Chapter 6 Ella
ELLA
Ella floated through the day with a funny sense of anticipation she hadn’t felt in a long time, and couldn’t quite put her finger on.
The fresh fall air felt good in her lungs and the trees that lined the streets were so bright with color, they made the little town look like a painting.
Dove was so happy that she seemed to be floating through her activities, a big smile on her little face that made Ella feel like she must be getting some things right as a mom, in spite of their simple lifestyle.
And Ella could feel Dalton Tyler’s intense gaze on her all day, causing a light current of electricity to dance along the surface of her skin.
She knew she couldn’t actually let herself fall for the man, and she didn’t plan to, but she had to admit that it was actually kind of fun to spend time with him. And the way he listened to her, his brilliant blue eyes so serious, made her feel almost breathless.
He’s a good man, she reminded herself as they watched Dove get in line for a cupcake at the bakery booth. That’s why he listens. He probably just feels sorry for me.
But that didn’t mean she hadn’t developed just the tiniest crush.
She would never marry again, not after Lee. And she would never want to lead Dalton or herself to believe otherwise.
But if what she was feeling was a small secret crush, that was just fine. Plus, it was making today a little more fun than the average Saturday.
That thought snapped her back to high school, and the silly crush she’d had on Cal Cassidy back then.
She had mooned over him the same way every schoolgirl dreamed of her crush.
But that little zing of electricity used to make it easier to drag herself out of bed early in the mornings to do her chores before school.
Looking back now, it was pretty funny to think that she’d had a crush on Cal, who couldn’t have been more wrong for her.
She glanced up at Dalton and realized he was already looking at her, his blue eyes piercing.
“You’re smiling,” he observed.
She felt her cheeks heat for the second time in one day, and hoped he hadn’t noticed.
“Oh, it was just a memory,” she told him, laughing a little to cover her embarrassment.
“A memory of what?” he asked her.
“I had a crush on Cal Cassidy back in school,” she heard herself admit, as if his deep voice were some kind of truth serum. “I hadn’t thought about it in forever.”
“Isn’t that the sheriff?” Dalton asked, his eyebrows lifting.
“He was older than me,” Ella said, nodding. “And he didn’t even know I existed. He’s happily married now, of course, and nothing ever came of it. It was just funny to think about it out of nowhere.”
Dalton nodded, his expression thoughtful.
Of course he knows it wasn’t out of nowhere. What was I thinking?
“So, what do you think of our little market?” she asked him quickly, hoping to distract him from her silliness.
“It’s wonderful,” he said, looking around. Somehow, the way he said wonderful reminded her that even though people tossed the word around every day until it practically lost its meaning, it really did contain wonder. “What happens when it rains?”
“It used to mean we canceled or we packed it in early,” she told him. “But now we’ve got a covered space to use in the wintertime or when it rains.”
“So, a good change?” he offered.
“Yes,” she said smiling as she remembered their earlier conversation. “That is a good change. But the highway coming in that caused the area to be developed in the first place? I’m not sure how that will turn out.”
“That’s fair,” Dalton agreed.
“Look,” Dove yelled happily as she ran toward them, holding a white paper sack. “She gave me three cupcakes. Three.”
Ella looked over at Mal from the bakery, who waved to her and winked.
“She said you guys should have one too,” Dove said, handing Ella the bag. “She said they’re special.”
“That was so nice of her,” Ella said to Dove. “Did you thank her?”
Dove’s eyes got really big, and then she was blasting back to Mal’s table and yelling thank you, before dashing back.
The people Mal was waiting on smiled indulgently and Mal laughed and waved again.
“Open it up, Mama,” Dove said impatiently. “I want you to see them.”
Ella met her daughter’s eyes.
“I mean please open it up,” Dove said.
“Okay,” Ella told her.
“Should we go sit at the bench?” Dalton offered, pointing to an open spot near the library entrance.
“Okay,” Dove said, taking each of them by the hand.
For a moment, Ella was thrown. Walking this way made them look like a family.
But it wasn’t like she was the one holding Dalton’s hand. Not that it mattered. Folks around town had been making assumptions all day anyway, giving her knowing smiles and approving nods.
It was surprising, really. After losing her husband young and being a widow for four years now, she supposed it was probably normal for folks to expect her to be ready to open her heart again. But it still felt strange.
She let herself be led up to the bench, where she sat on one end and opened the bag after Dove released her hand.
Dalton seated himself on the other end, but Dove was too excited to sit. She stood between them, squirming with excitement over the sweet treats.
“Okay,” Ella said. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”
She pulled out a small plastic container and opened the lid to reveal a trio of cupcakes. Each one featured a generous dollop of pale-yellow frosting, with a sparkly red heart on top.
“Oh, wow,” Ella said, feeling another blush coming on. “Hearts.”
A little over the top, Mal…
“They look delicious,” Dalton said, turning to Dove as if he sensed Ella’s discomfort. “Are you planning to eat yours in one bite or two?”
“No,” Dove laughed.
“Which one?” Dalton asked her, pretending to be serious.
“Neither,” Dove panted. “They’re too big.”
“I could definitely eat mine in one bite,” Dalton said, nodding to himself.
“Nooooooo,” Dove laughed again.
“I won’t,” he told her. “But only because your mother is here and I want to be polite. One day, I’ll show you how to eat any cupcake in one bite. It’s easy.”
He was clearly putting on a show for Dove’s entertainment, but by now, Ella was kind of curious herself.
“You can show me,” Dove said, her eyes wide. “My mom won’t mind.”
“Well, I’ll describe my technique,” Dalton said. “But I won’t do it. Does that sound fair?”
He actually turned to Ella and she couldn’t help smiling as she nodded.
“Okay, then,” he said, turning back to Dove.
Ella pulled out a cupcake and handed it to him before handing the second one to Dove and keeping the third one in the container.
“The first thing you want to do is unwrap it,” Dalton told Dove. “You can’t eat a cupcake in one bite if the wrapper is still on. I learned that one the hard way.”
Dove laughed again while holding her own cupcake carefully in both hands.
“Here we go,” Dalton said, deftly removing the paper from his cupcake. “Next, you pull the bottom of the cupcake right off.”
Ella and Dove watched as he removed the bottom half of his cupcake, just as he’d said.
“Now,” he said, “you put it on top of the other half, like a frosting sandwich.”
He did just what he had described, mercifully hiding the over-the-top heart between the two layers of cake.
He’s doing this for both of us, Ella realized. Not just for Dove.
“Now, I could just put this whole thing right in my mouth,” Dalton told Dove. “But instead, I’ll take polite bites. And I won’t get frosting all over my face because I made it into a sandwich.”
“Wow,” Dove said, looking super impressed as she watched him take a bite.
True to his claim, Dalton did not get frosting all over his face. But he did spill plenty of crumbs.
“What do you think?” he asked Ella after he swallowed.
“Impressive,” Ella admitted.
“I want to do it,” Dove cried. “I want mine like a sandwich too.”
“Of course,” Dalton said. “Do you remember the steps?”
“Take off the wrapper,” Dove said excitedly.
“Do it carefully because we would all be very sad if you dropped your cupcake,” Dalton advised her.
Ella watched as Dove carefully peeled off the paper. It took her a couple of tries and it ripped at one point. But she managed to get it off without dropping the cupcake. And she only got a minimal amount of frosting on her hands.
“Now what?” Dalton asked.
“I pull the bottom right off,” Dove said.
“Yup,” Dalton said. “Slow and steady wins the race.”
“What does that mean?” Dove asked.
“It means going slowly and carefully is better than going fast,” Dalton told her.
“Not in a race,” Dove said, frowning.
“Don’t you remember the story about the turtle and the hare?” Dalton asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Dove said, brightening.
“So be careful, like the turtle,” Dalton said.
“So I don’t drop my cupcake,” Dove finished for him.
“You have a bright daughter, Ella,” Dalton said. “Sharp as a tack.”
But being compared to a tack made Dove giggle again.
Ella watched as her daughter managed to remove the bottom of the cupcake and then stick it on top of the frosting without being reminded.
“Cupcake sandwich,” Dove said triumphantly.
Dalton nodded to her and she puffed up with pride.
It hit Ella that Dove had never had the opportunity to be silly with her dad. She didn’t even remember him. And even though her grandpa was amazing, a grandpa just wasn’t the same as a dad.
Is this what it would have been like?
Her mind took her back through the week. She’d caught Dalton telling Dove silly knock-knock jokes more than once, and bringing home funny looking sweet potatoes for her at dinner, and telling her made-up stories about them.
“Now is the real challenge, Dove,” Dalton said, drawing Ella’s mind back to the present. “Now is when we see if you can open your mouth wide enough to take a bite.”
But Dove was already taking a big bite of cupcake.
“Itsh-sho-gooooood,” she said with her mouth full. Her cheeks were rounded out like a chipmunk’s, and her brown eyes danced with glee.
“Dove,” Ella said gently, trying not to laugh. “Remember not to talk with your mouth full.”
“Sh-orry, Mama,” Dove replied, still smiling around her bite.
Ella laughed and Dalton turned to her.
“Your turn, Ella,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t need to do that,” she said. “I was just going to bring mine home and share it with my parents.”
“What?” Dalton said, pretending to be horrified. “The bakery lady specifically gave Dove two free cupcakes for you and me. You can’t save it and you can’t share it. It’s a gift.”
“You have to eat it, Mama,” Dove said, her eyes wide. “It was a present for you.”
“Fine,” Ella said. “I’ll eat it.”
She pulled it out, and when she caught a whiff of the delicious vanilla flavor, her mouth began watering.
“Take off the wrapper, Mama,” Dove whispered to her, nodding encouragingly like a stage manager reminding an actor of his cue.
“Should I eat it in one bite?” Ella asked, winking at Dove.
“Yes,” Dove said. “Yes, yes, yes.”
Ella quickly removed the wrapping, pulled off the bottom of the cupcake and set it over the frosting heart.
“I don’t think I can do this,” Ella said to herself.
“You can do it, Ella,” Dalton said immediately. His voice was playful, but his eyes were serious. “Rise above our expectations. Show this cupcake who’s boss.”
Who is this man, and where is the serious soldier I’ve been harvesting sweet potatoes with all week?
Clearly, Dove brought out a special side of Dalton that Ella couldn’t access on her own.
Dove was leaning forward now, her eyes fixed on Ella’s cupcake like she might believe in unicorns and fairies again if her mother actually ate a whole cupcake in one bite.
Ella glanced around, but miraculously no one was watching them. The ukulele band had just kicked off their weekly performance with John Lennon’s “Imagine” over at the music tent, and everyone was distracted.
Taking a deep breath, Ella said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t choke, and then shoved as much of the cupcake in her mouth as she could before she changed her mind.
It wasn’t the whole thing, but it was a lot.
Crumbs rained down her jacket as Dove shrieked with glee and Dalton applauded and tipped an imaginary hat in congratulations.
The cupcake was actually delicious, flavored with a delicate vanilla and frosting so sweet it practically made Ella’s toes curl.
“Good job, Mama,” Dove crowed.
“Last bites together,” Dalton announced, bringing his remaining portion to his lips.
By the time Dove got hers to her mouth, Ella had miraculously swallowed her big bite down, so she was just in time to finish with Dalton and Dove.
As the three of them looked at each other, mouths full of sweetness, humming in appreciation over final bites, Ella felt a sense of belonging so strong it made her chest ache.