real Estate flash on the screen. I almost let it go to voicemail, but I’ve been waiting for Dad’s answer about Maple Lake for a week, so I step out of the noisy locker room into the hall.
“Lucian.” Dad’s voice sounds tired when I pick up and all I can think is how his heart is failing him.
“Dad. What’s wrong?”
