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“She was the villain in the story. Not the heroine.”
A tingle ran up my spine. She was talking about Elle, but it felt like so much more. Like she was trying to tell me something. “Were you on the show?”
Maggie stopped playing and looked up at her, eyes wide. “You were on a TV show?”
Alice shook her head. “No. That was my sister. It’s her story. You’ll have to ask her about it sometime.” Then she rushed to add, “I’ll give you some time together while I get dinner started.”
Before she could walk out, I said, “You don’t have to cook.”
“I don’t mind. Relax, and I’ll get something started. How do you feel about tacos?” She smiled brightly at Maggie.
I had a feeling she wanted to escape the conversation about the show.
“I love tacos,” Maggie said.
“I’d love some,” I said as I got comfortable on the pile of blankets and pillows they’d created.
When Alice left, Maggie asked, “Were you surprised?”
“I had no idea where you were. You scared me.”
Maggie grinned. “Miss Alice has the best ideas.”
“Yeah?” I asked, picking up one of the dolls to pretend to walk it next to hers.
Maggie nodded as she picked up her doll to play with her hair. “She’s fun.”
Something settled in my chest at her words. I wanted her to like Alice. It felt like she was doing more than babysitting. She fit seamlessly into our lives. “I’m glad you like her.”
“Me too.” Maggie met my gaze. “She said she used to come here when she was a little girl. She went skiing and skating.”
I stroked her hair. “She visited here with her family?”
But Maggie was distracted with her dolls, setting up a tea party with tables and chairs. “Mmm. I don’t know. She just said she went skating.”
A few seconds later, she asked, “Can we go?”
“There’s that outside rink. It could be fun.” I made a note to ask Alice more about her family vacations. It was a glimpse into her life I didn’t have before. If she visited here, she probably came from a rich family. Telluride wasn’t Aspen or Breckenridge, but it was similar. A more out-of-the-way location for the jet-setters.
A little while later, after her dolls had tea and crumpets, as Maggie liked to call them, Alice called up the stairs. “Tacos are ready.”
Maggie jumped up. “Yeah, tacos!”
I followed her at a more leisurely pace, and overheard her say to Alice, “Daddy said we could go skating with you.”
When I entered the kitchen, Alice glanced at me and then at Maggie as she placed the taco plate in front of her at the table. “Oh.”
“She said you mentioned you went ice skating here as a child?” I held my breath, waiting for her to tell me more.
“My family visited here in the winters to ski. That’s why Elle chose Telluride to open her barbershop.”
“I didn’t realize that,” I said as I waited for Alice to place the meat inside the taco shells on the divided taco plate.
Handing a taco plate to me, she said, “Fixings are on the table.”
“So, will you go skating with us?” Maggie asked Alice as she sat with us.
“Miss Alice might have plans. Saturdays are her day off.” I expected Alice to make an excuse because she seemed to make an excuse after dinner to go to her room.
