Page 30 of California Wild

“What happened?” she asked softly.

Jesse let out a slow breath, dragging a hand through his hair.

“I fucked up on a mission.” He shook his head. “Wasn’t thinking. Took a risk I shouldn’t have. Could’ve gotten someone killed.”

Her stomach twisted.

She knew Jesse was reckless, but this—this was different.

This was him admitting that he had crossed a line even he wasn’t willing to cross.

“Jesus, Jesse.”

He let out a sharp exhale, almost a laugh, but there was no humor in it.

“Yeah. That was pretty much the Chief’s reaction.”

A beat.

Then, quieter—“He benched me. For a long time. Wanted me off the team completely.”

Hayley’s pulse hammered. “And now?”

Jesse shrugged, gaze flicking back to her.

“Now? I’m sober.” His voice was steady, but his throat worked like he was still getting used to saying it. “Been a year.”

A year.

One year of sobriety.

One year of him trying to claw his way out of something that nearly swallowed him whole.

Hayley’s heart ached.

But she wasn’t sure if it was for him.

Or for the version of him she had once loved, the one she had walked away from because she thought he’d never be capable of being this person.

She wanted to forgive him.

But her heart wasn’t ready to trust it yet.

Jesse watched her, waiting.

Waiting for her to say something.

To confirm that this mattered.

That he mattered.

Finally, she took a slow breath. “I’m glad you’re doing better now.”

Jesse’s lips tugged into a small, tired smile. “Yeah. Me too.”

They stood there, side by side, the ocean stretching wide before them.

The silence between them was less heavy now.

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