It hurt to see the hope in his brilliant blue eyes dim again and again, but she just reminded herself of her husband and managed to shake her head.
Lee had been a ball of energy since the day she met him. The man had been filled with a joyful spirit that had him ready to socialize at any chance he got. To Lee, solitude was the worst thing he could imagine, and he made sure to fill his days with the company of family and friends.
And he certainly wouldn’t have wanted Ella to be alone. He’d even told her as much when he got sick, though she’d told him at the time not to be silly.
You’re too young, Ellie,he’d whispered, scrabbling for her hand in the darkness of the bedroom that had become more like a hospital room.Don’t lock yourself away. Get out there and live when this is over. Live enough for both of us. Do it for Dove. Promise me.
She had promised that she would think about it, if only to calm him. Though during those dark days, she couldn’t imagine ever loving anyone again.
But it wasn’t her doubt or her sense of loyalty holding her back now, not really.
It was what came after Lee passed that made her think she couldn’t be with anyone again.
The guilt she felt now about that time weighed on her heart as heavy as the harvester. She knew no matter what happened or how she felt, she couldn’t love another manthe way she’d loved Lee. And in the end, even the way she’d loved him hadn’t been enough.
So, she kept her head down and her guard up, and figured it would all be a lot easier once this annoyingly kind and frustratingly handsome houseguest moved on.
“Boxes are coming today,” Mom told them all one morning at the breakfast table.
“Wow, already,” Dad remarked, shaking his head with a smile. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
He glanced over at Dalton, who was shoveling a mountain of scrambled eggs into his mouth.
The two of them had compromised, and they made breakfast together most mornings. Ella came down early from time to time and heard Dalton grilling her father about one farming task or another. When Dad really got to talking, he’d usually pull up one of the stools from the counter and sit without realizing he was doing it, sketching things out or jotting down notes for Dalton with the pad and paper they kept by the old landline phone.
No one else would have noticed, but Ella had made such a study of Dalton Tyler that she recognized satisfaction in the way his jaw relaxed a little the moment her dad sat down.
He’s doing it on purpose,she realized the third time she saw it happen.He’stricking him into sitting down. He probably does this every day.
“What are the boxes for?” Dalton asked.
“They’re for the sweet potatoes,” Dove piped up. “That’s how we pack them up.”
“We store some and we ship the rest,” Mom added. “And once that’s done, the season is over.”
“What do you do then?” Dalton asked.
“Oh, some prep for next year,” Mom said. “And we take care of any deferred maintenance on the house and barn, and the equipment, naturally.”
“Taxes,” Dad put in.
“Michael organizes all the books for our accountant to go through,” Mom said, nodding. “But mostly it’s a chance to catch our breath before the whole thing starts over.”
“A well-earned breather,” Dad agreed heartily. “And it’s also a chance to make plans for next year, and of course to enjoy the holidays.”
“Sounds nice,” Dalton said, nodding. But Ella noticed the slight furrow in his brow.
“Itisnice,” Dove said. “You’ll see. We’ll get a Christmas tree and we’ll bake cookies and everything.”
“First there’s Thanksgiving,” Mom reminded her.
“My school celebration is today,” Dove said, her eyes wide with excitement.
“It sure is,” Ella added with a smile.
“And on actual Thanksgiving, we’re havingthree pies,”Dove sang out happily. “Three.”
Dalton seemed distracted during the rest of breakfast. And when they got out to the barn, he grabbed a push broom and swept the already-clean floors while he waited for an assignment.
