Chapter 2
ELLA
Ella turned to her mother in surprise as the name hit home.
Andy had talked about his friend Dalton many times. The two became close as they served, and she did remember him saying something about a shared promise—how if anything happened to either of them, the other would come to help out the grieving family.
It had seemed impossible at the time, so she hadn’t paid it much mind.
And it had also sounded like a fleeting pledge, spoken in a show of trust during a moment of high emotion, but the kind of thing no one would ever dream of actually following through on.
You couldn’t really expect someone to drop their whole life to help out a family they had never met.
From what she remembered, Dalton was studying communications and had a bright future of his own to attend to.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” her mother said, dropping her knitting on the table and hurrying over to hug the man. “Dalton Tyler, we’ve heard your name so many times.”
“You have?” he asked, looking surprised, though Ella wasn’t sure if it was more at the recognition or the tiny woman’s fierce embrace.
“Of course we have,” her mother told him, releasing the man and looking him up and down. “Did you come straight here?”
“Soon as my time was up, ma’am,” Dalton said, his voice so serious. “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”
“Well, we’re very glad to see you, young man,” Ella’s father said, getting up from his chair and masking his usual groan with a chuckle.
“It’s good to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett,” Dalton said before turning to Ella. “And you must be the baby sister.”
“Hi,” Ella said, unable to keep a smile from her face at the idea of being described as a baby sister.
“Ella’s got a little girl of her own now,” Mom said proudly. “And you can call us Michael and Mary. Why don’t you put your things down, and we’ll fix something to eat.”
“Please don’t go to any trouble on my account, ma’am,” Dalton said.
“Nonsense,” Dad said. “Let’s have a bite and a nice talk.”
Ella watched as Dalton Tyler placed his duffel carefully on the floor and allowed himself to be walked back to the kitchen while Dad immediately launched into a string of questions about the man’s journey and his plans without once giving him the opportunity to answer.
Dad had a way about him—he knew how to handle people, and it was clear that he sensed the man’s reluctance to speak. So he would happily fill the empty air with his own comfortable chatter until Dalton was ready to open up, even if that meant he kept up the whole conversation all night.
Ella knew she should get to bed—she had plenty to do in the morning before getting Dove off to school.
But she couldn’t help trailing after them into the kitchen anyway.
Something about the quiet man had stoked the fires of her curiosity.
Plus, the temptation to stay up and maybe hear something new about her brother was irresistible.
Ella and her parents told and retold each other all the old stories about Andy so often that even Dove could repeat a lot of the funny tales now, though they had happened long before she was born.
“You have any foods you don’t eat, son?” Dad asked, pointing Dalton to the table.
“No, sir,” Dalton answered. “But why don’t you sit and let me get it.”
“Absolutely not,” Dad said. “You came all the way here. The least I can do is fix you a plate. Now, I’ve been craving grilled cheese and tomato soup. You have any objection?”
“No, sir,” Dalton replied. “Sounds delicious.”
“Wonderful,” Ella’s mom said, sitting down across from him and patting the seat next to her for Ella.
Ella pulled out her chair and perched on the edge of it, reminding herself that she shouldn’t get comfortable if she didn’t want to stay up too late.
But Dalton Tyler was on his feet before another syllable was spoken.
“I’ll just grab some plates and bowls, if you’ll allow me,” he said politely to Ella’s dad.
“That’d be nice,” Dad said with a funny little smile that told Ella he knew when he’d been beaten. “Plates are on the left over the sink, and bowls are above.”
“Did you take the train in, son?” Dad asked as he spread butter on thick slices of homemade bread.
“No, sir,” Dalton said. “I didn’t know there was one that comes out this far. That’s handy.”
“It sure is,” Dad agreed. “We’ll have a highway not too long from now, too. That’ll give folks another option, but I’m partial to trains myself.”
“How are things going on the farm?” Dalton asked, clearly not one for small talk. “Where would you like me to get started in the morning?”
“Well, that will be up to the ladies,” Dad said with a smile. “They run the place these days.”
Dalton blinked at him.
“My back isn’t what it used to be,” Dad admitted quietly.
The young man’s gaze swung over to the table and he observed Ella and her mother with what looked like thinly veiled horror.
“We enjoy working outside,” Ella said firmly.
It was true for herself, but she was pretty sure her mom would much rather be in the house knitting and having coffee with a gaggle of her retired schoolteacher friends.
But Ella wasn’t about to give Dalton Tyler the satisfaction of feeling sorry for them.
After all, he wasn’t here to save them or anything.
He was making a valiant offer of temporary help, and whether they took him up on it or not, he’d soon be off to do his own thing, and they would go back to handling the farm on their own.
If only Ella had finished college, maybe she would have had more choices for herself and Dove after Lee passed. As things were, she was lucky to be able to work the farm and spend so much time with family.
“I do too,” Dalton said suddenly, nodding once before he turned back to the task at hand.
“So, what’s your area of expertise, son?” Dad asked. “Didn’t Andy say something about communications?”
“I’ll just grab the cheese for you,” Dalton said, heading to the fridge. “I haven’t worked a farm before, but I’ve done warehouse work. I’m plenty strong and I learn fast. I won’t let you down, sir.”
“Oh, we aren’t worried about that,” Dad said fondly.
“Things are fine here,” Ella heard herself put in. “You don’t have to feel like you need to stay.”
Dalton turned his gaze to Ella and she couldn’t help noticing that his eyes were a surprisingly bright shade of blue.
“I made a promise,” he said simply.
Ella opened her mouth to argue, but her father shook his head at her from behind Dalton.
“That’s very noble of you,” she said instead.
“It’s no more than what Andy would have done for me,” Dalton said, turning back to continue assembling sandwiches.
That was a big assumption. But then again, Andy was such a warm and wonderful person that Ella actually could picture him showing up to lend a hand and share memories with an old friend’s parents.
He didn’t show up for me when Lee died.
But that wasn’t a fair thought. Andy had been preparing to leave the country back when Lee was in hospice. He’d been serving his country, and he couldn’t just drop that kind of commitment to be with his sister, no matter how much he loved her.
Let it pass…
Ella used to be deeply troubled by the sudden feelings of resentment that sometimes snuck up on her, especially the ones that weren’t rational or fair.
But she tried to take them as signs of her sorrow, and let them pass peacefully instead of beating herself up or overanalyzing.
If she didn’t give them room to take root in her heart or mind, then maybe, in time, they might stop altogether.
“There we go,” Dad said with satisfaction, setting the sandwiches in the pans.
Dalton had already opened a can of tomato soup and Dad grabbed milk from the fridge and a couple of things from the spice rack.
“Hope you don’t mind me doctoring it up?” he asked.
“Sounds great, sir,” Dalton said.
Ella wondered why her dad didn’t correct the man. He was forever trying to convince everyone to call him Michael. All this sir stuff probably bugged the heck out of him.
“I won’t overstay my welcome tonight,” Dalton said suddenly, turning to her mom. “I’m heading over to the inn once we’ve eaten, and I’ll be back at dawn.”
“Heavens,” her mother said. “You’ll do no such thing. We’ve got plenty of space here.”
“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Dalton said. “You hardly know me.”
“How are we supposed to get to know you if you’re all the way over at the inn?” Dad asked, winking at him.
Dalton’s handsome face twitched almost imperceptibly before he cast those startlingly blue eyes to the ground.
Was he hiding a smile?
“I’ll stay,” he said. “Thank you.”
“That’s more like it,” her dad told him. “Now, let’s get these onto plates.”
In no time at all, they were sitting at the oval kitchen table together, ready to dig in.
As always, she and her parents bowed their heads for a moment of silent thanks before eating.
When she opened her eyes, Dalton’s gaze was fixed on her again.
She found herself wanting to explain, but what was the point? She gave thanks for her meals, and maybe it was a little old-fashioned, but it felt good and right. Who was he to judge?
If Ella and her parents had thought they would learn more about Dalton at the table, they were wrong. He ate in silence, with so much enthusiasm that Ella wondered when his last meal had been.
As soon as Dalton was finished, he was up in a flash, carrying plates and pans to the sink.
Ella moved to intercept him. Washing up was normally her job.
But her father placed a hand on her wrist and she kept her seat, watching as the big man carefully washed each item and placed it in the drainboard.
“Thank you very much, Dalton,” her mom said. “Ella can show you to your room now. It was Andy’s, so you’ll see some photos of him when he was younger in there.”
“Thank you,” Dalton said, waiting for Ella to lead the way. “I appreciate your hospitality, and I’ll do all I can to earn it.”
“It’s our pleasure, son,” Dad said. “We’re glad you’re here. Sleep well.”