Sweet Home (Sugarville Grove #5)

1. Dulcie

DULCIE

D ulcie Bloom’s heart soared as she followed the country road deeper into the trees.

Her belly might be empty, and her whole reason for existing might be miles in the rearview mirror, but there was snow falling softly on the evergreens that lined the winding road, and for the first time in a long time, she had a really good feeling.

Hope.

And it was with good reason. Here in Vermont, plenty of seasonal workers were hired around Christmastime.

With any luck, she would land something that paid well and have a nice little nest egg set aside by January, if she could live cheaply enough.

And that wouldn’t be a problem—she already had plenty of experience living on next to nothing.

On the radio, Elvis crooned about walking in a winter wonderland, putting a smile on her face. She even hummed along a little.

Is this what it was like when Grandaddy came up here ?

Her grandfather had lived in Vermont for a few years as a young man.

His stories were the reason she knew she would find work up this way in December if she could get up here.

He’d told Dulcie and her baby sister, Delphine, stories about the small town where he had worked odd jobs and enjoyed the fresh air and friendly people.

Grandaddy always had wonderful stories. When he passed, it was impossible to fill the gap he left behind, though Dulcie tried to remember and retell the stories so Delphine wouldn’t forget them.

Even though she’d been humming happily, the thought of Delphine twisted her stomach, and she had to suck in a breath to stop herself from sobbing.

I’m doing this for her, she reminded herself. I’ll see her soon.

To distract herself, she tried to imagine the job she would find as soon as she got to town.

Online, there were the prettiest photos of Christmas villages and markets, Christmas tree farms, and tiny downtowns lined with cute little shops.

Dulcie was going to be part of all that holiday magic somehow, helping people enjoy themselves and feel just a little less stressed and more excited about the big day coming up.

And it was going to be worth everything she’d had to do to get here.

Ahead of her, the sun was setting rapidly, casting the sky in a brilliant pink that reflected on the snowy trees. Dulcie wasn’t sure if she had ever seen anything so beautiful before.

All she wanted was to pull over and take some pictures, but she was starting to feel lightheaded from not eating today, so she knew it would be best to get to town before stopping.

She was hoping that if she popped into a diner for a cup of coffee and some eggs, maybe she could get the gossip on who was hiring.

The trees retreated from the road for a bit, giving her a view over a snowy meadow. As she watched, a shadow seemed to separate itself from the tree line.

A moose.

The massive creature moved slowly and gracefully, lifting his knees high to pick through the snowy ground. His enormous antlers seemed to glow in the last of the sunlight. It was strange and wonderful to think that this wild animal made its home so close to people and towns.

The moose paused for a moment, nosing the air, his shape silhouetted against the fiery sky.

Completely mesmerized by the sight, Dulcie let herself watch for a heartbeat too long.

Suddenly, the car was bumping along the gravely shoulder. She slammed on the brakes as she tried to steer back onto the road and hit a patch of ice.

The next thing she knew, the car was spinning and careening into the air, and all Dulcie could do was brace herself and hope for the best.

An impossibly long second passed before the car landed again with a terrible screech and bone-rattling crunch.

Then there was sudden stillness—nothing but the sound of the engine, somehow still running, though she was pretty sure the car wasn’t going anywhere. She let out a breath and took a few seconds to check herself over.

I’m okay. Somehow, I’m okay…

The headlights illuminated the snowy meadow where the moose had been standing. But there was no sign of him now, only the clearing and then dark trees as far as the eye could see.

Dulcie sighed and turned the car off.

Surprisingly, she actually felt okay—maybe a little banged up, but thankfully, she hadn’t really been injured. She and Delphine always, always wore their seatbelts. That had almost certainly saved her from harm tonight.

She unbuckled and tried easing the door open. It was tighter than usual, but she was able to exit the car, sucking in a breath as she sank her sneaker into the ankle-deep snow.

As soon as she got a few feet away and turned back, she knew for sure that she wouldn’t be driving the car again. She had felt like she was flying through the air, like some chase scene in an action movie, but the poor car had only sailed into a ditch on the side of the road.

Unfortunately, that was all it had taken for the body of the car to be wrenched at an angle so that the front end looked like it was turning its nose up at the rest of the car.

It was a humble sedan, or at least it had been, almost as old as she was. The old car hadn’t really been worth anything to begin with, and now it was worth less than nothing. It would probably end up costing her money to have the thing towed.

To Dulcie it had been her freedom, and sometimes her home.

She had no idea what she was supposed to do now.

She figured she should probably start walking, but all of her stuff was in the car, and it was so cold outside, colder than anything she had ever experienced in the city.

She thought about calling someone, but she didn’t know who, and she didn’t really even know where she was.

She was staring at her phone and just starting to panic when she heard the sound of another car approaching.

For a moment she was torn. She was a woman alone, in obvious distress, and there was no one else around for miles. It might be better to turn the car lights off and hide out inside than to risk getting into an even worse situation than the one she was currently in.

But it was too late, the vehicle was already slowing down and pulling to the side. It was getting darker, but she was pretty sure what she was seeing was a tow truck.

What are the chances of that?

She squinted into the headlights, praying that the driver meant her no harm.

The truck pulled up and the door swung open. A moment later, an older gentleman in a baseball cap lowered himself carefully onto the ground.

“You got yourself in a real pickle, didn’t you, young lady?” he called to her cheerfully.

She saw that his cap had a faded Giants logo on it, a lot like the one Grandaddy used to wear.

“I hit some ice,” Dulcie managed to reply.

“Dangerous stuff this time of year,” the old man said, nodding sagely. “Joe Fournier.”

He stuck out his hand and Dulcie took it, feeling like a small child with her frozen hand in his great big warm one. Joe Fournier seemed to have an echo of her grandfather’s kindness, too.

Did you send him here for me, Grandaddy?

“Dulcie Bloom,” she said.

“That’s a nice name,” Joe said approvingly. “You’re new around here.”

It wasn’t really a question, but she nodded.

“Not much of an introduction, huh?” he said. “Welp, let’s see what we’ve got.”

She watched as he scrambled down and assessed the situation. It was really hard not to fret about how she was going to pay for this, and what she was going to do next. She had bet everything on this journey. It felt impossible to watch it all unravel when she was so close to her goal.

Not impossible, she thought to herself. Just the old Bloom family luck.

“I think we can get her out without a flatbed,” Joe said at length. “Go on up to the road so I don’t have to worry about you.”

She did as she was told, stomping her feet and pacing a little as Joe maneuvered his truck over and after a couple of botched attempts got her poor car hitched up.

“There you go,” Joe said, sounding genuinely delighted. “Hop on in, Dulcie Bloom.”

She climbed into the passenger seat, sighing with bliss at how good the heated cab felt.

“Cold out there, eh?” Joe said conversationally as he pulled out.

“It sure is,” she told him.

“Were you headed to Sugarville Grove?” he asked her.

“No, I was hoping to get up closer to Burlington,” she told him.

“Well, Sugarville Grove is just through the trees,” Joe told her. “Rob Bradford owns a shop there. It’s the only one in town, but he’ll treat you fair and honest. I run this thing for him from time to time.”

“Thank you,” she told him.

There was no way she was asking him to tow the mangled car any farther than the closest possible place. She already couldn’t imagine the cost of everything he’d done for her so far. Hopefully, the car had a junk value they could apply against her bill.

Joe leaned forward and turned on the radio, filling the cab with the sounds of children singing “Silent Night.”

“Local school choir,” he said with a smile, nodding to the radio. “It’s nice they play the kids’ music along with the other stuff.”

“That is nice,” Dulcie agreed.

As they drove on through the woods, she felt herself getting sleepy. She hadn’t stopped at all today except for bathroom breaks. Now that she was warm and didn’t have to stay alert, it was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open.

“Almost there, young lady,” Joe said, chuckling. “You can use the phone at the shop if there’s anyone you need to call.”

Using a landline was such an old-fashioned idea that she had to smile. Joe Fournier obviously wasn’t a man who sent a lot of text messages.

Not that she had anyone to text, or to call for that matter. Literally no one would miss her tonight.

“Thank you,” she told him anyway. “You’ve been so kind.”

“Aw, you sure haven’t met many Vermonters yet,” Joe chuckled. “We take care of each other up here. You’ll see.”

They followed along the road until at last Joe slowed down and put on his signal. A moment later, a small repair shop appeared on their right, surrounded by trees. Christmas lights around the office window glowed merrily. Joe pulled up and carefully parked the tow truck alongside the garage doors.

Dulcie wondered if it was the kind of shop that had vending machines in the office. Now that she was warmed up and she felt safe, her stomach was practically cramping with hunger.

“Let’s head inside and you can make your calls while I track down Rob,” Joe said.

She opened up the door and hopped out, eager to head inside. But as soon as her feet hit the ground, the world began to fade around the edges.

“You okay?” Joe called to her. His voice sounded like it was coming from far, far away.

The colorful Christmas lights bled together as Dulcie’s legs gave out under her, and everything went dark.