Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Cole
Ihear them before I see them.
The soft murmur of voices from the bedroom, followed by Jalen’s low laugh and Sierra’s answering giggle. The sound makes me smile into my coffee mug even as something bittersweet twists in my chest.
Yesterday, Malik, Dax, and I spent hours clearing the driveway.
Branches everywhere, debris scattered like someone had picked up half the neighborhood and shaken it like a snow globe.
We’d worked in companionable silence mostly, the kind that comes from years of knowing each other well enough that words aren’t always necessary.
When we finally made it back inside all muddy, exhausted, and ready to collapse, we found Jalen and Sierra in the nest.
Locked together on his knot, both of them fast asleep.
Sierra had been curled against Jalen’s chest, one hand wrapped around his neck, looking more peaceful than I’d seen her since this whole thing started. And Jalen? Jalen had this expression on his face. Even in sleep, he looked like someone had handed him the world and told him he could keep it.
Dax had taken one look and immediately started backing out of the room.
“Leave them,” he’d whispered. “They earned this.”
“Agreed,” Malik had murmured.
And I couldn’t argue. Because if anyone deserved that moment of pure contentment, it was Jalen.
He thinks he hid it from us—his thing for Sierra. The way he’d light up whenever she was mentioned at industry events. How he’d linger near her at conferences, always finding excuses to be in her orbit. The careful way he studied her work, learning her style, understanding her preferences.
He thought he was being subtle.
He wasn’t.
We all knew. Have known for months, probably longer. And watching him yesterday, finally getting what he’d wanted for so long, finally allowed to show Sierra how he felt without hiding it...
Yeah. That was worth clearing a driveway for.
Now it’s morning, and the world outside the windows is almost absurdly beautiful. The storm has completely cleared, leaving behind brilliant sunshine and an ocean so calm it looks like glass. The kind of perfect beach day that people pay thousands of dollars to experience.
The kind of day we actually booked this place for in the first place.
Before everything got complicated.
I’m pouring my second cup of coffee when I hear footsteps down the hall. Jalen appears first, and I have to bite back a grin.
He looks thoroughly rumpled. His low-cut coils are flattened on one side from sleep, and he’s wearing the same sweatpants from yesterday, no shirt.
There are faint scratches on his shoulders that must have come from Sierra’s nails, definitely, and a hickey blooming on his collarbone like a black bruise against his dark skin.
But it’s his expression that really gives him away. He looks... satisfied. Content. Like the cat that got into the cream and has zero regrets about it.
“Morning,” I say, keeping my voice carefully neutral even though I’m smirking.
“Morning,” he replies, and I’m pretty sure there’s a flush creeping up his neck that’s absolutely adorable.
“Sleep well?” I can’t help asking.
“Very well, thank you.” His tone is almost dignified.
Sierra appears behind him, and oh, she’s just as bad.
Her hair is an absolute disaster. There’s a piece sticking straight up that makes her look like she stuck her finger in an electrical socket. And her face is flushed pink, her lips slightly swollen, a hickey of her own blooming on her neck.
She looks like she’s been thoroughly, completely ravaged.
Good for Jalen.
“Coffee?” I offer, holding up the pot.
“God, yes,” Sierra says, moving toward me.
I pour her a mug, and she wraps both hands around it like it’s the Holy Grail, taking a long sip and making this sound that’s borderline pornographic.
“Okay,” she says after another sip, eyes closing. “Now I’m ready to face the day.”
“Big plans?” I ask innocently.
Her eyes open, and she gives me a look that says she knows exactly what I’m not saying. But there’s a smile tugging at her lips, so I count it as a win.
“Actually,” I say, because I’ve been thinking about this since I woke up and saw the sunshine, “I have a proposal.”
“Oh?” Sierra’s eyebrows rise.
“The storm’s over. The beach is right there. We’re stuck here for at least another day while the main roads get cleared.” I gesture toward the windows, toward the absolutely perfect weather outside. “We might as well actually enjoy the beach vacation we paid for.”
There’s a pause while they both process this. I can see Sierra working through it, probably analyzing all the reasons why it’s a terrible idea.
“That’s actually brilliant,” Jalen says, surprising me. He’s looking at Sierra with this hopeful expression. “When’s the last time you just... played? Did something fun without any agenda?”
Sierra opens her mouth, presumably to argue, then closes it. Her brow furrows. “I... actually…the first day I got here. It felt good. It’s not something I…get to do a lot.”
“Exactly,” I say, pouncing on the admission. “So let’s fix that. One day. No thinking about what comes next, no worrying about tomorrow. Just... a day at the beach.”
I can see her wavering. See the moment she goes from “this is impractical” to “but I want to.”
“What about food?” She asks, which I’m taking as a yes.
“We’ve got plenty,” I assure her. “Sandwiches, fruit, those pretzels you like. We can have a proper beach picnic.”
“I like pretzels?” She looks surprised that I know this.
“Yes,” I say. “You won half the bag.”
Sierra snorts, and the smile that spreads across her face is worth everything. “Let’s do it. Let’s have a beach day.”
“Yes!” I pump my fist in victory, which makes her laugh.
Dax and Malik emerge from wherever they’ve been hiding, probably giving Jalen and Sierra space, the considerate bastards, and I pitch the beach plan to them.
“I’m in,” Dax says immediately. “The ocean is calm. Might as well actually enjoy it.”
“Agreed,” Malik adds. “We should take advantage while we can.”
While we can.
The words hang in the air for a moment, but I refuse to let the thought drag me down. Not today.
“Beach attire, people!” I announce. “Meet back here in twenty minutes.”
There’s a flurry of movement as everyone scatters to change. I head to my bag and pull out the swim trunks I’d packed with such optimism a week ago. Back when this was supposed to be a simple vacation. Before everything got wonderfully, impossibly complicated.
When we reconvene in the kitchen, I have to actively work to keep my jaw from dropping.
Sierra’s wearing this black bikini that makes her skin glow. It’s modest by most standards, but on her, it’s devastating. Her hair hangs over her shoulders, and she’s got sunglasses perched on her head.
She looks like a beach goddess, and I’m absolutely going to drown today because I won’t be able to stop staring.
“Ready?” she asks, and I realize I’ve been standing there like an idiot.
“Very ready,” I manage.
We load up with supplies. We’ve got towels, the cooler I packed with food and drinks, sunscreen, Malik’s speaker, and a beach umbrella I found in the garage. Dax carries most of it because he’s a show-off, and we make our way down to the beach.
The sand is still a bit sticky from the storm, but warming quickly in the sun. The ocean stretches out before us, impossibly blue and calm, like the past few days of violence never happened.
“It’s beautiful,” Sierra breathes, stopping at the edge of the beach to just... look.
And she’s right. It is beautiful.
But I’m not looking at the ocean.
We set up camp near the water, towels spread out, umbrella anchored in the sand for shade, cooler positioned within easy reach. Very important, the cooler accessibility.
“Okay,” I announce once we’re settled. “Beach rules.”
“There are rules?” Sierra asks, amused.
“Of course, there are rules. Beach days require structure.”
“This should be good,” Malik mutters.
“Rule one,” I continue, ignoring him. “No checking phones. No emails, no work, no outside world.”
“I can live with that,” Sierra says.
“Rule two: If someone suggests a game, activity, or general shenanigans, the answer is yes unless you have a very good reason.”
“Define ‘very good reason,’” Dax says.
“Imminent death.”
“That’s the only acceptable reason?” Sierra’s laughing now.
“The only one,” I confirm solemnly. “Rule three: Sunscreen is mandatory and will be applied by pack members to ensure complete coverage.”
“Oh, will it?” Sierra’s eyebrows rise, but she’s smiling.
“Safety first,” I say innocently. “Someone could burn.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And finally, rule four: Whatever happens on beach day stays on beach day. No overthinking, no analyzing, no worrying about tomorrow. Just today.”
The last rule lands heavier than the others. I can see it in the way Sierra’s expression shifts, understanding settling over her features.
“Just today,” she repeats softly.
“Just today,” I confirm.
There’s a moment of silence, then Sierra takes a deep breath and nods.
“Okay,” she says. “Just today. I can do that.”
“Excellent!” I clap my hands together. “Now, who needs sunscreen?”
“I volunteer to help Sierra,” Jalen says immediately.
“Subtle,” Dax mutters.
“I wasn’t trying to be subtle.”
Sierra laughs and sits down on one of the towels, pulling her hair fully out of the way. “Have at it.”
I watch Jalen squeeze sunscreen into his hands and start working it across Sierra’s shoulders with the kind of reverent care usually reserved for priceless artifacts. She makes this small contented sound, and my own hands itch with the desire to touch her like that.
“You good with me helping?” I ask, grabbing the sunscreen bottle.
Sierra glances back at me, and there’s something in her expression. Heat, maybe. Or just... awareness. “Yeah. I’m good.”