The sun blazed overhead, a white-hot coin hammered into a sky the color of bleached coral. Heat shimmered off the sand in visible waves, turning the beach into a griddle; every footfall left a fleeting print that the wind erased almost before it formed. Salt crusted the air, thick enough to taste on the back of the tongue, mingling with sunscreen and the faint, sweet rot of kelp baking on the tideline.
Waves rolled in with a steady, muscular hush, their crests catching the light like knife edges before they shattered into foam.
The blonde stepped back, hands raised, palms out—slow, deliberate, the way you'd calm a spooked horse.
His boys followed suit, backing off, spreading their hands like I was a wild animal they didn't want to spook.
A girl in a teal one-piece paused mid-step, iced coffee dripping condensation down her wrist; a kid with a boogie board froze, mouth half open. Even the lifeguard on the tower leaned forward, whistle forgotten against his lips.
