Chapter 21 Ella
ELLA
Ella spent the next day feeling like she was floating on sunshine, despite the blizzard outside. The whole family decided that if they were snowed in on Christmas Eve, at least they could bake. So, after they dug their way to the barn to feed the pony, they got out all the ingredients.
All day long the kitchen was filled with laughter, delicious scents, and the sound of Christmas music on the radio as they taught Dalton the family’s holiday recipes.
Ella and Dalton headed back out in the late afternoon to feed Goldie again.
The snow was so deep that the whole farm looked different, the smaller hills and valleys leveled under the pale frosting.
But at least it wasn’t falling anymore. The sky was clear enough to see the stars, and the air was bright and crisp, as if the snow had cleaned it.
“Is it wrong to wish every day could be like this?” Ella wondered out loud as Dalton held her gloved hand in his.
“I was thinking the same thing,” he told her with a crooked smile that almost broke her heart.
They were about to walk in the back door when Dalton tugged her hand to stop her from opening it, and stole a featherlight kiss that sent her heart racing.
Life was good, so good.
They all stayed up late, enjoying cookies and mugs of tea, and telling stories about Christmases past. Ella even convinced Dalton to tell everyone his Andy story, and they all laughed until they cried happy tears.
On Christmas morning, Ella was up before the sun, her heart singing before she was even awake enough to remember why she was so happy.
The whole house still smelled like cinnamon and spices. She hummed “Joy to the World” as she took a quick shower and dressed. But she stopped humming on the way down the stairs, in case anyone was sleeping in.
She skipped the creaky step, and had just reached the landing before the kitchen when she heard soft voices.
“I didn’t get to talk to Santa,” Dove was saying plaintively.
“But you did,” her grandfather told her. “You came home with little candy canes, remember?”
“No, he just gave out candy and he left,” Dove said. “I didn’t get to tell him.”
“Tell him what, sweetheart?” he asked.
“What I want for Christmas,” Dove said softly.
“Well, Christmas is a nice time for presents,” her grandpa said carefully. “But the most important thing that we all have is each other.”
Ella smiled. She’d heard some version of that sentiment so many times as a child, especially when the farm had a hard year.
But for the Barretts, it was true—Christmas really was more about preparing special foods and hosting family get-togethers.
Those were the things Dove would remember long after she forgot whether she got a certain book or toy.
“But we don’t all have each other, not Dalton,” Dove said sadly. “He might not live here forever. Mama said so.”
Ella bit her lip. She had given Dove that warning, back before she and Dalton were together. She wanted to be honest with her daughter, always, and prepare her for what she thought was Dalton’s eventual departure.
“And you want him to live here forever?” Dad asked Dove gently.
“Yes,” Dove said.
“Well,” her grandfather replied. “I think there’s someone even better than Santa that you can talk to about that. You can tell Dalton himself. He likes you a lot, Dove, and I’ll bet he’d give it serious thought if you asked him.”
“Okay,” she said, sounding happier.
“Merry Christmas,” Ella said loudly as she came down the rest of the stairs.
“Merry Christmas, Mama,” Dove replied happily, running up to hug her.
Ella’s dad met her eyes over the top of Dove’s head, clearly wondering if she’d heard the conversation he was just having.
She nodded once, and smiled, so he would know she was pleased about it.
“I’ll just grab my coat and head out to feed the pony,” she said.
“No need,” her father said. “Your mother and Dalton went out to take care of that a few minutes ago. Roads are all clear, and your aunt and uncle, and the cousins are already on the way. After a couple of days cooped up, everyone was excited to get out of the house.”
“Not us,” Dove pointed out. “We’re excited to stay in our house.”
The doorbell rang, and then the front door opened and family began to spill in.
Ella and Dove went to greet them, hand in hand. As they gave and received hugs and well-wishes, she imagined all this through Dalton’s eyes and found that she couldn’t wait for him to get back to the house and soak in all the family traditions he’d missed out on growing up.
It was going to be a magical day.
When Ella’s mother came in from pony duty, Ella, her dad, her aunt and uncle, and her cousin and her husband were all sitting around the kitchen table already, while Dove ran around the house with Olivia and Danny singing “Jingle Bells” at the top of their lungs.
Mom looked radiantly happy, her cheeks pink from being outside in the snow.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” she said as they all greeted her. “Oh, isn’t this nice?”
Ella got up and gestured for her mother to take her seat while she poured her a cup of tea.
Dalton came in a moment later. His cheeks were flushed too, and his jaw was tight.
He’s nervous, she reminded herself. There’s more family here that he hasn’t met yet.
“Help me with Mom’s tea?” she asked him quietly, gesturing him over to her so that he wouldn’t have to get caught up in the mix at the table right away.
“Sure,” he said, smiling in a way that told her he was relaxed again, now that he had a task to do.
“How was Goldie?” she asked him.
“Happy to see us,” he said. “That pony loves to eat.”
“Girl after my own heart,” Ella said, laughing and handing him two mugs of tea.
He carried one over to her mom.
“Thank you, Dalton,” she said fondly. “Ruth, Tom, this is Dalton.”
“Oh, we heard all about you from Lori and Dan,” Ruth said. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you.”
“You too,” Dalton said. “You’ve got some pretty awesome grandkids.”
That sent Aunt Ruth into a deluge of news and stories about Danny and Olivia. Ella was pleased to see Dalton lean against the counter and laugh alongside the rest of the family.
By the time breakfast was eaten and it was time for presents, it felt like he had always been part of the family. Ella laughed when he stuck a bow on top of his head just like the kids did when they opened their gifts.
There was nothing too lavish for the grownups, but her parents had bought Dalton a nice blue and gray flannel, which he put right on.
Ella had gotten him a pair of warm gloves.
And Lori and her family gave him a powerful LED flashlight.
Each time he opened a gift the look of wonder on his face touched Ella’s heart.
It was hitting her that he probably hadn’t received many gifts at Christmastime.
Once all the presents had been opened, Ella offered to take the kids outside to play, so that Lori and Dan could relax a bit. Dalton came along, and they all decided to trek out to the barn to bring Goldie some apple slices.
As the kids’ laughter rang out through the cold afternoon air, Ella felt like a kid again herself.
That evening, after the extended family had gone, Ella, her parents, Dove, and Dalton all sat by the fireplace.
Ella’s parents relaxed in their armchairs, Dove sat on the floor by the fire, and Ella and Dalton were on the loveseat together, his foot just touching hers.
The food was put away and the dishes were washed. Dove had even helped to gather the wrapping paper from the floor. It had been a wonderful day and Ella soaked in the satisfaction of knowing there was nothing left to do but enjoy the peace of the evening.
“Christmas is all gone,” Dove said suddenly.
“Of course it isn’t,” her grandfather reminded her. “It isn’t midnight yet. And besides, we still have our tree and our decorations. And so many cookies. Christmas won’t be over until we eat them all up.”
“Good,” Dove said seriously, scrambling onto her feet and heading over to the loveseat.
Ella expected that maybe Dove wanted to sit on her lap. But she turned to Dalton instead.
“I have to ask you something,” she said softly, looking down at her feet. She looked like the shy girl she had been when Dalton first arrived and the sight nearly broke Ella’s heart.
Please don’t let him be scared by what she’s about to ask, she prayed.
“What is it?” Dalton asked, leaning forward and taking Dove’s hands in his. There was a crease of worry on his forehead, like maybe he thought she was unhappy with him.
Dove lifted her chin and looked him square in the eyes. Ella could see her squared-off little shoulders relax as she gripped Dalton’s hands right back.
“Will you stay with us forever, Dalton?” she asked him, her voice bell clear. “Please?”
Dalton sucked in a quick breath, almost like a sob, and then pressed his lips together for a moment.
“That’s an awfully good offer,” he replied. “There’s something I might have to ask your mom about before I answer, okay?”
Dove nodded, a solemn expression on her face, as Dalton’s words echoed in Ella’s head.
Something I have to ask your mom about…
“Why don’t I take you up to bed, Dove?” Ella’s mom offered. “So your mom and Dalton can have a nice chat?”
“I’ll come too,” Ella’s dad chimed in. “We can talk about what we want to do for New Year’s.”
“Okay,” Dove said. “Good night, Mama. Good night, Dalton.”
“Good night, my love,” Ella said.
“Good night, sweetheart,” Dalton added.
Ella watched as her parents accompanied Dove down the hall toward the staircase.
She had been so certain about Dalton, but suddenly worry clouded her heart. She had married so young, but from all that her friends had said, most men didn’t like being hemmed in and asked to commit, certainly not to forever.
Well, I’m not going to apologize for my daughter’s wants, Ella said to herself. She deserves forever and she shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it.
If Dalton was the kind of man who got squirmy with that kind of talk, it was better to know that now.
“She wants you to stay,” she said softly. “Does that make you want to run?”
“Ella,” Dalton breathed.
She turned to him, steeling herself until she saw the emotion burning in his ocean-blue eyes.
“I want to stay,” he told her firmly. “Forever. And I want more than that.”
“More than forever?” she heard herself murmur.
“We can take this as slowly as you want, Ella,” he said, his voice deep and serious. “But this only ends in one way, and that’s with my ring around your finger.”
“Really?” she asked him.
“Really,” he said. “I’d take you to church tonight if you said yes. But I understand what you’ve been through. And if I have to be patient, I will.”
“Loss taught me a lot of lessons,” she said carefully. “And the main thing is that I don’t want to waste a single moment. Tomorrow isn’t promised.”
“But I am, Ella,” he said, kneeling at her feet. “If you’ll have me, I promise to love you forever.”
Gazing into his brilliant blue eyes, she knew he was telling the truth. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a man alive who took his promises more seriously than Dalton Tyler.
“Yes,” she whispered, as tears burned in her eyes.
Dalton leaned forward, pressing his forehead to her chest as if he were trying to burrow his way into her heart.
She ran her hands through his dark hair and kissed the top of his head.
It was only when he leaned back again that she saw he had tears in his eyes too.
“I wish I had a ring for you right now,” he told her, bringing her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss to it. “We’ll go into town first thing.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he told her. “We’ll take Dove with us. She should have something special too, something to help her remember that this is forever for all of us.”
“You don’t think she’s asleep yet, do you?” Ella asked.
“She can’t be,” he said, leaping to his feet. “Do you want to tell them?”
“Yes,” Ella said, hopping up off the loveseat and heading for the hall.
“Wait,” Dalton said.
She stopped and turned to him and he strode over to her, joy in his blue eyes as he lifted his hand to cup her cheek.
“Thank you, Ella,” he said, his deep voice reverent.
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she covered his hand with her own.
She wanted to thank him for opening her heart again, for bringing back pieces of her brother, for helping her fulfill the last promise she had made to Lee, for awakening her daughter’s laughter, for working the farm, loving her parents, and making each day feel like it was meant to be enjoyed and lived, not just survived.
But she couldn’t make her voice work through her tears, so she went up on her toes and kissed him gently instead, hoping that he knew what was in her heart.