Page 76 of Make Your Shot
“Then I think it was worth letting him in,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Not all good things are always meant to last. He had a purpose in your life and I think that’s at least worth something.”
“Even if it ends with my heart in a tattered mess?”
A soft smile crests her lips. “There’s always beauty in the pain, babe. Maybe the beauty of it was just having the opportunity to experience the love you both felt. Maybe it was you opening up your heart to someone you knew was unavailable and for him to just feel something with someone after losing his wife. You taught him love was worth experiencing. It’s not your fault he chose to let his fear guide him after it became too strong to fight.”
I stare at her for a moment, my mixed emotions coming in waves. Caleb Ford broke my damn heart and I’m not sure how to get past this. “If that’s all true, then what comes next?”
“Just give yourself some time, babe. You’re both hurting and instead of being honest with each other about how you’re feeling, you’re both fighting against it instead of fighting for one another.”
“How do you know what he’s doing or what he’s feeling?”
She cocks her head, laughing softly. “Oh, Mia, are you really that blind?”
I stare at her, waiting for her to continue.
“You don’t look at someone the way that man looked at you and not feel the pain of letting go.” A ghost of a smile dances across her lips. “The way he feels for you was written across his face. He loves you...he loves you so much that he’s pushing you away to protect himself.”
“I understandwhyhe’s doing it, but I don’t agreewith it. I don’t think you can love someone, at least not fully, from a place of fear.”
Willow purses her lips. “That’s a tough one. I think it’s natural to be afraid, but it comes down to whether or not you let that fear control you.”
“Maybe...” I say softly, not sure how to dissect and decipher all the emotions I’m feeling. This has been nothing short of a mind fuck from Caleb and honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m torn between giving him space and letting him breathe but also wanting to fight for this. For us.
Pulling my attention from my best friend, I let my gaze drift back out to the lake. Back to the shimmering surface of the water and the quiet breeze that drifts from the trees. The two of us sit in silence for a few more minutes before Willow retreats back inside to get ready to head back home, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
My thoughts continue to circle back to the man I knew would have the power to break my heart someday...and that’s exactly what he did.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CALEB
“Ford.”
I slowly turn on the bench to look at the door of the dressing room. The room had cleared out at least twenty minutes ago, all the guys went home after our late afternoon practice. I came here right after my therapy appointment this morning.
Coach Landry walks deeper into the room, stopping as he comes over to the opposite bench and takes a seat. “You’re here late.”
Corkscrewing my lips, I chew on the inside of my cheek for a second. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Coach.”
His eyebrows tug together and he tilts his head to the side. “What’s going on? Is it something I can help with?”
I drop my attention down to my hands as I hang them between my legs and steeple my fingers. Nothing in my life feels right at this moment in time. I pushed Mia away and haven’t reached out to her because I’mafraid of the things I feel for her. I have my daughter bouncing between different houses while I’m playing hockey because I pushed Mia away. And I’ve been holding everything inside because I don’t want to burden anyone with my fucking feelings right now.
I’ve walled everyone out and just haven’t been able to bring myself to talk to anyone about any of this. Coach Landry, the man I look up to more than anyone else, wants to know what’s going on. How the hell do I tell him that there’s currently a war waging inside me because I’m in love with his daughter.
“I fucked up.”
He’s silent for a moment. “What did you fuck up?”
I suck in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before blowing it out. I slowly lift my gaze to his and swallow the lump in my throat. “Everything with Mia.”
Coach Landry doesn’t speak a single word. Instead, he keeps his eyes leveled on mine, the muscle in his jaw tightening for a fraction of a second before it loosens. He lifts his hand and scratches at the stubble along his jaw.
The silence is borderline deafening.
He carefully removes his glasses and inspects them, like he’s looking for specs of dirt, to avoid looking at me. “I had an idea that you had something to do with her withdrawing.”
My eyebrows cinch closer. “What do you mean?”
