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My uncle Rick chuckles beside Danica at the end of the breakfast bar, looking much more comfortable than my father in his own dress pants and fitted blue button-down shirt Even in his own home, he looks ready for business, tall and confident with not an ash-brown hair on his head out of place He slares at me, and my smile disappears

"Hailey, your ins carrying dishes to the dinner table in the other room My mom assists her, and I juers that Danica is glaring into the back of my head while I carry tls in my hands and another on my ar aherself instead of anyone else "Ten hours a week count toward my internship, but I help out as much as I can," I say

"That’s so sweet of you," enuine smile on her face as she passesroom Her dark hair is pulled back into a low bun with stray bits of hair escaping, and she’s in a skirt-and-blouse combo that probably came from a store like the one Danica took ed stools in the fitting rooms But her voice is kind, and her words are heartfelt Even though she’s always been a sohty woman, I’ve liked her When Danica and I played princesses ere kids, Aunt Tilly always made sure we looked and felt like real, true princesses When we played tea party, she let us use actual china teacups

As we set the table, Aunt Tilly asksat the shelter--what I do, if I like it, if it’s hard saying goodbye to the animals when they find their forever ho into the conversation where they can, and e finally sit down to dinner, ht about volunteering?"

"At the shelter?" Danica asks with an indignant eyebrow raised

"Hailey," her dad says, holding out a serving of turkey for ht etarian, so I hold my plate out to accept it

"Thank you," I say, and he moves on to my brother as Aunt Tilly answers Danica’s question

"Yeah It sounds nice You could go with Hailey"

"I’," Danica says fro to make dean’s list this serades on her exams, and frankly, I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t fail out of half her courses just fro class so often But hts up, Danica smiles at her "Really?" my aunt asks, and Danica nods happily

"I think so I’ve been working really hard"

She doesn’t even flinch when she says it No lip biting No eye twitch A chill trickles down my spine, and Danica’s white smile turns on me