Page 127 of California Wild

She didn’t have to.

Because when she looked at him—really looked—there was no more hiding.

And Jesse?

He was already gone.

Falling.

Maybe he always had been.

He just hadn’t realized he’d landed right here.

With her.

Chapter 19

By the time they got back to his place, Hayley was swaying on her feet.

She didn’t say much. Just blinked at him like she was trying to keep her world in focus, like she was willing herself to stay upright. She was running on fumes. He could see it in her eyes, the way she clung to the last bit of energy like she was trying to prove something.

“You good?” Jesse asked, catching her elbow when she stumbled on the top step.

She leaned into him, her forehead pressing into his shoulder. “Barely.”

He grunted, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Yeah. That tracks. Pregnancy is rough.”

“I’m just so drained all the time.”

She didn’t fight him when he guided her inside—just sighed, soft and warm against his chest.

Once they were through the door, she kissed him and drifted toward the bedroom. No final word. Just barefoot silence and the sound of clothes dropping to the floor.

Jesse stood in the kitchen, watching the empty space she left behind.

He exhaled through his nose. Part of him wanted to follow her. Kiss her. Fuck her. Hold her. The other part knew she needed rest. She’d pushed through the whole night—smiling, laughing, pretending everything was fine. But he knew better.

She was unraveling, too. Just in a quieter way.

He opened the fridge, pulled out a protein bar and the last of the grilled chicken he’d made earlier that day. His body was trained to function like this—eat when you can, sleep when you can, shut your mind down in between. It was easier when you treated life like another deployment.

He didn’t even realize he was chewing until he was finished.

“Babe, you want anything?” he called out.

Silence.

He waited, then shook his head.

Of course not.

When he stepped into the bedroom, she was already out cold. Curled on his side of the bed, wearing his shirt—like she couldn’t even help it anymore. Like her body knew where it was safe.

She looked young like that. Bare. Small. Fragile in a way she never let herself be when awake.

Jesse’s chest tightened. That old instinct—the one to protect, to shield, to fix—surged in his gut.

But what the hell was he even protecting her from?

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