Chapter 4 #2
“Rachel!” Emma pulls me into a hug that smells like vanilla and worry. “We were so terrified when we heard you and Tommy were trapped inside.”
“We’re okay. Not even a scratch.” I extract myself before the group hug gets too intense. “Anyone heard from Doug and Linda?”
“They’re driving back from Seattle,” Marcus says. “Should be here tonight. Fire marshal won’t let anyone inside until the structural engineer signs off on it being safe.”
“Could be days before that happens,” Jennifer adds quietly. “Maybe longer.”
We stand there staring at the ruins. The morning sun makes everything look worse somehow, less like an emergency and more like permanent destruction.
I can see straight through to what used to be the kitchen from here, can see melted equipment and collapsed ceiling beams, and the whole reality of it crashes over me again.
This isn’t temporary. This isn’t something we recover from quickly.
This is just gone.
“What about paychecks?” Jennifer’s voice is small, apologetic. “I know it’s terrible timing to ask, but I have rent due next week.”
“I’ll make sure Doug knows everyone needs to get paid regardless of what happens with the building.” I pull out my phone to make a note. “Insurance should cover lost wages.”
“Think they’ll rebuild?” Emma asks.
“I honestly don’t know.” I take one last look at the café, trying to memorize it before it disappears completely. “I hope so.”
They eventually drift back to their cars, promising to stay in touch and share any news.
I linger for a few more minutes, absorbing the full scope of what I’ve lost. Not just the job or the paycheck.
The routine. The purpose. The evidence that I could come back to this town and actually make something work.
Three months. I lasted exactly three months before everything literally went up in flames.
I’m almost to my car when I notice Marco’s black SUV parked down the street. He’s inside doing whatever investigators do, and I’m grateful enough that he’s not approaching me with more questions that I don’t wait around to see if he changes his mind.
Back at the house, Jake’s disappeared into his office, which means I have the place to myself. I’m contemplating whether a second coffee is advisable when I hear vehicles pulling up outside.
Through the front window, I spot Cole’s truck and Theo’s Jeep in the driveway.
My heart does this stupid flutter thing that I immediately shut down because fluttering is not on today’s agenda.
They’re knocking before I can decide whether to pretend I’m not home. Jake materializes from his office and lets them in, and suddenly my quiet house is filled with broad-shouldered firefighters who smell like soap and summer and make the living room feel about half its normal size.
“Hey.” Cole’s eyes find mine immediately, and the concern in them makes my chest tight. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m alive, unemployed, and apparently internet famous against my will. Living the dream.” I stay planted on the couch because standing up feels like acknowledging something I’m not ready to face. “What brings you by?”
“Wanted to check on you,” Theo says, dropping into the armchair with effortless grace. His smile is genuine and warm, the kind that makes you want to smile back even when you’re drowning. “Make sure you’re actually okay after last night.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re really not.” Cole sits on the coffee table directly in front of me, which means I can’t avoid looking at him anymore. “You almost died, Rachel. That’s not something you shake off and move on from.”
“But I didn’t die. Tommy didn’t die. So technically we’re fine.” Even I can hear how hollow that sounds.
Jake drops onto the couch beside me. “We’re going to the lake this afternoon, all of us. You need to get out of your head for a few hours, and you can’t refuse to go.”
“I need to figure out what I’m doing about work. About bills. About my entire life that just burned down.”
“The bills can wait one afternoon.” Cole’s voice carries that lieutenant authority that makes you want to both argue and obey at the same time. “You’ve been through trauma. Take a few hours to breathe.”
“What about Tommy?”
“Sophie’s picking him up from school and keeping him until dinner,” Jake says. “You get an afternoon off from being Mom.”
I look at all three of them. Jake is wearing his protective, big-brother expression. Theo with those hopeful puppy eyes. Cole radiates that steady, unshakable presence that makes me believe everything will actually be okay.
“Fine. But if Marco shows up with more questions, I’m holding all of you responsible.”
“He’s actually coming with us,” Jake says.
“Then I’m drowning him in the lake.”
“That’s fair.”
By three o’clock, we’re loaded into two vehicles heading toward Millbrook Lake. The swimming spot sits on the north shore, away from the marina and tourist crowds. Locals only, the way it’s been for decades.
The afternoon sun beats down as we park near the tree line. I grab my bag from the trunk—swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, and a growing sense that this is either the best or worst idea anyone’s had today.
The changing shed sits about fifty feet from the water’s edge. Old, weathered wood, peeling paint, smells like mildew, and decades of summers. But it’s private, and right now that’s all I care about.
I duck inside and start stripping off my clothes. T-shirt first, then jeans. The shed door hasn’t locked properly in years, but everyone knows the rule around here. You knock before entering.
Apparently, Cole missed that memo.
The door swings open, and he walks in, already shirtless with swim trunks riding low on his hips, and we both freeze.
His eyes drop to my bra before snapping back up to my face. “Sorry. I didn’t think anyone was—”
“It’s fine.” My voice comes out steadier than I feel. “I’m almost done anyway.”
He should leave. Should turn around and give me privacy.
He doesn’t move.
The air between us shifts, gets thicker, heavier than the summer heat outside. I can hear my own heartbeat in my ears, can feel every inch of space between us like it’s a physical thing.
“I can go,” he says quietly.
“Or you could stay.” The words escape before I can stop them. “Help me with the sunscreen. I can’t reach my back.”
I watch his throat work as he swallows hard. “Rachel—”
“Just my back. Unless you want me to burn.” I turn around, presenting my bare shoulders, trying to keep my breathing steady.
His footsteps are quiet on the wooden floor. Then his hands are on me, warm and slightly rough, spreading sunscreen across my shoulders with slow, deliberate movements that have nothing to do with sun protection and everything to do with the fact that we’re alone in here and he’s touching me.
His thumb traces over the small snake tattoo on my left shoulder blade. The one I got when I turned twenty-one. The one Derek always said made me look cheap.
“I like this,” Cole murmurs, his voice low enough that I feel it more than hear it.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” His hand slides lower, following the curve of my spine, not applying sunscreen anymore, just touching me, learning the shape of my back like he’s memorizing it.
I turn around slowly. His blue eyes have gone dark, intense in a way that steals my breath.
“Cole—”
He kisses me.
Not gentle, not asking permission, just his mouth on mine and his hand sliding into my hair and his body pressing me back against the shed wall.
I kiss him back without thinking, without hesitating, like I’ve been waiting for this since I was fourteen and didn’t have words for what I wanted.
His other hand finds my waist and pulls me closer, and I can feel every muscle in his chest, every inch of bare skin against mine, and it’s not enough, I want more, I want—
“Rachel! Cole! You guys coming or what?” Jake’s voice cuts through the moment from somewhere outside.