Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
ELLA
PRESENT
The sun peeks through the clouds, its rays casting a blanket of warmth across my face and my arms as my gaze trails along the green grass dancing in the soft breeze.
The leaves from the willow tree in the center of the field shift in the air and a smile lifts the corners of my lips as a flash of blonde curls disappear behind the trunk of the tree.
“I can’t believe how big she’s gotten already.”
Turning my head, I glance at my brother as a thoughtful smile dances across his mouth as he watches my daughter, Chloe running around through the meadow at the park.
If someone would have told the helpless Ella Daniels three years ago, that this is where she would be, I would have never believed them.
“I swear, I feel like I blinked and the time passed. I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that she’ll be turning three already.”
Wyatt chuckles softly, turning his head to look at me. “You’ve done so well with her, little sis.” His gaze shifts back out to the yard, watching Chloe as she bends over and plucks a small purple flower from a patch at the base of the willow tree’s trunk. “She’s strong and fierce, just like you.”
A lump lodges in my throat and I swallow back the emotion that has the corners of my eyes burning. “I only want the best for her. I want to give her the entire world.”
I know I’m doing the best I can, but I also know I could be doing better. Working a dead-end job as a bartender isn’t exactly what I had planned for my career. A starving artist isn’t an option, either, although I know that is where my heart truly is.
Wyatt reaches over, his hand finding mine as he gives me a gentle squeeze. He turns to look at me, his eyes slowly searching mine. “You are, Ella. You’re an amazing mother to her.”
“Wy-Wy!” Chloe calls out as she comes running through the grass, toward the bench we’re sitting on. “Wook!” She raises her arm, waving her hand around as her little fingers tighten around the stems of the flowers she’s been gathering.
Mixed in with the flowers are three dandelions that have lost their yellow petals. Instead, they’ve changed into fluffy, white balls—the kind you blow on while you make a wish.
“He-uh,” she says, handing one to Wyatt and me as she sets her others down on the grass.
She closes her eyes, her face scrunching up as she puckers her pink lips.
I bite back a grin and watch the determination on my daughter’s face.
The whimsy and magic as she makes a silent wish.
Her eyelids lift, her bright blue eyes shining as she blows on the puff ball.
The seeds lift into the air, the light breeze carrying them away and she erupts with giggles, bouncing up onto her toes and back onto her heels. “You do, mama!” She exclaims, pointing at the one I’m holding.
I let my eyes close, sucking in a deep breath as my mind wanders. I wish for nothing but happiness for my little girl. I never want her to experience the dark. Only the light of the world. I wish for her to be safe and happy.
I open my eyes and find Chloe watching me expectantly. I look over at my brother and see he’s still finalizing his wish as I begin to blow on the seeds, watching them float away. Wyatt does the same and the breeze catches Chloe’s giggles, carrying the sounds along with the pieces of the dandelions.
“Fa you,” Chloe says, handing me a flower before giving one to Wyatt. She looks back and forth between the two of us, her cheeks pink with excitement. Her blonde curls bounce as she spins on her heel and takes off back over toward the willow tree.
“She’s like a little fairy,” Wyatt chuckles, shaking his head as he looks down at the flower she gave him. “I hope she holds on tight to the magic in life.”
“Me too.” I look over at my brother as he rests his hands in his lap, his back pressed against the bench. He’s heading back to Cheyenne in a few hours and sadness presses against my chest at the thought. I know Wyatt has his own life there, but sometimes I just wish he would move home.
“Guess who I talked to last week?
My eyebrows cinch closer. “Who?”
“Cole.” He pauses. “You remember him, right?”
My breath catches and my heart skips a beat at the mention of his name. “Cole Wild?”
The cobwebs sway around my heart, a few breaking away as it begins to beat a little wilder. Cole Wild—the middle Wild child—was a pillar from my childhood. He was my brother’s best friend and was everywhere I turned.
“The one and only.”
As if I could ever forget him.
A girl never forgets the first boy who brought life to the butterflies inside her stomach.
“I do. How is he doing?”
“He’s okay, I think,” Wyatt says with a shrug. “It was the first I’ve heard from him in months, but we’ve both been so busy. He said he was thinking about hanging up his glove and cleats. He’s been having a lot of problems with his shoulder and it’s beginning to affect his ability to pitch.”
“Oh no,” I murmur, glancing down at the flower in my hands, unaware until now that I had been absentmindedly picking the petals off one by one. Cole left Silverspur Springs eight years ago after he was drafted to a professional baseball team in Texas fresh out of high school.
I last saw him three years ago, when he came back for our parents’ funeral.
That was the day my entire life changed–the day that propelled my life into a completely different direction.
I spent that day in a daze, trying to hold myself together for the sake of my brother, but I’ll never forget the kindness he showed me that day—even though I ended up completely embarrassing myself.
“El, did you hear me?”
I blink rapidly, forcing away the memory as my vision focuses back on my brother. “No, I’m sorry.” I shake my head. “I got a little lost in my head for a second.”
Wyatt nods in understanding. “I was just saying that he didn’t seem upset like I thought he would be, but I think it’s been a long time coming. He’s been having issues for a few years now.”
“Do you know what he’s going to do after he retires?”
Wyatt shrugs. “I don’t know. He didn’t really say.” He lets out a sigh. “I just hope everything ends up working out for him.”
Even though I embarrassed the hell out of myself that day, I still have a soft spot for Cole Wild.
He is a good guy and I’ll always hold onto the good parts of that last memory I have with him.
The day he was there for me in a way no one else could be.
The day he watched me fall apart and refused to leave my side.
I swallow hard, looking back out at Chloe as she comes running over.
“Me too.”