Chapter 11
Rachel sat in front of her desk in her classroom at Baytown High School, watching Emma Bunswick, Laura Drummond, and Cindy Coates sprawled in student chairs, their lunch bags open between them.
The familiar comfort of her three best friends sharing her lunch break made the classroom feel more like home than work.
Cindy worked at the school as a teacher, Laura as a counselor, and Emma worked for Child Protective Services.
Emma had been in a meeting with Laura and joined the two other women for an impromptu lunch in an empty classroom.
“So then Rob literally tried to convince me that his grading papers during our date was 'romantic quality time together,'” Emma said, rolling her eyes but smiling.
The three women had grown up on the Eastern Shore, left for college, but found their way back home.
Emma continued, “I mean, I love that he teaches middle school math, and our schedules are similar, but sometimes a girl just wants dinner and a movie, you know?” Her father, Terry Bunswick, was Captain of the North Heron Drug Task Force, and Emma had inherited his dry sense of humor along with his stubborn streak.
Rachel found it interesting to watch Emma navigate dating while living in a small community where everyone knew her former high school boyfriend was still interested.
“That sounds exactly like something one of my dates would say, and it would be fine with my dad since he doesn’t like anyone I date.
” Cindy laughed, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear.
As Ryan Coates’s daughter, she'd grown up around the Marine Police station and had stories that could rival anyone's.
“Tell me about it,” Laura complained. “I’ve finally found an apartment that I love, and my stepdad wanted to run a background check on my neighbors. I think he settled for just checking to see no one was on the sex offender list.”
Rachel knew that Laura’s stepdad was a detective in the county, and like the rest of them, had overprotective father figures.
She smiled and took a bite of her sandwich, letting the easy banter wash over her.
Several years of teaching English and Creative Writing at Baytown High had given her a sense of purpose she'd never expected.
Every day, she helped students find their voices, craft their stories, and discover the power of words.
It was exactly what she was meant to do.
Her phone buzzed on the desk beside her, and Rachel glanced at the screen. Her smile widened involuntarily.
“Oh, look at that face,” Emma said, pointing with her apple. “That text isn’t from ‘just a friend.’”
“What? No, it's nothing.” Rachel tried to school her expression, but the warmth in her chest betrayed her.
“Must be from David,” Cindy said knowingly, exchanging a glance with Laura.
Rachel felt her cheeks heat. “It’s just a funny meme. It's not a big deal.”
“From Shiloh?” Cindy pressed, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Huffing, Rachel rolled her eyes. “If you must know, Ms. Nosy, it’s from Carrie Hudson.”
“Jack’s mom!” Cindy’s eyes bugged out. “I know you’re friends with her… hell, we all know her. But isn’t it kind of weird sometimes?”
The question hit like a punch to the gut even though Rachel should have expected it.
With best friend status, Cindy had had a front-row seat to the agony Rachel went through with the breakups, the distance, and trying and failing to make it work with Jack.
“No, it’s really not weird. I don’t talk to Carrie often, but occasionally, she’ll send a text or message.
Kind of like she’s just checking in on me. ”
“Does she talk about Jack?” Emma asked, her lunch now abandoned.
“Occasionally… but mostly she’s just being nice.”
“Let’s face it, she really wanted you for a daughter-in-law!” Cindy announced before wadding up her potato chip bag and tossing it into the trash can.
Rachel set down her sandwich, appetite suddenly gone. “I haven't talked to Jack in a while, other than text messages.”
“But you still think about him,” Laura said gently. It wasn't a question.
Rachel looked out the window at the students milling around the courtyard.
Her gaze fell on Carson Hudson, Jack’s younger brother.
He was now in ninth grade and in her English class.
It always struck her that he not only looked so much like Jack but was also the same age as when she first fell for him.
Turning back to the women, she nodded. “Of course I think about him. More than I should. But the years have passed, and we just message to keep up with each other. He's living his life, and I'm living mine, but we promised to stay friends.”
But he hadn't mentioned what he wanted to do next. Hadn't said if he was staying in Virginia or moving somewhere else. He hadn't indicated whether he was with someone or bringing anyone home to meet his parents.
“The last we emailed, he was getting out of the Navy but hadn’t mentioned what he was planning to do.
” Rachel blew out a long breath. “He didn’t tell me his plans, and I didn’t ask,” Rachel said, keeping her voice neutral.
In truth, asking would mean hearing an answer that might gut her like so many times before.
She'd worked hard to build a life that didn't revolve around her feelings for Jack Hudson.
“But you wish you did know,” Emma said softly.
Rachel met her friend's knowing gaze. “It doesn't matter what I wish. He's moved on. I've moved on. That's how it works.”
“Have you, though?” Cindy's question was gentle but pointed. “Because David is great, Rachel. He's good-looking, fit, and clearly adores you. Yet you keep him at arm's length.”
“I'm not—” Rachel started to protest, then stopped.
Because Cindy was right. David Peterson was wonderful.
He taught history at the high school, coached wrestling, and was always around.
He even made her laugh. They'd been going out as friends for a few months, and he'd been nothing but patient and kind.
But when he'd tried to have the “where is this going” conversation last week, Rachel had deflected. When he'd hinted at taking her home to Roanoke to meet his family, she'd changed the subject. When he kissed her, it was nice.
But it didn't set her soul on fire the way Jack's kisses had.
“Well, as much as I loved the idea of you and Jack together,” Cindy said, her voice taking on a teasing tone, “I have to admit that David is really great! I can only imagine what a good kisser he must be—”
“Hush!” Rachel couldn't help but laugh despite the ache in her chest. “The kids are coming back.”
“And that’s my cue to get back to my office,” Emma said. “Thank goodness it’s a short drive.”
Laura and Cindy laughed as they gathered their lunch bags, both giving Rachel knowing looks as they headed for the door.
“Just think about it,” Cindy said. “Life's too short to wait for what might not ever happen when someone wonderful is at your fingertips.”
It was true that David Peterson was a great date. He was the kind of man any woman would be lucky to have.
Yet she couldn't quite see herself with him forever.
Rachel set her phone down and rubbed her temples. The problem wasn't David. It was her. She had a hard time seeing forever with anyone other than Jack. Even after all these years. Even after he'd placed her squarely in the friend zone and left her there, seemingly without a backward glance.
Their emails over the past five years had been sparse, filled with careful updates on career milestones or brief holiday greetings. It was the kind of correspondence you'd have with an old friend, not someone who'd once been your whole world. He had lived a life that had nothing to do with her.
But after experiencing that level of love, she wasn’t willing to settle for just nice.
Rachel sat alone in her classroom, staring at her phone.
Carrie's text was still on the screen, making her smile. When she saw Carrie at the grocery store or around town, Rachel would always make polite conversation. And Carrie, with her gentle, knowing eyes, would update Rachel on Jack’s life.
Deployments. Promotions. Where he was in the world.
Carrie never mentioned whether Jack was seeing anyone, and Rachel never asked.
But she suspected his mom kept things gentle on purpose, protecting both of them from information that might hurt.
Rachel also suspected that Carrie had always hoped she and Jack would end up together. The thought made her chest ache.
Picking up her lunch bag, she walked around to the back of her desk and placed it in the drawer where she kept her purse.
Rachel pulled up her email and scrolled to the folder where she'd saved every message from Jack over the years. There were not many recent ones. The last one came two weeks ago. Short, professional almost.
Hey Rach. Hope you're doing well. I'm finishing up my time with the Navy. I will be out-processing soon, then will go into the Reserves. How's teaching going?
She'd responded with equal casualness, congratulating him on his service. Neither of them had mentioned the elephant in the room… what he was going to be doing.
Rachel closed her email and opened her messages instead, scrolling to David's name. His last text before Carrie’s meme had been short and to the point. Dinner Saturday?
She should say yes. Should let herself be happy with someone who was actually available and wanted to build a future. A future that was in the same place as her.
Her fingers hovered over her phone, but she couldn't make herself type the words.
Rachel figured that one day, Jack would meet someone. Someone who fit into his Navy life, who could handle the deployments and the distance. Someone who wasn't her. And she wondered how his mom would react when Jack finally brought that woman home to meet them.
But now Jack was out-processing from the Navy, yet he hadn't mentioned what he wanted to do next. Was he going to visit his family in Virginia before moving on? Was he with someone? If so, was he bringing her home?
She wished him well, but she always felt a little pang in her heart when she heard from him, knowing he had a life she knew little about. Knowing he was out there somewhere, living and breathing and being without her.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
Rachel closed her phone without answering David’s dinner invitation.
She stood, smoothed her skirt, and took a deep breath.
In five minutes, her classroom would be filled with juniors ready to discuss their creative writing assignments.
She needed to be present, focused, and the teacher they deserved.
But as students filed in, chattering and laughing, Rachel couldn't quite shake the melancholy that had settled over her. Jack was out-processing and making decisions about his future that would determine where he would go to live, possibly to disappear back to the other side of the country. After all, he’d spent the past ten years based out of California.
He probably felt like a West Coaster by now.
She pulled up her lesson plan and called the class to attention. “All right, everyone. Today, we're going to talk about the power of setting in storytelling. How the places we choose to anchor our stories can reflect the internal landscapes of our characters.”
As she talked, gesturing to examples on the board, part of her mind wandered to her own internal landscape.
To the tiny Pennsylvania community that had shaped her childhood and early adolescence.
To the bay that had been her sanctuary since she was fourteen.
To the town that had become home. To the school where she'd found her purpose.
And to the man who'd been her first love, her first heartbreak, her first everything.
Rachel pushed the thoughts aside and focused on her students, on their eager faces and thoughtful questions. This was her life now. Teaching. Friends. David's patient affection. It was a good life. A full life. But not the life she’d once dreamed of.