Chapter Seventeen
“Hear me out,” Abe said as they all sat on a cluster of picnic blankets once the Founder’s Day program completed. “They sounded great, and no one ended up with a frog down their shirt while they were performing.”
Louisa’s mouth dropped open. “Please don’t tell me you or one of your brothers did that.
” She and Isaac sat on a blanket with Sophia, Reuben, Will, Cecily, Toby, and Liza.
The other children sat on another with Jacob and Callie, while Abe, Micah, and Ellie sat with Hal, Florence, and Pastor Jim.
“You know, some days I understand how Victoria Lowell ended up so disagreeable.”
From what Louisa had told Ellie, Victoria Lowell had been the harsh and unforgiving teacher who’d both highly disliked all the Sutton brothers and subsequently kicked the children Isaac had taken in out of school after an incident with the oldest boy, Toby.
It had been what resulted in Louisa’s hiring, as they needed someone to come to the ranch and teach them.
They weren’t actually poorly behaved. The circumstances surrounding their upbringings were quite difficult, and the trauma they’d endured was bound to have an effect on their day to day lives.
Still, stuffing a frog down someone’s shirt during a performance was enough to make a teacher pull her hair out.
As for today, the Founder’s Day program had actually gone quite well.
At one point, Jenny Rains had turned around and slapped Austin for poking her with a stick while Connor Gregory had gotten sick to his stomach from nerves and thrown up mid-song.
A couple of the other boys poked each other in the ribs, resulting in a few shoves further up the wooden risers, and a couple of the kids sang far too loudly to blend.
Still, as far as Ellie was concerned, it had been perfect.
They sat and ate dinner on the picnic blankets, the potluck taking place before the dance they’d have to finish the night.
Cecily had insisted on cooking a good portion of the food they brought, and she’d outdone herself.
“Cecily,” Ellie said as the Sutton brothers continued to good-naturedly squabble over who was responsible for the frog.
“Your fried chicken, potato salad, and brownies are absolutely delicious. I could easily make a meal from them alone.”
Cecily had worked so hard, barely even letting Liza help her as she wanted to prove she could do it all on her own. “Thank you. The potato salad was a bit of an experiment, but I’m glad we had enough dill relish leftover from this summer’s canning to give it the kick it needed.”
They sure had, as apparently they’d had quite the cucumber harvest the year before.
Gardening was something Ellie knew very little about, but Louisa planned to teach her so she could start a garden of her own.
Now they were back in Texas, the question of when she’d move in to live with her husband hung in the air.
He hadn’t pushed her, but she knew he’d been hard at work on the cabin he’d built for them.
Micah wanted it to be a surprise, so she hadn’t gone to look - something which tested every bit of willpower she had. For the moment, she and Louisa still shared the cottage, and Ellie would cherish their nightly talks and morning giggles.
On the stage Hal and a few other men had built for the festival, a fiddler took his spot and began to play an upbeat tune.
Cecily and Liza’s eyes widened, as did some of the boys.
“Can we go dance, Papa? I wonder if they’ll have someone to teach us the group dances.
” Micah told her Cloverdale had had a few dances over the years, but it had only been since Louisa arrived the Suttons had felt welcome enough to join.
Callie’s eyes sparkled as she looked over Jacob’s shoulder at her father. “I think there’s a good chance.”
“Sure is, firefly,” Pastor Jim said as he jumped to his feet.
“Come on, kiddos. Let’s go dance!” With the agility of a man half his age, Jim led all the Sutton children, as well as children from other families to a cluster on the grass while he took the stage.
“Alrighty, folks, come and take your spot,” his deep voice boomed from the stage. “I’m gonna teach ya the two step.”
Ellie let out a laugh so deep it left her stomach aching. “Who knew the pastor doubled as a dance caller?”
Jacob and Callie both wore wide grins, clearly aware of Jim’s talents. “Dancing is one of his great joys in life, and he’s been calling dances in town as long as I can remember.” She held out a hand to Jacob. “He’ll be disappointed if we don’t take advantage.”
Popping to his feet as well and taking her hand to help her up, Jacob grinned wide. “Can’t disappoint my future father-in-law. Let me take you for a spin around the dance floor.”
Abandoned by all the children, Isaac and Louisa followed, as did Abe where he pulled Florence out to the dance floor as well.
Finally, it was only Micah and Ellie left as what felt like the entire town did their best to follow Jim’s call.
Many of them had two left feet, but it was far and away more fun than anything she was used to.
“If the balls back in California were anything like this, I might’ve actually had some fun.
” Sadness at everything she missed growing up with a grandfather who clearly hated her enough to force her into a marriage with an evil man twice her age threatened, but she let it go.
Jumping to her own feet, Ellie held out a hand to the man she’d slowly but surely fallen in love with over the last few months.
“What do you say about taking me for a spin?”
Micah stood and pulled her into his arms, startling a giggle from her. “It’d be my honor, ma’am. A cowboy never turns down a dance invitation.”
How long they danced, she had no idea, but all of a sudden she looked up and the sky had gone dark.
The dancing still took place around them, sometimes slow and others fast, but it was only then she realized how dry her mouth had gotten.
“Do you mind us getting some water and stepping away from all the people for a moment?”
It was time. Time for her to make sure Micah knew exactly where she stood.
Ellie had her money, sitting in a bank account in Cloverdale, but she had no mind to go anywhere.
Still, she’d seen the uncertainty in Micah’s eyes when they’d verified the funds had all been wired correctly.
He wasn’t sure what she’d choose to do next, and he was far too much of a gentleman to force her to stay in a marriage she didn’t want.
As far as she was concerned, Micah was it for her. He was kind and gentle, protective and humble, smart and loving. He was already the best husband she could’ve ever asked for, everything she never knew she needed, and he’d make the best father to their children one day.
As he led her off the dance floor and filled their cups, Micah took her hand to lead her a little further down the street in a starlit walk.
A few of the businesses still had lanterns lit, but it was mostly the bright spring moon lighting the sky.
Relishing the cool water from the cup, Ellie sighed.
“Nights like these are the ones I think I’ll remember as I sit in a rocking chair on the front porch fifty years from now. ”
Micah’s hand squeezed hers, and she could feel his tension and questions.
“What else do you think you’ll be doing fifty years from now?
” The vulnerability in his voice reminded her a little of the small boy he’d been after he’d lost his mother - wishing for a father who’d actually love them.
He’d made it clear how he felt about her, and it was time she did the same.
“Well, I suppose I’ll have a passel of grandchildren if the Lord wills it.
Then again, if we have that many children, you may need to add on again to the cabin.
” He’d shown her the plans initially for a small, one room cabin, with the plans to add on if they ever needed more space.
He’d not pressured her a lick, but the hope in his eyes as he stopped and turned her to face him made her heart feel like it was flying.
“Does that mean what I think it means, darlin’? Do you think one day you might be able to open your heart to love me the way I love you?” It wasn’t the first time he’d told her he loved her, but she hoped she never took the words for granted.
“It does, Micah Sutton. I’m not quite ready for all of it yet, but I know I love you and I want to build a life with you.” As Micah took her chin in his fingers and began to lower his mouth to hers, a shot rang out and Ellie felt rather than heard the whistle of a bullet fly past her head.
“Get down!” Micah’s shouted words accompanied his shoving her behind one of the barrels outside the livery.
“Stay on your stomach,” he said quickly as he pulled the pistol from his hip holster.
Her husband looked around in the direction where the bullet had come from, but he needn’t look long.
There, a figure she never thought she’d see again, stood with a pistol in his shaking hand.
Percival James moved toward them with wild rage rolling off him, but he wobbled a little as he walked. His normally impeccably styled suit sat askew, and Ellie thought she saw blood on his normally crisp white shirt.
“It’s over, Percival,” Micah growled as he moved slowly towards the man who’d lost everything. “The money’s hers. Drop the gun, and you’ll only be looking at a jail cell rather than your judgement day.”
Percival chuckled, the sound unhinged and thready. “Oh, really? I think I’ve got a third option. Considering the trust reverts to me in the event of Miss Cartwright’s death , I’d say I’ve still got a card to play.”