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 wordsWe love you foreverwere 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.
Forevermeant 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 beenDaddy,she was trying outPapaon 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?”
