Page 46 of Serenity at Seagrove
She thought it might be Archer, which was terrifying. She wasn’t ready to talk to him.
Would she tell him what she overheard?
Or would she let him go without ever knowing that she had heard their conversation?
But instead, she found Janine standing there.
"Luna?" Janine said, her smile fading. "What’s wrong?"
The concern in Janine’s voice broke something inside of her, and tears spilled over.
"He’s leaving," she managed. "Archer—he’s been offered some coaching position in California. He’s been kind of distant since the golf classic, and I know why now. Why he keeps pulling back. He’s known all along that he was going to leave."
Janine crossed the room quickly and pulled Luna into a hug.
"Well, honey, when did he tell you?"
"He didn’t tell me." Luna pulled back and wiped her eyes, trying to get cleaned up before her class. "I just overheard him talking to Dawson. He has to make a decision by tomorrow."
"And knowing Archer, he’s probably been tying himself up into knots trying to figure out how to tell you."
Luna walked over to the window and looked out at the ocean.
"I’ve been so stupid, Janine. Letting myself feel things, think things, plan some kind of a future. I was supposed to just be someone helping him. And now look at it. The whole situation is a mess."
"Stop right there," Janine said firmly. "Nothing about what you’re feeling is stupid."
"You don’t understand," Luna said, turning to look at Janine. "I came here to build something, and to help others heal. I wasn’t supposed to?—"
She trailed off, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Fall in love?" Janine asked quietly.
Luna closed her eyes against more tears and nodded.
"I can’t hold him back, Janine. He deserves this chance to stay in the game he loves and to make a difference on a bigger scale."
"What about what you deserve? What about what he might want?"
"He wants that job. I heard it in his voice." Luna walked over to straighten some books, trying to keep her hands busy and stop herself from crying anymore. "I’m not going to be the reason he gives up his dreams. That was the whole reason why he came here in the first place. I will not be another injury that keeps him from the life he’s meant to have."
"Luna?"
"No." Luna straightened her shoulders, pulling in years of practice and professional composure. "I need to step back. I need to make it easier for him to go. And you cannot say anything."
"You’re going to make it easier by breaking both of your hearts?"
"I’m going to make it easier by giving him the freedom to choose without guilt."
Luna looked at her watch.
"My first client will be here soon. I need to pull myself together."
"What are you going to do?"
"What I do best," Luna said, forcing a smile. "Help others heal, even if I’m breaking inside."
“You can't just shut down,” Janine said. Not after everything you taught us about facing our feelings.
