Page 84 of Offside for Christmas
"I said I need time." Cole's jaw was tight.
"Cole, listen to me. They need an answer by Christmas. That's one week. Seven days. Don't screw this up because you've gotten comfortable in Vermont, or whatever's going on up there. This is your life we're talking about."
"I'll call you back."
"Cole—"
He hung up.
For a moment, he just stood there in the parking lot, phone in hand, Christmas lights twinkling above them, the distant sound of carol singers still drifting from the town square. It should have been magical. Should have been perfect.
Instead, it felt like the end of everything.
"They want you back," Ellie said quietly. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah."
"When?"
"January 2nd."
He watched her do the math, saw the moment it hit her. "That's two weeks."
"I know."
"Are you taking it?" Her voice was carefully neutral, but he could hear the tremor underneath.
"I don't know."
"Cole." She stepped closer, and even in the dim light, he could see the tears gathering in her eyes. "This is your dream. Your career. Everything you've worked for. You have to take it."
"Do I?"
"Yes. You worked your whole life for this."
"I worked my whole life to be miserable?" The words came out harsher than he'd intended. "To have no life outside hockey? To be alone? To be traded every year and never have a home?"
"You won't be alone—"
"I will if I leave you." He grabbed her hands, desperate for her to understand. "Ellie, I will be completely alone if I leave you. This—" he gestured between them, toward the square, the town "—this is the first time in my life I haven't been alone."
Ellie pulled her hands away, taking a step back. "Don't. Don't make me the reason you don't go."
"You're notareason. You'rethereason."
"That's too much pressure, Cole. I can't be responsible for your career decisions."
"I'm not asking you to be responsible!" His voice rose, frustration bleeding through. "I'm asking what you want. What do you want, Ellie?"
"I want you to do what's right for you."
"What if you're what's right for me?"
"What if you're wrong?" Her voice cracked. "What if you stay and in a year, two years, you resent me for it? What if you watch your teammates on TV and think about what you gave up? What if I become the anchor around your neck instead of the person you love?"
"That wouldn't happen—"
"You don't know that." Tears were streaming down her face now. "Cole, this is the NHL. This is everything you've wanted since you were a kid. Since your grandmother sacrificed everything to put you in skates and drive you to practices and believe in you when no one else did. You can't throw that away for a relationship that's a few weeks old."
