Page 39 of Just Like Home

He leaned back on the couch, his T-shirt pulling tight over his chest. “What a disaster.” He rubbed his face with both hands.

“What’s a disaster?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s okay.” She lingered a little too long, her insecurity working overtime. Why did she suddenly want to know everything about him? “Do you want something to drink?”

He nodded. “That’d be great.”

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, tossing it to him and closing the door with her foot.

“Thanks for this.” He opened the bottle and took a drink, then his phone buzzed in his pocket. He shifted to get it out, flipped it open, looked at the screen, clicked a button, and tossed the phone on the couch beside him. He looked up, found her staring, and quickly looked away. “Sorry. And I’m sorry to barge in on you unannounced.”

She studied him. Sandy-colored hair. Long, dark eyelashes covered deep-set, intense brown eyes. Differently developed muscles than the ballet boys she spent most of her time with. Sturdy jaw. Really lovely, manly-looking hands.

She leaned against the wall. She should go to bed. She really did have a big day in the morning.

But something about him kept her from moving. He seemed broken, and she was overcome with the desire to fix him. “Why are you here?” she asked quietly. “Families don’t usually come until the final performance.”

He scoffed. “Well, our family won’t be coming at all.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?” Julianna’s parents always came. Cole didn’t though. He always stayed behind for football practice. Probably couldn’t be bothered with his sister’s ballet, which was a shame because if that weren’t the case, Charlotte would’ve met him sooner.

And she really wished she’d met him sooner.

“I really need to talk to Jules,” he said. “I need to make sure she hears this from me.” He sighed. “She’s going to be crushed.”

“Hears what?” Now Charlotte was worried. Had someone died? Was someone sick? Whatever it was—she could see by the look on his face, it was bad. And he was here out of genuine concern for his sister.

What would it feel like to have someone care about you that much?

The door behind Charlotte opened and Julianna burst in. “Charlotte, you should’ve come! Nico did the dumbest thing—” At the sight of her brother, Julianna stopped. “Cole. What are you doing here?”

His eyes found Charlotte, and she quickly understood what he was too kind to say.

“I’ll leave you guys,” she said. She slipped into the bedroom and lay down in her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin and trying not to eavesdrop.

The low timbre of Cole’s voice made it difficult to hear what he was saying, but after he spoke for a few minutes, she heard Julianna’s quiet sobs.

“That can’t be right,” Jules said. “Mom would not do that to us.”

“Jules,” Cole said. “I’m not making it up. Mom’s gone.”

Sitting here now, in the cab of Cole’s truck, Charlotte couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to that sweet, kind older brother who’d traveled three hours to the city to track down his sister to make sure he was the one to give her the bad news that their mother had walked out on them.

In his place, there was now a cranky, irritating, angry man with no social skills and zero manners.

A man who gave up an entire day to take care of his brother-in-law’s lawn.

Charlotte shook the conflicting thoughts aside. “Yeah,” she finally said, answering his question. “That was me.”

13

So that was why Charlotte was familiar. They’d met several years ago. Why hadn’t she said anything before now? And why did he feel suddenly uncomfortable that she knew more about him than he’d thought?

He remembered that night. He remembered Julianna’s roommate—he’d been instinctively drawn to her for no good reason. Maybe he’d simply been in pain, and she was the one to show him kindness.

Whatever it was, Cole wouldn’t sort through it with her beside him. To that end, she spent lunch and the rest of the afternoon holding up both ends of the conversation.

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