20
Carolyn watched Tobias for another little while, letting the hot images from last night chase away her Christmas blues.
Then she sighed and walked back into the kitchen.
There she found Ben in a tense-looking conversation with Suzanne. His wide shoulders were hunched, his usually lighthearted expression replaced by a scowl. He was shaking his head at whatever Suzanne was saying. All Carolyn caught was the phrase, "her side of the story," before Suzanne caught sight of her and stopped talking.
"Hi Carolyn," she said, awkwardly. "Sorry, we were catching up on old times. I'd better go check on Faith."
"Faith is fine, Josh has her helping set up for croquet."
Suzanne looked alarmed. "He isn't letting her use a mallet, is he?"
"Of course not, they're taller than she is."
"Yeah, but t
