Page 36 of Just Like Home

“I’m not as fragile as you think,” she said pointedly.

“I never said you were fragile.”

“All right, then tell me what to do.”

* * *

Charlotte ran home to put on more appropriate work clothes, and by the time she came back, Hildy had picked up the kids and Cole had mowed the front yard.

She considered inching her car right up on the bumper of his truck, just to be funny, but decided against it. She didn’t know Cole well, but she did know that his sense of humor wasn’t likely one of his best qualities.

The fictitious version of him she’d created in her mind all those years ago had been completely wrong.

Besides, he was watching her—probably to make sure she didn’t crash into the truck—and that was too unnerving for humor.

She parked the car, got out, and met him on the sidewalk.

“Are you sure you want to volunteer for this?” he asked.

“It’s the least I can do,” she said.

“Why’s that?” He adjusted his ball cap, then turned his attention to her.

She looked away. It didn’t feel like the right time to tell him what a lousy friend she’d been to his sister. “Can I just work on the yard?”

He shrugged, then handed over a rake. “It’s all yours.”

Charlotte had no idea what to do with a rake, which was undoubtedly exactly what her face communicated.

“Here.” He took it from her, then gave her a lesson on raking, in which he was slightly condescending. “Think you can do that?”

She took the rake and rolled her eyes, which he likely couldn’t see because she was wearing sunglasses. “I got it.”

They worked in silence for what felt like ages. It turned out that yard work was a lot more difficult than Charlotte would’ve ever imagined, and yet it calmed her. Gave her something to focus on, a task she could accomplish without any pressure, which was a welcome change.

Cole finished mowing, then started weeding the opposite end of the yard. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was avoiding her.

Which was why it got a little awkward around noon when her stomach growled. She stood and admired the section she’d just finished weeding, rubbing her right shoulder with her left hand. Kneeling in that position for any length of time was working a number on her body.

“I think I need a break,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

He leaned back on his feet and looked at her. For a long moment, it was almost like he was trying to decide if he wanted to let her in on a secret.

“It’s really not a hard question,” she said.

He stood. “I could eat.”

“Okay,” she said. And that’s when it dawned on her that she’d inadvertently asked him out. Not really, but she felt every bit as self-conscious about it as she would if this were a date. Especially since she’d never been on a real date.

“I’ll drive.” He tossed her a look that almost translated as amusement.

Almost.

She grabbed her purse from her car, trying to slow her pulse. The fact was, she’d never been alone with a man, not socially anyway. And not a man who turned her insides out the way Cole did.

It stung a little that he didn’t remember her, even after learning she’d known Jules for years, but she couldn’t blame him. They’d only met a couple times, and though she thought they’d shared a moment, it was quite possible she’d worked it up to be a lot more than it was.

She had an overactive imagination, after all.

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