“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said softly, wishing she knew what to say next.
“When I turned eighteen, I got lucky and a buddy got me a gig down at the warehouse,” he went on. “I was there for a while, just grateful for the chance. But I started to realize that it wasn’t going anywhere—it was too small, and there was no way to advance.”
She nodded. Given his work ethic and boundless curiosity, she couldn’t imagine Dalton working forever doing the same basic tasks.
“So, I enlisted,” he told her. “It was a great opportunity for me, and I got some specialized training too.”
“Andy told us all about that,” she said, nodding. Herbrother had been so proud of his friend’s accomplishments.
“Well, you know the rest,” Dalton said, shrugging.
She drew in a breath as the whole situation rearranged itself in her mind.
Dalton was essentially alone in the world. If her family hadn’t insisted that he be here, he would have had no place else to go this Thanksgiving.
“Your brother was the only person who ever really made me feel like I belonged,” Dalton went on, his eyes on his boots again. “I probably would have stayed in the service if he hadn’t passed. But that promise I made him meant something to me then. And it means something now, to know I haven’t let him down.”
She wanted to protest, to tell him that he’d done what he had set out to do, and there was no more obligation.
But she was starting to understand that this promise was more than a self-imposed commitment, it was Dalton’s only link to the man who had made him feel like he was home.
Maybe he doesn’t want to leave.
Maybe he shouldn’t.
“Thank you for telling me,” she said softly.
“You deserve the truth,” he said, shrugging without making eye contact.
She had the sudden urge to tell him everything as well, lay her cards on the table and admit the guilt she felt for the wickedness in her heart those years ago.
But Dalton had enough on his plate. And her guilt was hers to bear. She wouldn’t burden him with it.
“Well, all of this settles it,” she said, lightening hertone to sound as friendly as possible. “You’re definitely staying for Thanksgiving. And I hope you’re planning to be hungry.”
“For sure,” he said, lifting his face at last and capturing her gaze with those brilliant blue eyes. “I heard we’re having three pies.”
She couldn’t help smiling then, and when he gave her one of his rare smiles back, her heart ached and she clasped her hands together to stop herself from grabbing one of his.
10
DALTON
Dalton spent Thanksgiving morning helping Michael and Mary in the kitchen while Ella and Dove straightened up the house for company.
Delicious smells filled the air, and Michael had turned on the radio so that the local station’s all-Christmas format filled the house with holiday cheer.
There were raw vegetables to chop, a turkey to baste, biscuits to bake, and about a dozen other items written in loopy cursive on Mary’s little kitchen chalkboard. The cozy space was bustling with the three of them in it. This was Dalton’s favorite kind of day.
But try as he might to focus on the tasks at hand, as soon as he got into the rhythm of his work, his mind kept carrying his thoughts back to Ella, as usual.
Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the barn, with Ella tending to his hands, her gentle touch awakening something ravenous in his chest. Or he was inthe kitchen, drinking in the sight of her cheeks flushing after asking if he had a girlfriend.
Ella had been married. She was a mother. But there was an innocence about the young woman that tugged at his heart.
And then there was the night when he’d told her who he really was, or maybe more accurately, who he wasn’t.
Dalton wasn’t someone’s beloved brother. He wasn’t anyone’s treasured son. He was completely alone in the world, and there was nothing in his past to be proud of besides his friendship with Andy.
