said aloud.
Hildy sighed. “Time was, you couldn’t keep that girl off the dance floor.” She shook her head. “Poor thing.”
“Should we go after her?”
“Sometimes what they need most is a little time alone,” Hildy said. “But only a little time. I’ll keep an eye on the clock.”
Charlotte turned to the little girl in front of her and smiled. “You did a wonderful job, Jewel.”
“Thank you.” Jewel grabbed hold of the dress on either side and curtsied.
Charlotte stifled a smile as she curtsied back.
“Will you come back?” Jewel asked.
“I’ll try,” Charlotte said. “In the meantime, you can practice your positions.”
“Okay!” The little girl plunged herself forward, arms wrapped around Charlotte’s waist.
Charlotte’s hands went up as if someone had just said, This is a stick-up.
Jewel, still clinging to Charlotte, looked up and smiled. “You’re beautiful, Miss Charlotte.” And then she ran off, leaving Charlotte alone in the living room, basking in the glow of the heartfelt compliment.
And wanting more than ever to buy the dance studio and make a life in the little town that had wormed its way into her heart.
20
After the dance lesson, Jewel ran outside to play with the dogs, and Charlotte joined Hildy in the kitchen. She stood at the sink, filling a pitcher with water.
“She’s really sweet,” Charlotte said. “Maybe we could arrange for her to join a dance class or two?”
Hildy turned off the faucet, stuck a wooden spoon in the pitcher, and stirred. “Are you teaching?”
Charlotte sat on a stool opposite the counter. “I’m hoping to buy the dance studio. I’ve mentioned it to Connor a few times, but I haven’t heard back yet.”
“What a great idea,” Hildy said. “That would make Julianna so happy.”
“I hope so.” Charlotte wanted nothing more.
“I know so,” Hildy said. “Julianna would love seeing you here.”
Charlotte glanced out the window, then back to Hildy, who now leaned against the sink, arms folded across her chest. “Has Cole always volunteered here?”
“Oh, no.” Hildy put her glasses on and flipped through the photo album that still sat on the counter. She turned the book around and pushed it toward Charlotte, pointing to a photo of three boys, leaning against a fence, a big black horse behind them. “He lived here, for several months actually. He and those two boys were like brothers.”
“He lived here?”
“It’s a long story. We all fell in love with Cole. The quiet, troubled ones always steal my heart. The two boys in that photo stayed on the straight and narrow thanks to Cole Turner. Even then, even when everything was falling apart, he still had the biggest heart of anyone I knew.”
“Cole.” Charlotte studied the photo for several seconds, finding it hard to believe that the man she knew had anything but a heart of stone. He was about as warm and fuzzy as a boulder.
“Don’t let his act fool you. He might have a brick wall around him now—and for many good reasons—but if you can get past that, you’ll find a pot of gold.”
The sound of happy screams from outside caught their attention, and both Charlotte and Hildy moved toward the window overlooking a large lawn at the side of the house. Cole had set up a scrimmage of sorts and even roped Steve in to playing a game of touch football, something that had all the boys shouting and laughing.
Hildy motioned toward one of the boys, the one who appeared to be the youngest. “See that one?”
Charlotte nodded.
“Asher’s littlest brother, Henry. Asher is the quarterback on Cole’s team.”
Charlotte watched as the dark-headed boy tentatively joined the game. Cole knelt down next to him and explained something Charlotte was sure she wouldn’t understand. Then, he stood up, slapped Henry five, and set the boy up in line next to him.
The play began, and while Charlotte couldn’t understand any of what they were doing, she gathered it was good for Henry because he ended up with the ball, which he promptly ran all the way to the other end of the lawn while Cole and another boy blocked the others.
Henry reached the end, rolled on the ground, then stood up with the ball over his head, a huge smile on his face. Cole raced over to him and picked him up on his shoulders, then took him for a victory lap while the rest of them cheered.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen Henry smile since he’s been here,” Hildy said quietly.
Charlotte watched as Cole put the boy down and set them up to go again. Maybe Hildy