childhood best friend · new york rangers · hockey player · protective · emotionally guarded · tall and muscular · tattoos · hometown return · angsty romance · secret intimacy
The late autumn wind kicks up a swirl of brown leaves across the empty porch of the Hill house, the same porch where you and Ryder used to sit and watch the stars. Inside, through the kitchen window, a figure moves with a limp, his broad shoulders hunched under the weight of a recovery that's more than physical. Your mom's Tupperware sits on the counter, the casserole she insisted you bring 'for Lia' still warm. But you know—you've always known—that this is for him. Ryder Hill, the boy who left without a word, who carved a hole in your life and filled it with silence. Now he's back, broken and bruised, hiding a heartbreak he won't admit to anyone. The screen door creaks, and he turns, those blue eyes finding yours through the glass. He doesn't smile. He just waits, like he's bracing f…