Page 264 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

"No."

I smile.

"I'm the lucky one."

***

Drive - Day One

By sunrise the next morning, everything I own is packed into the back of my SUV.

One last glance around the apartment.

The walls already look like they belong to someone else.

I switch off the lights, lock the door, and take the keys to the property manager.

Dr. Lawson was right.

I'm going home.

The first several hours pass almost peacefully. The farther I drive from Idaho, the more I find myself smiling, not because I know what waits for me. But because every mile feels like a step toward where I belong.

Then my imagination gets ahead of me. I picture Jamie opening the cabin door. His surprised smile. His arms around me.

I stop myself immediately. No.

I don't get to write that part.

Only Jamie does.

All I can do...

Is show up.

***

Drive - Day two

The doubts arrive somewhere in Nebraska.

Maybe they'd been riding with me all along. They simply waited until the excitement faded.

What if Jamie doesn't want to see me?

What if leaving hurt him more than I realized?

What if he's spent the last eight weeks putting his life back together...

Only for me to tear it apart again?

I pull into a quiet rest area and switch off the engine. For several minutes I simply sit there.

My phone rests in the passenger seat.

Jamie's number is still exactly where I left it.

One call. One warning that I'm coming. One chance to find out whether I'm making the biggest mistake of my life.