Page 37 of Sweet Home

“No, no,” she laughed. “I’mtoo little.”

“Oh, right,” he said, putting her down and patting her on top of her head.

“What’s your excuse, Tripp?” West teased.

“I can’t get snow in my hair,” Tripp joked. “Girls like a man who looks put-together.”

Dulcie could only laugh, even thoughshe wasn’t entirely sure what was funny. Tripp just had a silly, joyous way about him.

Tara stopped back with their hot chocolate a few minutes later, along with a coffee for Tripp.

“So, are you volunteering on anything today?” West asked his brother.

“Nope,” Tripp said. “I carried over about a hundred barrels of ice cream this morning for Charlotte though.”

“That’s great,” West said.

“I should probably volunteer my talents for the choir tonight at the tree lighting,” Tripp said. “I’m told my singing voice is angelic.”

That made Elizabeth laugh, though Dulcie wasn’t sure why.

“Cash would disagree,” Tripp added before cracking up.

“Now, there’s ketchup on the table already for the fries," Tara said. “Do you all need anything else? Hot sauce? Mayo?”

Dulcie shook her head.

“Enjoy,” Tara said, smiling and heading off to greet another table.

“Why does Uncle Cash think Uncle Tripp isn’t a good singer?” Elizabeth asked.

“Because Uncle Cash is arealsinger,” Tripp put in before West could answer. “And he’s always been a heartbreaker on top of it. It’s not even fair.”

But Elizabeth was already focused on her coloring book again.

“A heartbreaker?” Dulcie asked.

“Probably half the women in Vermont have a bone topick with him,” Tripp said, winking so that she wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth.

“That’s rich coming from you,” West teased.

“I’m a true gentleman,” Tripp said, with pretend wounded dignity so silly that it made Dulcie smile.

“How many women in this town would disagree with that?” West pressed him.

“Agentlemanwould never tell,” Tripp said, waggling his eyebrows.

“What are youtalkingabout?” Elizabeth asked, looking up suddenly.

“Your uncle is a goofball,” West said firmly. “That’s all.”

That made Elizabeth laugh for a minute before applying herself to her coloring book again.

Dulcie couldn’t help noticing how focused Elizabeth could be. She had thought at first that the little girl was just very serious. But she clearly knew how to laugh when she felt comfortable with the people around her.

She’s super smart,Dulcie realized.She likes to work hard on things. She’s going to love school.

She frowned, thinking about her own school experience. She had enjoyed English class, and a few others, like Art and Music. But with so much to do at home, it was harder to keep up in classes like History, where she had to do a lot of memorizing, or in Math and Science, because they didn’t come easily for her.

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