Chapter 11 Ella
ELLA
Ella was curled up on the loveseat the night after Thanksgiving, sewing mother-of-pearl buttons on the lavender and green cardigan she had crocheted for Dove for Christmas.
It had taken forever, since she could only work on it after her daughter was already tucked in, and with all the early mornings on the farm, Ella didn’t like to stay up particularly late herself.
“That’s looking lovely,” her mom said over the top of her book.
“Thank you,” Ella replied. “I’m hoping these colors are still her favorites when Christmas comes.”
“She’s going to love it,” Mom said firmly.
The creaky stair groaned, and Ella shoved her project under a throw pillow so she wouldn’t ruin Dove’s surprise.
But it was Dalton who appeared on the landing.
Her mouth tried to lift into a happy smile, but she firmly kept her features under control.
It had been harder and harder to ignore her feelings for the gentle soldier. Seeing Dove express her love for him so casually last night had tugged on Ella’s heart, and she’d had to look out the window for a minute to avoid letting anyone see the tears she was fighting.
“Shall I put the kettle on?” Ella’s mom offered warmly.
“No, thank you,” Dalton said, turning to her dad. “Do you have a moment to talk, sir?”
Ella looked up, surprised. Dalton’s voice sounded stiff and dry as paper. And he was calling her father sir again.
“Of course, son,” Dad said. “Anytime.”
“I really appreciated being included in your celebration yesterday,” Dalton said.
“Of course,” her father replied, frowning. “Wouldn’t have been Thanksgiving without you.”
“The harvest is done,” Dalton went on without responding, as if he had prepared what he wanted to say in advance. “So I’m ready to get out of your hair now.”
Ella’s stomach dropped.
“What in the world do you mean by that?” Mom asked.
“You’re welcome to go whenever you want to or need to, of course,” Dad said firmly. “We all know you have a life outside this farm that’s waiting on you.”
Dalton nodded once, his jaw clenched tightly. Ella wondered if her parents noticed it. She was pretty sure Dalton was lying. He had told her himself that he didn’t have family waiting, and if he’d found some other work, wouldn’t he have said something?
“But,” her dad went on, “we do have a lot of maintenance that we need to get done this winter. So, if you feel like staying on, we could use the help. And you won’t be bored, I can promise you that.”
Ella waited for a breathless moment.
“You have more work to do?” Dalton asked.
“Yes,” Dad replied. “Plenty of it.”
“Maybe I could stay a bit longer,” Dalton said, his voice still serious.
Relief flooded Ella’s chest, and this time she couldn’t keep herself from smiling.
“I do have one condition,” her dad said sternly.
“What is it?” Dalton asked.
“You have to let me pay you,” her dad replied. “I was planning on bringing someone in for the winter anyway, and I can’t let you continue without giving you a fair wage.”
“I’ll think about it,” Dalton said, frowning again.
“Very good,” her dad said, nodding to him.
At that, Dalton turned on his heel and headed out of the room.
Ella’s eyes went to her father and he gestured for her to follow, then winked at her.
She was frozen in place for a moment. She’d thought she had done such a good job hiding her feelings. But here was Dad, winking at her, and implying that her opinion might have more impact on Dalton’s decision than his did.
It was the first time anyone had even hinted that something might be happening between them, and her heart pounded as she recovered herself and hurried out of the room.
She couldn’t let him leave, of course, not now that she knew he had no family to go to for the holidays. Her own selfish feelings aside, she would never want anyone to spend Christmas on his own.
And he certainly deserved pay for his hard work. She’d already caught her parents talking worriedly about him refusing payment more than once since his arrival.
“Dalton,” she called after him when she reached the hall.
He paused, and then turned back.
Suddenly, she was reminded of the night he arrived, and the feeling she’d had, being enclosed with the big man on the narrow staircase.
But then he’d been a stranger, and now she knew him and cared about him.
Don’t you dare go soft, Ella, she told herself. And stop noticing how handsome he is. That has nothing to do with convincing him he has to stay.
“You know you can’t leave, right?” she asked him with a hint of steel in her voice that shocked her. “We really do need the help. And they’ve been beside themselves this whole time, not paying you. It’s selfish of you to make them feel beholden like that.”
Dalton stepped back, his eyes widening slightly like he was as surprised as she was to hear her speaking so forcefully.
“There’s plenty of work to do here,” she went on, hearing her voice go gentle in spite of her determination to stay strong. “And you shouldn’t be alone for the holidays anyway.”
That last part had come out as low as a whisper, and she instantly wished she hadn’t said it as his face tensed up again.
“Is that the only reason you want me here?” he asked in a measured tone. “Because you feel sorry for me?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Of course not. We like having you here. Everyone wants you to stay.”
He took a step closer and she could see the intensity in his blue gaze, even in the dim light of the hall.
“Do you want me to stay?”
His voice was like the low purr of a big cat, warm and dangerous.
She knew what he was asking, and the answer was yes. But she also knew she couldn’t let herself respond.
“You’re really good for my dad,” she hedged. “He’s been so much happier since you came. And my mom loves hanging out with you. And Dove has blossomed so much with you here…”
Her words trailed off. As she thought about all the ways he’d affected the people she loved most, she realized that he’d done even more for her.
Dalton was the first person to push through her defenses since Lee passed. He was her friend, he made her laugh, and he cared about her family.
When he was around, she felt like her heart could heal and love again.
“Do you want me to stay?” he asked her again.
“Yes,” she admitted, dropping her gaze from his in the hopes that he wouldn’t be able to read the emotions in her eyes.
She waited for him to respond, but instead the hall was silent except for the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. She was beginning to think he was just going to stay silent when he finally spoke.
“I’ll stay,” he said softly. “If you’ll let me take you out to dinner.”
“What?” she asked, lifting her gaze to his again without thinking about it.
“You heard me,” he said.
One side of his beautiful mouth tugged up in a playful half-smile that took her completely by surprise.
“Okay,” she heard herself agree.
“Done,” he said. “Let me go talk to your dad.”
He moved past her to go back to her father, and she stood alone in the dark hallway watching after him and feeling gobsmacked.
I can’t really go to dinner with him, can I?
But it was too late. She had already said yes, and she wasn’t even really sure why.
She took a deep breath and let it out again slowly, then realized that she had no idea if Dalton was going to tell her dad about his condition for staying.
She hurried off after him and arrived back in the family room in time to see her father shaking Dalton’s hand.
“Glad to have you aboard officially now,” Dad told him with a big smile.
“My pleasure,” Dalton told him. “I’m going to make an early night of it. Sounds like we have plenty to do tomorrow.”
He started to turn away, but got pulled in for a quick hug first.
As Dalton disappeared up the staircase, Ella braced herself for questions from her parents—either how she had convinced him, or worse, why she had agreed to have dinner with him.
“I’m so glad he’s staying,” Mom said softly.
“Me too,” Ella agreed, relieved.
“And it’s nice to see you smiling more,” her father put in.
She waited for the questions to start, but there weren’t any. And though she wanted to argue what was being implied, how could she?
They weren’t together, and that was for the best, even if she did really like him. Ella thought it should be easy to keep things friendly. She’d agreed to have dinner with him, but it’s not like they would really be spending any time alone.
“You and Dalton will be painting the barn on your own tomorrow, sweetheart,” her mother said, as if reading her mind. “I’m having lunch with my girlfriends.”
We’re painting the barn together… alone?
Her mind screamed at her that they would be returning to the scene of the crime. Though of course, no crime had been committed. They hadn’t even kissed.
But I wanted to…
And just thinking about it made her cheeks heat up all over again.
She thought briefly about arguing, but her mother hadn’t gotten together with her friends in forever. She deserved to enjoy time with the other retired teachers whenever she could.
But if Ella stayed down here any longer, her parents were going to notice her discomfort.
“Sounds good,” she squeaked, heading for the stairs. “I’d better get some sleep too.”
She headed to her room with her heart racing, trying to tell herself that she was glad Dalton was staying, and happy to continue their friendship.
It doesn’t have to mean anything, she tried to tell herself as she got ready for bed. Friends go out to dinner all the time.