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“You should ask Cole to take you for a ride on the beach. Cole acts like he doesn’t like horses, but the truth is that he learned to ride when he was younger. Cole gets along with about every horse he meets.”
Cole on a horse? The idea strikes me as odd.
“I’ll have to ask him about that,” I say noncommittally. “Alas, I’m here today to work.”
Sarah gives me a knowing smile, and glances at the papers I’m clutching. “I’m guessing those are for Cole?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Let me show you to his wing of the house.”
Is this house so large that all of the Bennett kids have their own wing? It looks big from the outside, but this tour is really eye opening as to just how big. Looking at the well-appointed hallways, the sleek beige and white decor, and occasional cozy sitting areas that Sarah leads me past, I am inclined to believe it.
“Is it just y’all here? Or do you have a staff? I imagine that cleaning a house this size would be an unbelievable burden,” I wonder aloud.
“We have cleaning and kitchen staff.” Sarah winks at me. “We just don’t have them answer the door or put on airs. There’s no need for that. Nobody in our house is too important to answer the front door when somebody knocks.”
Sarah finally comes to the end of a long, airy corridor and knocks on a door. There is a muffled solicitation from inside the room.
She pops her head in and stage whispers, “Savannah is here.”
“Thanks, Sarah.”
Sarah moves out of the way, squeezing my arm as she heads back toward the living room. “Nice to see you.”
“You too!” I call after her.
Cole surprises me by meeting me at the door. He holds up a finger to his lips and steps back. To my surprise, I see that he’s in a kid’s bedroom.
There are dinosaurs painted on all the walls, and a neat bookcase full of brightly colored books and a few toys. Cole quietly pads over to the twin bed, where a pale and flushed Charlie sleeps. He lifts a baby monitor from beside Charlie and then pulls the blankets up around his son. He backs me out of the room and closes the door softly, then points to another door that’s across the hall.
The door opens into a bright, light office. The desk and rolling chairs are white and clear plexiglass. There is a thick shag carpet, a neat little cow-printed loveseat, and the walls have romantic sconce lighting. The windows have soft sheer curtains gathered with white satin bows.
There is no way that Cole decorated this room.
Cole walks in and stretches. Gone are his button up and khakis. Instead he’s wearing dark plaid pajama pants, and a simple white T-shirt.
This is the first time that I’ve seen Cole without his dress clothes. I feel like I’m getting a peek behind his defenses.
If I’m honest, this rumpled, undone version of Cole is really frigging hot. Not that he needs to know that.
“Thanks for running out here. Charlie is sick and refuses to let anybody else play nursemaid for him.”
The idea of Cole dressed up as a nurse makes me smile. “It’s no problem. Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he just has a stomach bug. I’ve been up with him since the middle of the night, but I can’t do much of anything other than take care of him.”
I nod, looking around the room. “Maybe you should’ve just taken the day off. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I don’t want to be in Cape Simon for that long. So whether Charlie is sick or not, I have to work.”
“How very practical of you.” I offer Cole the papers I’m holding but he waves me down.
“Have a seat.” He points to the loveseat. and drags one of the rolling chairs around to face it. “Did you bring the leasing terms and the property flyers for all the places that we are looking at?”
“Yup.” I sit down on the rather uncomfortable cowhide loveseat and edge forward, handing him a manila folder. “The rest of the files should be–.”
The baby monitor crackles to life. Charlie plaintively whines, “Daddy?”
