Chapter 22 Ella
ELLA
Valentine’s Day
Ella stood on the patio at Wright Farm, watching her wedding guests enjoy the beautiful reception.
When Dalton told her he wanted to get married right away and she agreed, both of them had been very serious. But they decided to take just enough time to make the day special. And what could be more special than celebrating their love on Valentine’s Day?
The church wedding had been small and simple.
But Ella’s father surprised her by booking nearby Wright Farm for the reception afterward.
Hailey Sinclair, a Trinity Falls native and former soap opera actress, had bought the place after she retired from acting and got right to work fixing it up to host events.
The house and grounds were warm and welcoming. And the big heat lamps out on the patio allowed Ella and Dalton to host outside, in spite of the cold weather. Beautiful lights twinkled, there were gorgeous flowers everywhere, and best of all, the space was filled with friends and family.
Dalton was currently chatting with a group from the veterans’ foundation on the far side of the patio. The men were all laughing and gesturing with their hands, and Ella was pretty sure they were talking about Captain Anderson’s New Year’s wedding and all the unexpected drama before and afterward.
She smiled and shook her head. One thing was for certain, if Dalton had been lonely before he came to Trinity Falls, he certainly wasn’t now.
Between her family, the other vets, and Dove dragging him to read at school and volunteer for every activity under the sun, the man didn’t have a moment to himself these days.
But it sure seemed like he liked it that way.
He caught her eye across the patio and she felt a tug on her heart, like a string stretched taut between their chests.
The next thing she knew, he was striding toward her, his long legs eating up the distance in no time.
“Hey,” he said, taking her hand, his thumb caressing her ring finger, where she now wore two rings.
Ella loved the pretty engagement ring with the tiny, twinkling diamond they had chosen from Valerie’s shop in town. The filigree on the shank was echoed in their wedding bands, and in the locket Dove wore around her neck.
Dove’s eyes had been wide with wonder as Dalton presented it to her. Inside was a picture of the three of them, opposite a picture of her father. And the words We love you forever were inscribed on the back.
From time to time, Ella noticed Dove unconsciously lifting the locket from her chest, her fingers playing lightly over those beautiful words.
Forever meant a lot to Dove, and maybe even more to Dalton himself.
As for Ella, she knew that forever might not mean as many days or years as she dreamed. So she was determined to enjoy their shared time moment by beautiful moment.
“Mama,” Dove yelled, running over to them. “Papa.”
There was uncertainty in her eyes until Dalton let go of Ella’s hand to bend and scoop Dove up in his arms. Since her father had been Daddy, she was trying out Papa on Dalton. His response seemed to reassure her, and she giggled when he rubbed his scratchy cheeks against hers.
“Hey, sweet potato,” he said. “You look awesome.”
She was still wearing her flower girl dress, an over-the-top confection of pink and red tulle that she had picked out and her grandma had sewn. Ella was pretty sure it was going to be difficult to ever get her to take it off.
“Thank you,” Dove said. “You too.”
She wasn’t wrong. Dalton had looked very handsome in his suit. And now that he had removed the jacket and rolled up the sleeves of the white dress shirt, Ella thought he looked more handsome than ever.
“But not as amazing as your mom,” Dalton said, sliding his gaze to Ella.
She felt her cheeks burn as he admired her. Her mom had also made her wedding gown—a pretty cream-colored satin that was modest enough to feel like Ella’s style, while still showing off her curves a bit.
“She’s the bride,” Dove said, nodding sagely.
“The prettiest bride I’ve ever seen,” Dalton said, his voice ringing with a proud certainty that made Ella giggle.
“There they are,” Ella’s mom said, heading over to join them with her dad by her side. “We haven’t given you your wedding present yet.”
“You threw this reception,” Ella said. “You made our dresses. You’ve already given us enough presents.”
“Well, just one more won’t hurt,” her father said, winking. “I don’t think you’ll hold it against us when we tell you what it is.”
Ella looked to her mother, who was also smiling.
“We love having you here on the farm with us,” her mother said. “And we hope you’ll stay. But we thought you might like a place of your own.”
“Levi Williams helped us with the paperwork to sub-divide an acre, right next to the house,” her father said. “That’s all yours now, along with some money to build.”
“Money?” Ella echoed softly.
How could there be money for building? she wondered. There had been so many hard years.
“We put aside a bit whenever we could for your college and Andy’s,” her mother explained. “But neither of you ever went.”
“It’s not a fortune, mind you,” her father put in. “But it should be enough to build a sturdy little house for the three of you, and you’ve already got the land.”
“Mom, Dad—” Ella said. But she was crying before she could say anything more.
“Of course, that money is yours now,” her mother said firmly. “And we know you might have your own dreams. If you’d rather get an apartment in town, or put it toward something else—”
“No,” Dalton said firmly before Ella could reply. “We want to stay with you on the farm, right Ella?”
She nodded through her tears.
“Don’t cry, Mama,” Dove said. “We won’t be far away from grandma and grandpa. We can go see them every day.”
“Of course you can, sweetheart,” her grandfather said. “You’ll be able to see our house from yours and come keep me company anytime you want.”
Dove wiggled out of Dalton’s arms to go hug her grandpa, who didn’t even wince.
His back was still an issue, but having Dalton around for the heavy lifting over these past few months had done wonders for it, and with Dalton’s encouragement, he had made a New Year’s resolution to start physical therapy, which already seemed to be helping.
“We’ll just let you two talk it over,” her mother said with a smile.
Ella watched the three of them head over to the buffet to choose more appetizers, with Dove laughing and talked happily with her grandparents.
“I hope you didn’t mind me answering for you,” Dalton said. “And I hope I guessed right what you would want.”
“I can’t believe it,” Ella said softly. “It’s all I ever wanted. Are you really okay with it?”
“Ella,” Dalton said, cupping her cheek in his hand, as he loved to do. “I’m more than okay with living anywhere as long as you and Dove are there too.”
She smiled up at him, leaning into his hand.
“But this is just right,” he told her. “I think I’ve got the hang of the farm now. And that means we need to convince your mother to take her retirement. But she won’t do it if she isn’t sure that farm is being run right.”
“That’s true,” Ella said, smiling at how well he already knew her mother.
“Well, this way she can see it all,” he said. “But she’ll have her house to herself, and we’ll be right there when they need us.”
“You don’t mind the responsibility?” Ella asked.
“You and your family are a package deal,” Dalton said, his blue gaze serious. “I’ve never doubted that for a second. And you have to see that this is all I’ve ever wanted, right? A family to love and take care of?”
Ella hugged him close, pressing her cheek to his chest and losing herself to the steady beating of his heart—a heart that had been broken so many times, and only come out stronger and bigger and kinder.
“I don’t deserve you,” she whispered through her tears.
“You deserve everything, Ella Tyler,” he told her roughly, pressing a kiss to her head. “And I’m going to make sure you get it.”
Ella believed him.
But as she opened her eyes and looked at their family and friends around them, and felt her husband’s arms wrapped around her tightly, she knew that she already had everything she could possibly want.
***
Thanks for reading Soldier’s Christmas Promise!