Page 41 of Sweet Home

“I’ll remember that,” Dulcie promised, smiling at her little charge and feeling relieved that West had told her he didn’t have magic as a warning, not because he’d lost a patient or something.

“Look,” Elizabeth said as her dad helped the lady to her feet.

“Thank goodness,” Dulcie said.

“That’s Mrs. Robertson,” Elizabeth said.

That didn’t mean much to Dulcie, though she wasn’t a bit surprised that the little girl seemed to know just about everyone in town.

“Sorry about that,” West said, jogging back up to them a moment later. “Mrs. Robertson slipped, and shehas some issues with her knees, so I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

“Is she?” Dulcie asked.

“Oh, yes,” West said with a smile. “And she was so happy I came to check on her that she said she’d be sending me in one of her famous, homemade, pecan pies with Doc Robertson next week—that’s the eye doctor with the office right on Red Oak.”

“I’m starting to see the appeal of a small town,” Dulcie teased.

“It’s not so bad here,” West said with a smile as they followed the crowd over to the big tree.

The snow had stopped, and the haze of clouds parted to reveal a starry sky over the park. Dulcie couldn’t help gazing up at it in wonder.

I wish you could see this, Delphine…

“Oh, look at that,” West said softly.

She turned to see that his eyes were on a big man with a little girl. A pretty, dark-haired lady was talking with the girl and then with the man, in turn. The little girl was smiling, gazing back and forth between the big tree and the pretty lady, with wonder in her eyes.

“Who are they?” Dulcie asked.

“That’s Max Hayes,” West said. “He owns the country store. The little girl just came here from Italy, he’s taking care of her now. But it looks like there’s something to the rumors around town.”

“What rumors?” Dulcie asked, intrigued.

“The lady with them,” West said. “That’s Charlie. She owns the pizza shop in town, and she’s sort of famously single. She usually doesn’t participate in anyof the town Christmas activities even though she’s big on volunteering. Tripp calls her the grinch of Sugarville Grove.”

“She doesn’t look like a grinch,” Dulcie said, watching the lady smile at the girl.

“Well, I heard they’ve been spotted together a lot lately,” West said. “Though maybe she’s just here to translate for Bianca. I guess she speaks Italian.”

Dulcie was pretty sure that the lady wasn’t just there to translate. The way the man was looking at her and the color in her cheeks told a different tale. But Dulcie didn’t really feel like she knew enough about love herself to argue.

“I can’t see the singers, Daddy,” Elizabeth announced. “Hold me up high.”

West lifted her in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around his waist just as the choir began to sing.

The sweet notes of the familiar Christmas carol drifted through the clear night air, and Dulcie was surprised to find that she had a lump in her throat by the time they were finished. She wasn’t usually the sentimental type. But something about the whole scene was speaking to her.

As the cheers for the singers died down, a man with a neatly trimmed, white beard and a bright green knit scarf stepped up to the podium to speak.

“That’s Mayor Fontaine,” West whispered.

“Thank you all for being here tonight,” the mayor said, smiling out at the crowd. “And thank you to the choir for transporting us with that beautiful song. This community is so fortunate to have you, and to have eachother, and to have a precious holiday season to celebrate together.”

There were noises of approval among the crowd, and an older lady wearing a green, knit scarf that matched the mayor’s sighed and smiled up at him.

“Now, I’d like for Mia Bianchi to step up here, please,” the mayor said.

Everyone looked around and a moment later, a pretty lady with dark-brown hair came forward through the crowd to join the mayor on the platform. She looked nervous, but happy.

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