Chapter 5 Dalton
DALTON
The following week, Dalton stood at a table in the farmers market and looked around the library parking lot, amazed at all the activity in the tiny town.
It was Saturday morning, and though he could still feel the soreness from harvesting in nearly every muscle in his body, he mostly felt proud of the crates of sweet potatoes on their table and excited to see how many locals would buy them.
Mary stood beside him, wearing a bright green scarf that looked hand knitted. Ella counted out the change in the little register while Dove scampered around among the crates, arranging and rearranging the potatoes on display, clearly excited to be included in the work with her family.
Michael sat nearby at one of the café tables in front of the bakery with a man called Reggie Webb. The two of them were talking up a storm, paper coffee cups in front of them, looking very pleased.
As far as Dalton was concerned, Ella had worked a miracle there.
He’d noticed her mentioning worriedly to her dad that poor Reggie looked lonely.
Dalton was pretty sure Reggie had been just fine shouting hello to everyone who passed.
But when Michael rushed over to keep the man company, Dalton realized that of course Ella had just been looking for a way to get her dad off his feet. Happily, it had worked.
“We were blessed with an excellent crop this year,” Mary said, nodding to herself. “The harvest is going so well with extra hands.”
Dalton felt another rush of pride in his chest. It was good to be a part of something.
“Can we go look at the puppy booth?” Dove asked Ella excitedly. “Can we? Can we?”
“We’re fine here, honey, if you want to take her,” Mary offered.
“We’ll just be five minutes then,” Ella said. “Right, Dove?”
“Right,” Dove said, smiling that infectious smile that Dalton couldn’t resist.
He felt his own mouth tugging into a matching smile as he nodded to her. He wasn’t usually the type to stand around grinning at things. But there was something about this family…
I’m changing.
But he had to put that thought behind him. He was only here to fulfill a promise. If he didn’t keep that at the front of his mind, he was going to be in a world of hurt when his time here was over. He wasn’t actually part of the family, no matter how much they might treat him like it.
As he watched Ella head off to the local animal shelter’s fundraising booth with Dove, he couldn’t help thinking back to her gift. After his first day on the harvest, she’d mentioned leaving a bag for him by the front door.
It was a simple green shopping bag, not too heavy. He’d carried it upstairs with him, not wanting to examine the contents in front of everyone.
His back, hips, and knees were so sore from all the bending and picking up potatoes that he let out a sigh like an old man when he sat on the edge of the bed to open it up.
A huff of quiet laughter had escaped his lips before he could stop it.
Inside the bag he found a small bottle of ibuprofen, a microwavable heat pack, and a glass jar of salve with a copper lid and a picture of a tiger on the label.
There was also an enormous chocolate bar, which seemed an unlikely addition, but he was definitely hungry enough to wolf it down before dinner.
Ella was a surprising woman. She was quiet and not overly friendly, and Dalton could hardly blame her.
He wasn’t sure how a woman so young could have sustained so much tragedy and still put one foot in front of the other every day.
It came as no surprise that she didn’t have the bandwidth to pay him much mind.
But her thoughtful gift had told him she was paying attention, at least a little. She had predicted that he wouldn’t want to complain in front of her parents, but knew that he would be hurting. And she had done something to help.
He didn’t want to think about how long it had been since someone had done something like that for him. She’d told him about the bag like it was nothing. But to Dalton it felt like acceptance and caring, like she was telling him he belonged.
He’d allowed himself a single square of chocolate before dinner, and while the sweet flavor melted in his mouth, he’d tried not to think of anything else about Ella besides her kindness.
But since then, he found himself paying extra attention to her each day.
He gave her the space he sensed she needed, but he did all he could to make her life easier, whether it was working hard to lighten her load, or talking and playing Uno with Dove to give Ella a chance to catch her breath before jumping from farm tasks into one of Dove’s endless happy interrogations.
He glanced over at the animal shelter booth and saw the lady behind it bent toward Dove now, smiling, and obviously listening to a stream of questions from the bright and curious little girl.
Beside her, Ella watched as her daughter got the other lady talking, the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth.
Beautiful, he thought to himself without meaning to.
“She’s a special one, isn’t she?” Mary asked him quietly.
He turned to her, fear prickling his scalp for a moment, as if he’d been caught doing something criminal.
She’s talking about Dove.
“Yeah,” he said, recovering. “Such a smart kid. No one could help loving her.”
“Well, I think maybe Helena Fox sees a potential volunteer in her,” Mary laughed. “She can always use a hand over at the shelter.”
“Oh yeah?” Dalton asked.
“It’s a no-kill shelter, so she’s got the pets there that no one else wants,” Mary said. “Some of them need a lot of care, so she’s always got her sleeves rolled up, doing what needs to be done, or finding someone to help if she can’t.”
“I’ll bet Dove will be a great volunteer when she’s older,” Dalton said. “She’s got a lot of energy and a positive attitude.”
“Just like her mother at that age,” Mary said fondly.
Surprised, Dalton allowed his eyes to go to Ella for another moment. It seemed impossible that the practical young woman had ever been as open-hearted as her daughter.
“She’s been through so much,” he said softly.
“She has,” her mom agreed. “But she’s a remarkable mother and she does everything she can for her father and me. We’re very lucky. Hopefully, she’ll let her sunshine come out again soon.”
“She deserves happiness,” Dalton said without thinking.
“She does,” Mary said, her voice a little odd.
He glanced down and found her looking up at him thoughtfully.
He cleared his throat and turned away, shame creeping up his rib cage. He was supposed to be here to help Andy’s family, not to obsess over his little sister.
“Hi there,” an older lady said brightly as she approached their table. “Looks like you’ve got a good crop this year, and a new worker too.”
“Hi, Betty Ann,” Mary said, turning to the woman with a smile. “This is Andy’s best friend from the military, Dalton Tyler. He’s come to lend us a hand on the farm, and he’s been a real help.”
“I imagine he has,” Betty Ann said, eyeing Dalton up and down approvingly, as if trying to estimate exactly how many sweet potatoes he could harvest. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Tyler. What you’re doing here is commendable.”
“Nice to meet you too, ma’am,” he said. “And it’s just Dalton.”
“Betty Ann practically runs this town,” Mary said.
“Maybe so, but I can always use a hand with it,” Betty Ann said, chuckling. “So, if things get quiet in the wintertime, don’t sit around bored, young man. Just give me a call and we’ll put you to work volunteering. There are better things to do than watch television.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dalton said, impressed.
“Now, I’ll take two pounds, please,” Betty Ann said. “I’m going to make pies.”
“Sweet potato pies?” Dalton asked, his mouth practically watering at the thought.
“Of course,” Betty Ann said, handing Mary a few bills and taking two clear plastic bags of sweet potatoes from her. “They’re nicer than pumpkin, in my opinion. Though don’t tell Alice Cassidy I said so.”
“Alice and Joe own Cassidy Farm,” Mary explained. “They sell pumpkins and pumpkin pie there, among other things.”
“Lots of other things,” Betty Ann said. “Speaking of which, I’ve got to keep moving. I want to get to Mallory’s booth before she sells out of raisin scones. See you around town, young man. Have a nice day, Mary, and thanks for the sweet potatoes.”
As she headed off, Dove scampered through the crowd to rejoin them.
“That was fun,” Dove told her grandmother, giving her a quick hug.
“I’m so glad,” Mary said. “Maybe when you get older, you can volunteer at the shelter.”
“I’ll help all the animals,” Dove said, nodding with a solemn expression.
“Was that Betty Ann?” Ella asked as she caught up with Dove.
“Sure was,” Mary answered. “She’s planning to make her sweet potato pies this weekend.”
Another customer came up before they could continue their conversation, and then another. Ella jumped to work, taking orders and making change while Mary and Dove filled the bags.
Ella greeted everyone by name and talked with them about the weather, the harvest, the events over at the school, and everything else under the sun.
She wasn’t just kind to him. Ella was a person who noticed things about others.
And whether it was letting them talk about their worries for a moment in spite of the line, chuckling at a terrible joke, or even making the half-pound order a whole pound, and whispering It’s on the house to the lady in the worn coat and boots holding hands with two little girls wearing too-small hand-me-downs.
He had already noticed that Ella was beautiful, but she’d never seemed more beautiful than she was today, caring for her tiny flock of friends and neighbors with everything she had, all while her own heart was still broken.
Dalton had been attracted to plenty of women in his time. But something about watching Ella today made his chest ache.
Before he knew it, their stock was all but gone and the morning had ripened into afternoon.