17. Dulcie
DULCIE
D ulcie sat beside West in his truck that evening, feeling amazing about the day.
Shop owners in the town had all been so generous that she and Elizabeth needed to stop by his office twice before the end of the day just to drop off bags of donated items.
Dulcie was pretty sure that it didn’t hurt that Elizabeth was the daughter of the beloved town doctor, and adorable to boot. Everyone wanted to help in some way.
And West seemed so proud of them.
The first time they had stopped in with a few bags of donated items, Dulcie had been a little worried that West wouldn’t want them invading his professional space and leaving a bunch of stuff, but she wasn’t sure what else to do with it all.
She planned to just ask Nurse Deb if there was a spot where they could tuck the bags out of sight.
But West had been between patients when they arrived. He listened so intently as Elizabeth told him what they were doing, and immediately cleared a spot for them in his little office in back.
“This is really special, Dulcie,” he murmured to her as they headed back down the hall to reception. “You didn’t have to do this, but I’m so grateful that you’re sharing the joy of helping others with her.”
She had been too pleased to respond, her cheeks burning and her heart pounding in her chest at his praise. The feeling had stayed with her for the rest of the day as she visited more places with Elizabeth and gathered more donations.
Now, West was done for the day, and they were all heading to the country store together to pick up some donations from the owner there. Once that was done, Dulcie figured they would have plenty to drop off at the library for Anita tomorrow.
On the radio, Brenda Lee was singing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and Elizabeth was humming to herself in her car seat in back. As far as Dulcie was concerned, everything seemed just right with their little corner of the world.
“Here we go,” West said, pulling into the parking lot.
Once they were parked, the three of them headed in together.
“Can I visit Santa?” Elizabeth asked suddenly.
“Oh,” Dulcie said, unsure of how to respond.
“Sure,” West told her right away. “If he’s not too busy.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth said, grabbing Dulcie’s hand as they headed in.
“Santa has a little workshop out back,” West told Dulcie. “He visits with the kids this time of year. ”
Dulcie nodded, realizing the random-seeming request hadn’t been random at all.
It was such a nice idea for a country store.
They went around the building, and came out to a sweetly decorated space in back where a man with a big, white beard sat on a comfy chair with a little boy on his lap who was listing out the names of various superheroes so quickly it seemed like he was afraid he had a time limit.
Santa looked up as they got in line and winked at Dulcie.
She recognized him right away as Kris from the post office, and she smiled back, thrilled that she knew who was standing in for Santa in Sugarville Grove. It made her feel like a real part of the little town.
The little boy finished up and scurried off, and a pair of girls sauntered up to the friendly saint as their mother watched.
“What are you going to ask for, Elizabeth?” West asked.
“I can’t tell,” she said. “Or it won’t come true.”
“I think that’s birthday candle wishes,” West said.
But Elizabeth shook her head, sending her ponytails dancing, and refused to say another word.
When it was her turn, she headed up to Santa bravely, only looking back once for reassurance. West nodded to her, giving her a thumbs-up, and she allowed herself to be coaxed onto Santa’s lap.
“What would you like for Christmas?” Santa asked.
“ I want my princess to keep forever,” Elizabeth whispered loudly.
Dulcie thought about the castle in the toy shop window, and the figures on top that always caught the little girl’s eye.
She glanced over at West. He wore a sad expression, and she knew he was probably worried about the princess toy, since it had been out of stock when he bought the castle.
But Elizabeth came sprinting back to them before Dulcie could mention to him that he didn’t have to worry because she had it now.
“How was it?” West asked Elizabeth.
“I’m not sure,” Elizabeth said, grabbing Dulcie’s hand again. “I have to wait and see.”
At least she didn’t have too much longer to wait. It was hard to believe Christmas was coming in about a week and a half. With the visit to Santa complete, they headed inside and got in line to grab the bag of sweets the store was donating.
“Can I have strawberry milk?” Elizabeth asked hopefully, pointing to the refrigerators on the back wall of the shop.
“Sure,” West told her.
“I’ll take her,” Dulcie said.
“Come on,” Elizabeth said happily.
They walked toward the fridges and had almost made it when a huge figure jumped out from the other side of one of the aisles.
“ Give me that naughty little girl, ” a deep male voice intoned.
Dulcie didn’t have time to think before her instincts kicked in.
She immediately stepped in front of Elizabeth, and kneed the big man in his middle. When he bent over in reaction, she shoved him away as hard as she could.
It was only as he was falling into a rack of scenic Vermont postcards that she realized who her would-be attacker was.
The world seemed to stretch into slow motion as Tripp Lawrence crashed down, sending hundreds of postcards sailing into the air and fluttering back down on him like snow.
Please, God, let him be okay. I didn’t mean to hurt him…
“Whoa,” Tripp said, looking up at her with a lopsided grin. “I didn’t realize West hired a bodyguard for his daughter.”
“I’m so sorry,” she gasped. “I’m so, so sorry, Tripp.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he chuckled. “I guess I got what was coming to me. Not everyone loves a prank.”
“Good Lord, Lawrence,” an older man said, ambling up. “What have you done?”
“I’m a klutz,” Tripp said. “I just knocked right into it.”
“Dulcie pushed you,” Elizabeth said in her clear, bright voice. “We don’t push each other.”
The old man’s eyebrows shot up.
“I’m so sorry,” Dulcie said again. “I’ll clean everything up.”
“I’ve got it,” Tripp said.
“What’s going on here?” West’s voice was stern, with an edge Dulcie couldn’t identify.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Tripp said right away. “I was trying to prank them, but it sort of went sideways.”
West frowned and helped them right the rack and replace the cards on it.
Thankfully, none seemed to be damaged, and neither Tripp nor the rack was any the worse for wear.
But Dulcie could feel West’s disapproval without even looking at him.
His faith in her had been damaged, probably beyond repair, and she was mortified.
He grew up in this sweet place, she reminded herself. He doesn’t know what it’s like to have to protect yourself and the people you love.
But she couldn’t help feeling awful, like she had shown her true colors in a way she couldn’t take back. Who would want someone who acted like that around their daughter?
“Why did you do that, Dulcie?” Elizabeth asked. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“We can talk about it when we get home,” West told her quietly, grabbing her hand and leading her over to the dairy case to grab her milk.
“I really didn’t mean to scare you,” Tripp said. His expression was concerned, but Dulcie couldn’t tell if it was because he actually felt bad or just because he thought she was a loose cannon.
“It’s not your fault,” she said, her stomach twisting in knots. “I’m so sorry.”
“You obviously didn’t grow up with brothers,” he said, shaking his head. “See you guys around.”
He disappeared back into the aisle just as West and Elizabeth turned to head back toward her. Elizabeth looked worried, and Dulcie tried to smile to reassure her, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t her best smile.
When her eyes slid up to West’s he had that strange expression on his face again—like he was trying to figure something out.
Probably the best way to fire me…