38. Jamie
Chapter thirty-eight
Jamie
Forever Begins Here
I wake up before my alarm.
For a few seconds I lie still, listening to the familiar sounds of the cabin settling around me. Wind stirs gently through the pines outside my bedroom window, and somewhere down by the lake, a loon calls into the quiet morning.
Normally, I'd reach for my phone to check the day's schedule. Practice. Meetings. Community appearances. The endless list that always seems to accompany life as captain.
This morning, none of those things are the first thought in my head. Instead, I find myself smiling at the ceiling.
Today. The word settles warmly in my chest. Today, I'm buying an engagement ring. It still feels almost unbelievable. Not because I have any doubts.
Those disappeared somewhere between a hospital room, months of rehabilitation, and a stubborn intern who somehow managed to teach me that healing isn't just about bones and muscles. It’s about learning to let someone love every part of me.
For one reckless second, I'm tempted to tell Annette that tomorrow will be special but not tell her why. Just to hear her laugh before the day begins. Instead, I smile to myself. Tomorrow she'll understand why I couldn't stop smiling today.
I roll out of bed, shower, dress, and make coffee, moving through the cabin with the practiced ease that comes from years of calling this place home.
The mug is still warm in my hands when I step onto the porch. Morning sunlight dances across the lake, turning the water to silver. Everything looks exactly as it did yesterday.
The cabin. The dock. The winding trail that disappears into the trees.
Only one thing has changed. Yesterday I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Annette. Today I'm doing something about it.
I finish my coffee, set the empty mug in the sink, and quietly grab my truck keys. Before leaving, I pause beside the kitchen island long enough to text her a note.
Running into town. See you soon. Don't start any physical therapy programs without me.
I grin. She'll appreciate that…or roll her eyes. Possibly both.
***
The jewelry store doesn't open until ten, but I pull into the parking space at quarter to.
Old habits die hard.
The sidewalk outside Main Street Jewelers is still damp from the overnight rain, and the flower boxes beneath the front windows overflow with tulips that seem determined to announce spring to anyone willing to notice.
Across the street, Brooke unlocks the bookstore while two high school boys argue over whose turn it is to carry coffee into the hardware store.
Briar Cove wakes the way it always has. Slowly. Comfortably. As though everyone has quietly agreed there isn't much point in rushing through a good day.
I glance through the jewelry store window. The lights are still off. Probably for the best.
Buying a new hockey stick? Easy.
Negotiating a contract? Manageable.
Playing in front of eighteen thousand fans? No problem.
Choosing the ring my future wife will wear for the rest of her life? Apparently, that's enough to make a grown man arrive fifteen minutes early.
The bell over the bookstore next door jingles. "Captain?" I turn to find Mr. Ellison walking his golden retriever exactly as he does every Tuesday morning. "Morning, Mr. Ellison."
His eyes follow mine toward the jewelry store, and the corners of his mouth slowly lift. "Big day?"
I can't help smiling. "I hope so."
He nods thoughtfully. "She seems like a wonderful young woman."
"She is."
"I've noticed something."
"What's that?"
"You smile more these days."
I laugh. "So, I've been told."
His dog pauses long enough to sniff the tulips before Mr. Ellison gently tugs on the leash. As he continues down the sidewalk, he glances back over one shoulder. "Don't overthink it."
I grin. "That's ambitious."
At exactly ten o'clock, the lights flicker on inside the shop. A moment later the front door opens, and Margaret Collins steps outside carrying a small watering can.
She stops when she sees me standing there. "Jamie Walker."
"Good morning, Margaret."
She studies me for all of two seconds before a knowing smile spreads across her face. "You're not here to have your watch repaired."
"No."
"Or to replace your mother's birthday earrings."
"No."
Her smile grows warmer.
"Oh..."
She sets the watering can beside the door. "It's finally time."
I blink. "You knew this day was coming?"
She laughs as she opens the door. "My dear, half the town knows this day was coming."
I shake my head. "Was I the last one to figure it out?"
"Oh, by several months."
Still smiling, she holds the door open. "Come inside."
The familiar scent of polished wood and fresh flowers greets me as soft music drifts through the little shop. Glass cases sparkle beneath the morning sunlight, but somehow the room feels more like an old friend's living room than a jewelry store.
Margaret doesn't walk toward the display cases. She doesn't ask my budget. She doesn't mention diamonds. Instead, she disappears into the back room and returns carrying two steaming mugs of coffee. I look from the coffee to her with obvious confusion.
"I thought we were shopping."
"We are."
She hands me one mug before settling comfortably into a chair near the front window.
"But first..." She folds her hands around her coffee and smiles. "I want you to tell me about her."
For a moment I simply stare. "I beg your pardon?"
"The ring can wait." She gestures toward the chair across from her. "I've known you since you were twelve years old, Jamie. I know what kind of man you are." Her smile softens. "Now tell me about the woman who convinced Jamie Walker to walk into my shop looking nervous."
I laugh quietly. "I'm that obvious?"
"My dear..." She takes a leisurely sip. "You arrived fifteen minutes before the store opens.”
I shake my head. "I suppose that might have given me away."
"It certainly narrowed the possibilities."
For a moment I simply look into my coffee. Then, without realizing it, I smile. "Her name is Annette."
Margaret's expression brightens. "I know."
"Of course you do."
"I've seen the way you look at her."
I nod. "Then you already know the important part."
"No."
She smiles knowingly. "I know how you look at her.
" She leans forward just a little. "I want to know why.
" For the first time that morning, every trace of nervousness disappears.
Because I suddenly realize something. I'm not just here to buy a ring.
I'm also here to tell a friend the story of the woman I love.
***
So, I tell her. Not every detail, but enough. How Annette saw through the captain long before I knew how badly I needed someone to.
"I spent years making sure everyone around me knew they could lean on me." A smile touches the corners of my mouth. "I never gave anyone permission to let me lean on them."
Margaret is silent for a long moment before a gentle smile crosses her face. "I think that's why you're here today."
I look back at her. "What do you mean?"
"You're not buying a ring because you've fallen in love." She let the words settle before continuing. "You're buying a ring because you've finally learned how to share your life."
For several seconds I couldn’t answer, not because I disagree, but because she had somehow managed to say, in one sentence, what had taken me months to understand.
Rising from her chair, she walks to the nearest display case, though she still makes no move to unlock it.
"Every ring in this room eventually becomes part of a family," she says softly.
"Some couples come back twenty-five years later for anniversary bands.
Others bring their sons and daughters through these very doors to choose rings of their own. "
She rests one hand lightly on the glass. "I've learned something over the years."
"What's that?"
"The happiest marriages never begin with someone trying to buy the biggest diamond."
I can't help smiling. "That's fortunate."
She laughs before reaching into the case. "They begin with someone who already knows exactly who they're asking."
One by one, she places three small velvet boxes on the counter between us.
I look down at the little collection. "They're going to be beautiful."
She opens the first box to a classic solitaire caught the morning sunlight, scattering tiny points of light across the velvet cloth.
"The diamond is lovely," she says. "Simple. Elegant. Timeless."
She closes the lid before opening the second. “This setting carries delicate vintage details that remind me of another era altogether. I've always thought this one looked like a promise that's already kept."
Finally, she opens the third box.
The moment I see it; the rest of the room seems to fade quietly into the background.
The ring isn't extravagant. It isn't trying to impress anyone. A brilliant round diamond rests in a graceful platinum setting, flanked by two smaller stones that seem to draw every bit of attention toward the center instead of competing with it.
Without realizing it, I smile.
Margaret notices immediately. "You looked at that one differently."
"I did."
"What do you see?"
For several moments I simply study it. Then I find myself answering without thinking. "I don't see something flashy. I see something that will still be beautiful fifty years from now."
A smile spreads slowly across her face. "So do I." She gently turns the ring beneath the light one final time before sliding the velvet box toward me. "I think," she said quietly, "you've just met Annette."
***
Margaret carefully nestles the ring back into its velvet box before closing the lid with practiced hands. For just a moment, neither of us reaches for it.
Instead, we both look at the tiny box resting between us. It’s remarkable, really. Something so small. Something that will change the rest of my life.
Finally, she slides it gently across the glass countertop. "I'll wrap it for you."
I smile. "Thank you."
She disappeared into the workroom for only a minute before returning with the little box tucked inside a simple cream gift bag. There are no oversized bows or elaborate ribbons, just understated elegance that somehow feels exactly right.
I slip the bag carefully into the inside pocket of my jacket, instinctively resting one hand over it before looking back at her.
"I don't know how to thank you."
"You already did."
I frowned slightly. "I did?"
She smiles, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "You spent the last half hour telling me about the woman you love."
A warmth settles quietly in my chest. "I suppose I did."
"And I think," she says, reaching across the counter to squeeze my hand, "she's going to treasure the man giving her that ring far more than the ring itself."
I laugh softly. "I certainly hope so."
She walks with me to the front door, holding it open as the fresh spring air drifts into the little shop. Just before I step onto the sidewalk, she calls after me. "Jamie?"
I turn.
"When she says yes..."
Not if.
When.
"...bring her back so I can meet her."
I can't help smiling. "I will."
"I'd like that."
"So would I."
Outside, Main Street looks exactly as it had an hour earlier.
I wave at Sadie who is arranging fresh bread in the bakery window.
A pair of children race past on bicycles, laughing as they disappear toward the park.
Life in Briar Cove simply continues, blissfully unaware that tucked safely inside my jacket is the beginning of my future.
I climb into the truck but don't start the engine right away. Instead, my hand finds the small gift bag once more.
It’s still hard to believe, not that I love Annette. That part has become wonderfully certain. The remarkable part is realizing that in less than twenty-four hours, she could become my fiancée.
The thought makes me smile all over again.
Later I pull into the parking lot of Walker Rehabilitation. The receptionist looks up from her desk and smiles as I walked through the front doors.
"Back already?"
"I was hoping my parents have a minute."
"I had a feeling you might stop by today."
She disappears down the hallway before I can ask how she knew. Apparently, everyone in Briar Cove has become an expert at reading my face.
Mom appears first. She takes one look at me and smiles. "You bought the ring."
I laugh. "How do mothers always know?"
"Oh, sweetheart." She slips her arm through mine as we walk toward Dad's office. "We've known you your entire life."
Dad looks up from his desk as we stepped inside. His eyes moved from my face to the inside pocket of my jacket before a slow smile spreads across his own. "I'd say congratulations," he said, standing to greet me, "but I have a feeling the congratulations are a day early."
"I hope so."
"I think hope has very little to do with it."
***
For a few moments, the three of us simply stand together. No speeches seemed necessary. They already knew. Not just what I was planning to do. Why.
Dad walks to the old oak coat rack near the window and reaches into the pocket of the jacket hanging there.
When he turns back, something small rests in the palm of his hand.
A worn silver coin. The edges have been softened by decades of being carried in someone's pocket.
He holds it for a moment before placing it in my hand.
"I carried this the day I asked your mother to marry me. "
I look down at the little coin. "I've carried it ever since."
My throat tightens. "Dad..."
He closes my fingers gently around it. "I think it's your turn."
The coin isn't valuable. It probably isn't even rare.
But I can't imagine owning anything more precious.
It represents every ordinary Tuesday, every difficult season, every quiet decision to choose one another again, and every year that has made my parents' marriage the example I hope to follow someday.
Dad rests one hand on my shoulder. "You don't need luck." His smile is quiet but certain. "You already found the right woman."
I swallow hard before nodding. "I know."
He gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Then go ask her."
A few minutes later I find myself sitting alone in the truck. The ring rested safely inside my jacket. Dad's silver coin in the palm of my hand.
I turn it over once before slipping it into my jeans pocket. It feels right there, like it belongs.
For months I've been fighting to get my life back. I'd thought recovery meant skating again, playing again, leading my team again.
Now I understand. Recovery has never been the finish line. It has simply been the road that led me here. I rest one hand over the ring hidden inside my jacket and smile as I started the engine.
Tomorrow...
I am going to ask the woman I love to spend forever with me.