Dove surprised Ella by hugging her hard, then scampering off to look at the cut Christmas trees lined up in front of the library.
“Wow,” Dalton said. “Nice trees.”
“They’re donated by the Cassidy family,” Ella told him. “And the firefighters sell them to raise funds.”
“Is this where you get yours?” he asked. “Should we bring one home with us?”
His use of the word home didn’t slip by without Ella noticing, but she wasn’t going to make a big thing about it. She was glad he was comfortable enough to feel at home with her family.
“Mom and Dad already picked one out after they sold out of pies,” Ella said, smiling. “Dove will be surprised when she gets home.”
“What a magical childhood,” Dalton said, looking after Dove, who was giggling as she darted between the rows of trees with two smaller kids.
“I’m glad she’s getting the experiences I had,” Ella agreed. “But I do wish she had a bigger family. I’m doing my best, but I can’t replace a dad and a brother.”
She closed her mouth, surprised at herself for voicing those inner thoughts. Dalton had invited her comment, really, with his earlier talk. But she’d had to drag that out of him.
“I can relate to that,” he said softly. “I would have loved two parents and a brother or sister myself. But honestly, just one adult who cares is all a kid needs to be happy and loved. And Dove has so much more than that. I wish you could understand what a gift you’ve given her by bringing her back here to raise her with your parents.”
Ella nodded, wishing she could unload her own guilt over having done just that. But now wasn’t the time, even if she did want to share her thoughts.
What would he think of me, if he knew how my mind worked when things got hard?
“Thank you so much to each and every person who came out here today,” the mayor said into the microphone that had been set up near the trees.
The crowd quieted, and Dove scampered back to Ella and Dalton, lolling against the big man’s side as if she were suddenly too sleepy to stand up straight.
The mayor thanked the library and the firehouse and a few other people and groups for their help making the event special as Betty Ann Eustace handed out song sheets. When the guitar began to play old-fashioned carols, everyone gathered around in a circle and sang along.
The voices were just as Ella remembered from her own childhood—some were beautiful, almost operatic, while others were rough but enthusiastic. A few people knew all the words without the sheets, and some of the children would just hum along. But together, they wove a tapestry of great beauty, the notes floating high above the gathering and fading into the starry sky.
When the carols ended, the town tree was lit and everyone sighed in wonder. The little evergreen was rounder than it was tall, and it was hung with simple, old-fashioned lights. But somehow, the humble tree filled Ella’s heart with awe, just like always, and she felt tears burning her eyes.
“Can we go over there?” Dove asked, pointing acrossthe street to the lawn between two buildings on Park, where Tanner Williams always set up a wonderland of decorations.
Tanner had begun his collection years ago. He was an electrician, so he repaired cast-off decorations and set them up in his yard for everyone to enjoy. After the first few years, people in town knew to give him a call if they were getting rid of a lighted lawn ornament.
“Of course,” Ella told her. “But only for a few minutes because we want to get a good spot on the sidewalk to wave to Santa Claus.”
Dove’s eyes opened wide, and a big smile spread across her face, as if she couldn’t believe they had made it all the way to the part of the night where Santa was finally coming.
Ella held out her hand. Dove took it and extended her other hand to Dalton and the three headed across the street to the winter wonderland of decorations that were still bringing joy in spite of their faded paint.
It was a small lot, much deeper than it was wide, with a narrow path winding among lighted snowmen, plastic Santas, and various cartoon characters in Christmas finery. At the end, there was a beautiful manger scene.
Unfortunately, lots of families had decided to stop over after the caroling, so there was a line at the little wrought-iron gate.
“Oh no,”Dove sighed.
“It’s fine,” Ella told her right away. “It only takes a few minutes to look around. We’ll have plenty of time.”
But as they took their place in line, Dove leanedagainst her mother in a way that told Ella she wasverysleepy.
“Want me to hold you up high, so you can see the decorations from here?” Dalton offered.
“Okay,” Dove said excitedly, letting go of her mother’s hand.
Ella watched as Dalton swept her daughter up and Dove wrapped her little arms around Dalton’s neck to gaze out over the lawn, rapt.
