Page 53 of Just Like Home

“Do you want a tour of the theatre?” Rachel asked. “I mean, I could open it up for you.”

“You’re—”

“Silas Kent’s daughter. He’s the owner.”

Charlotte glanced at Cole. It wasn’t likely he wanted to spend any more time with her than absolutely necessary. To her surprise, he gave her an affirmative shrug. “Do you want to check it out before we head out to Haven House?”

“It’s part of a campground, right?” Charlotte asked.

“Sort of a resort?” There was a question in her voice. “I never knew exactly how to describe Wonderland.”

“Wonderland?”

“That’s what it’s called. You’ll have to see it to understand, but you’ll also have to use your imagination because, unfortunately, my dad’s really let it go.”

“I’d love a tour,” Charlotte said. “It’ll be good for me to get my bearings.”

The other woman beamed. “Great! I’ll meet you over there, but give me a head start to give my dad fair warning.”

Cole nodded. “Will do.”

Rachel left, and Cole met Charlotte’s eyes. “Ready?”

She realized she was about to get into Cole’s truck and drive just outside of town with him. Alone. And then out to Haven House. Alone. It felt different than going on a sandwich run.

Maybe it felt different because she was horribly aware of him, of the way he moved—a cool, confident stride—of the way people responded to him, of the way he hardly seemed to notice. He was deliciously masculine in all the best ways, and though Charlotte wanted nothing more than to deny his attractiveness, to do so would be a lie.

Okay, so what? He was good-looking—big deal. That didn’t make him her dream guy. That didn’t even make him someone worth dating.

And really! Why was she even thinking about it? It’s not like she needed to entertain the idea—he was hardly scrambling to ask her out.

Now she’d gone and flustered herself. Shoot. She followed him out to the parking lot, where his red truck was waiting for them.

He stepped in front of her and opened the passenger side door, and Charlotte came to a quick stop. She glanced at him, but he wasn’t looking at her, just standing there, holding the door, looking off in the opposite direction.

Cole Turner was holding the door open? For her? A tingle raced up her spine and back down again.

She didn’t want to make him feel weird about it, so she quietly slipped into the truck without a word. He checked to make sure she was completely inside, then closed the door, giving her enough time to contemplate the strange irony of the rudest person she knew doing something so oddly chivalrous.

And she couldn’t reconcile it in her mind.

Maybe there was more to Cole Turner than met the eye.

17

Not surprisingly, the ride to the theatre was silent. They drove through town and out onto country roads dotted with the occasional farmhouse. After about twenty minutes, they pulled onto a road nearly hidden by full, green trees and made their way back into the woods.

Cole slowed down, carefully navigating the winding roads, and Charlotte marveled at the cabins nestled up into the trees. Not quite camping, but not quite a resort either. It was the perfect mix of nature and luxury.

Or at least it could be. The cabins were fairly run down.

“This place is amazing.”

Cole didn’t look away from the road. “It used to be. It still could be, I think, but Silas just stopped caring about it.”

“People used to come here for shows?”

“Not just shows. For canoeing and relaxing and kayaking.” He pointed to a large building with a wide wraparound porch. “That’s the lodge. There’s a restaurant in there that served nice dinners and yeah, the theatre was always a big draw.”

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