Chapter 46
Rachel
Halft the Eagles descended on Rachel's apartment like an organized tornado. Jamie directed traffic with a color-coded spreadsheet. Cole and Mac hauled furniture. Sophie and Ellie packed her books while Tyler provided unhelpful commentary. The rest of the team was at Mac’s place, reorganizing and making space.
Rachel stood in the middle of it all, looking at her life packed into boxes. This apartment had been her refuge after Burlington. The place where she'd rebuilt herself.
"You okay?" Sophie asked, squeezing her hand.
"Yeah. Just strange to leave it."
"You're not leaving it broken," Sophie said. "You're graduating from it. That's progress."
Mac appeared with Mr. Darcy in his arms, the cat looking deeply offended about the whole situation. "Your cat has opinions about moving day."
Rachel smiled despite her nerves. In a few hours, her mother would arrive.
Mac
Mac was carrying a box of Rachel's kitchen supplies down to his truck when a car pulled up.
Two women got out: one in her fifties with the same dark hair as Rachel and an expression that screamed "protective mother," and one younger, looking like a more dramatic version of Rachel with blonde highlights and oversized sunglasses.
"That's my mom and sister," Rachel said, appearing beside Mac, her voice tight. "Brace yourself."
Linda Morrison immediately zeroed in on Mac with laser focus.
"You must be Mac," Linda said, her tone assessing rather than warm. "I'm Linda. Rachel's mother. We need to talk."
"Mom, we just got here," Leah protested, pulling off her sunglasses. "Let the man breathe. Also—" She looked past Mac at the team carrying furniture. "—wow. You weren't kidding about the attractive teammates."
"Leah, no," Rachel said firmly.
"I'm not doing anything! I'm observing!"
Rachel
Rachel watched her mother pull Mac aside, her stomach churning. This was the moment. Her mother was about to realize Rachel wasn't moving into her own apartment. She was moving in with Mac.
A man she'd known for two months.
A man she'd had a massive fight with just days ago.
Leah appeared beside her. "So, are you going to tell Mom, or is she going to figure it out when she sees Mac’s name on the boxes?"
"I'm going to tell her. Eventually. When the right moment—"
"There is no right moment, Rach. You're stalling." Leah squeezed her hand. "For what it's worth, I think Mac seems great. The way he looks at you? That's real."
"You've known him for five minutes."
"I'm an excellent judge of character. Also, any man who can make Mr. Darcy obey him is clearly magic."
Rachel laughed despite her nerves. "I love him, Lee."
"I know. Mom will come around. Eventually. Probably."
Mac
Linda Morrison had pulled Mac aside, her arms crossed, her expression evaluating and vaguely disapproving.
"So," Linda said. "You're the hockey player my daughter is dating."
"Yes, ma'am. I love Rachel. Very much."
"Brad said the same thing. Right before he humiliated her in front of everyone she knew." Linda's chin lifted, eyes narrowing. "What makes you different? Besides the obvious fact that you play for a smaller team with lower prospects?"
Mac blinked at the jab but held his ground. "I turned down a contract with better prospects to stay here with Rachel."
"Hmm. Romantic. Or financially unwise." Linda's eyes narrowed. "Rachel has a pattern, you know. Choosing men who need her validation. Now you; a hockey player in a small town who's probably flattered by the attention of an educated woman."
"That's not what this is—"
"Isn't it? I saw the video of that town hall meeting.
Very dramatic. Rachel standing up there talking about assault and manipulation.
" Linda didn't raise her voice. She didn't need to.
"Leah showed me. It's all over Facebook.
Half the comments are sympathetic, the other half are saying Rachel is playing the victim. "
"Rachel IS a victim. That bastard Matthews assaulted her—"
"I believe my daughter. But Mac, do you understand what you're signing up for?
Rachel comes with trauma. With a history of choosing men who ultimately choose themselves over her.
" Linda leaned closer. "Her father left when she was eight.
Brad destroyed her publicly. What makes you think you won't do the same thing when things get hard? "
"Because I won't. Because I love her."
"Love isn't enough. Brad loved her too, in his way. He just loved his career more. Loved other people's approval more. Loved himself more." Linda's gaze was piercing. "What happens when your career demands you leave Evergreen Cove? When loving Rachel means sacrifice?"
"I already made that choice. I turned down—"
"One contract. One time. What about the next ten times? The next twenty?" Linda leaned in, not giving an inch. "Rachel is settling, Mac. She's so traumatized by Brad that she's choosing the first man who shows her basic decency. She deserves better than 'good enough.'"
That landed like a physical blow.
"Rachel isn't settling," Mac said defensively. "And I'm not 'good enough.' I'm the man who loves her. Who sees her strength. Who chose her over everything else. Who will keep choosing her."
"Pretty words. Brad had pretty words too."
"I'm not him."
"Then prove it." Linda's expression was stone.
"Don't just tell me you're different. Show her.
Every single day. Because Rachel is the strongest person I know.
She rebuilt herself completely in this tiny town with that library job that barely pays her bills.
" Her voice sharpened again. "If you break her, if you make her regret trusting you, you'll answer to me. "
"I understand."
"Good." Linda turned toward the apartment building. "Now show me this place where my daughter will be living with you."
Mac froze. "I—what?"
Linda shot him a look that could freeze fire. "Did you think I didn't know? I'm fifty-three years old, not stupid. I also saw the Facebook photos from your moving day party announcement by someone colorful named Jamie Lawson."
"I thought.. I mean, Rachel said you didn't—"
"Didn't know you two were moving in together after dating for two months?
" Linda wouldn't stop. Couldn't, maybe. "I knew.
I don't approve. But Rachel stopped asking my approval around the same time her father abandoned us, so here we are.
" She gestured towards the car. "The apartment.
Show me. I want to see if it's at least clean and safe, even if the life choice is questionable. "
Mac led her toward his car that was stuffed with boxes, feeling like he'd just survived a tactical ambush.
Leah appeared beside him, grinning. "Mom's a master interrogator. She wanted to watch you squirm."
"That's terrifying."
"That's Mom!" She said cheerfully. "Don't worry, she likes you. If she didn't, you'd know."
"How would I know?"
"She'd have left already."
Rachel
Rachel gave her mother a tour of Mac's apartment, their apartment, she corrected herself mentally, while Mac and the team continued hauling furniture.
Linda examined everything with the critical eye of a mother evaluating her daughter's life choices.
"The kitchen is small," Linda observed.
"It's adequate for two people," Rachel countered.
"The bathroom only has one sink."
"We'll manage."
"There's no guest room for when your sister and I visit."
"You can stay at a hotel. There are two in town."
Linda moved to the living room, where Mac's hockey equipment was currently piled in the corner. "Does he always leave his gear lying around?"
"That's temporary because of moving day. Usually it's in the closet."
"Mmm." Linda crossed to the bookshelves, empty right now, waiting for Rachel's books. "At least there's shelf space for your collection."
"Mac specifically measured to make sure all my books would fit."
That made Linda pause. "He did?"
"He knows how much my books mean to me." Rachel's voice softened. "Mom, Mac isn't perfect. But he's kind and patient and he loves me. Really loves me."
Linda turned to face her daughter. "Rachel, I watched that video of the town hall meeting..."
"And?"
"And I'm sorry." Linda's voice cracked slightly. "I'm sorry I blamed you after the engagement party. I'm sorry I've been so critical of your relationship with Mac..."
Tears were burning. "Mom—"
"After watching Brad destroy you, I couldn't handle the thought of you being hurt again. So I looked for problems. I assumed things." Linda took Rachel's hands. "But sweetheart, you're not making mistakes. You're building a life with someone who clearly adores you."
Rachel hugged her mother, both of them crying.
"So you approve of Mac?" Rachel asked.
"I'm getting there. Ask me again after I interrogate him more thoroughly over lunch." Linda smiled. "But honey? He looks at you like you're the most important thing in his world. That's a good sign."
Rachel
By 1 PM, the furniture was being moved in. Mac, Cole, and Tyler tackled Rachel's bed frame.
Forty-five minutes later, they'd somehow assembled it completely upside down.
"How did three professional athletes manage this?" Rachel asked, laughing from the doorway.
"The instructions are terrible," Mac protested.
"They're in English with pictures."
Jamie appeared with his phone. "YouTube video. This is going in the team group chat."
They reassembled it correctly while Jamie documented their shame.
Sophie ordered pizza for lunch; ten large because hockey players ate like they were preparing for hibernation.
Everyone gathered in the living room. Leah sat next to Jamie on the floor, both absorbed in some animated conversation about organizational systems pros and cons.
Rachel noticed Sophie had gone quiet, gripping her coffee cup tighter than necessary.
"They're hitting it off," Rachel said quietly to Sophie.
"Mmm," Sophie said, her voice carefully neutral. "I should check if anyone needs refills."
She disappeared into the kitchen before Rachel could press further.
Oh no.
Cole stood, getting everyone's attention. "Mac and Rachel, you've been through hell this week. But you're here. Together." He smiled as he said it, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Welcome home, Rachel. You're one of us now."
The team erupted in applause.
"Group hug!" Luke announced, and the team piled on them in chaotic affection.
By 4 PM, everything was unpacked. Rachel's books lined the shelves. Her clothes hung in their closet.
Rachel Morrison no longer lived alone.
Linda and Leah prepared to leave.
"I'll visit next month," her sister announced, looking at Jamie. "To check on Rachel."
"I can show you around town," Jamie said. "We have a library and two coffee shops. That's basically it."
"Sounds perfect."
They exchanged numbers. Sophie had already left early, claiming she had to open the café tomorrow.
Linda pulled Mac aside. "Take care of my daughter."
"I will. I promise."
Linda's expression softened slightly. "You're a good man, Mac. Better than Brad." She paused. "Call me Linda. We're family now."
After everyone left, the apartment felt suddenly quiet.
Rachel was unpacking the last box when her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Unease spread through her middle.
Unknown: Rachel, it's Brad. Derek is threatening me.
He says if I don't help him "handle" the fallout from the town hall, he'll release information that could end my career.
I don't know what to do. Derek mentioned you specifically, said something about "finishing what he started.
" I think he's planning something. Please, can we meet? It’s important. —Brad
Rachel stared at the text, stiffening.
Brad. Reaching out. Wanting to meet.
"Rachel?" Mac appeared in the doorway. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Rachel handed him her phone without a word.
Mac read the text, his expression darkening. "This is Derek's revenge. Sending Brad after you."
"What do I do?"
"You block the number. Brad doesn't get to re-enter your life."
Rachel took her phone back, staring at Brad's words.
"Rachel, I can see you spiraling." Ma put a hand on hers. "What are you thinking?"
"What if he's telling the truth? What if there's more to the story? Maybe I did something wrong that can ruin Brad."
"Then he can tell you via text or call. He doesn't get to demand you meet him in person."
"But what if—"
"Rachel." Mac took her hands. "Even if Derek manipulated Brad, Brad still chose to humiliate you publicly. That's on him."
Rachel knew Mac was right.
But Brad's text sat on her phone like a bomb.
Things that aren't accurate.
"I don't know what to do," Rachel whispered.
Mac pulled her close. "You don't have to decide tonight. Just... don't respond yet. Sleep on it. We'll figure it out tomorrow."
Rachel nodded against his chest.
But even as Mac held her, her mind was spinning.
Brad wanted to explain.
And despite everything, part of Rachel wanted to hear what he had to say.