Ella: an Everland Ever After Tale (15 page)

When she met Ian’s gaze again, he was smiling, and she couldn’t help but smile back. He bent to pick up his crutch, and she begrudged the few moments of movement that meant he wasn’t holding her. Remedying that, he tucked her up against him once more, and Ella sighed in contentment. “Come on, sweetheart.”

No one had called her “sweetheart” since her mother had passed away. The endearment caused her heart to swell with happiness. She was where she belonged, with him.

Now, if only she could figure out how to convince her family of this. Convince them to let her go, to be with Ian. Convince
him
that she was the one who’d love him forever, just the way he was. Convince herself that they deserved a future.

He led her towards the shade of a tall birch, and pulled her down to the grass with him. And the rest of the afternoon continued to be magical, too.

Yesterday had been… magical. Ian stacked his hands behind his head, reveling in the way the breeze from the open window cooled his heated skin, and relived every moment of yesterday’s picnic. He still couldn’t believe that she’d come—didn’t know how she’d managed that. But he’d known then, when he claimed her in front of all of Everland, that she’d be his. He was going to ask her to marry him, and he’d make sure that she spent the rest of her life knowing how important and valued she was. She’d never again slave away for her family.

After the spectacle at the bandstand, they’d spent the afternoon on a little grassy rise under that birch tree. They’d fed each other cookies and other delicious food—Ella did leave briefly to fill up two plates with barbequed pork and salads and cornbread—and talked for long hours. They’d discussed the pup’s health, and how she’d be up playing with Manny in no time. She told him about the peculiar woman who’d come to her ranch—she didn’t even notice that she’d given him that clue to her family—and brought her the lovely dress. The stranger had disappeared right before the basket auction, and Ian agreed that she sounded like the mysterious stranger who he’d been hearing about over the last year.

He’d told her about his past, and about how hard he’d worked to make it here to Everland. He’d told her how he’d found a place here in town, only recently, thanks to new friends like Max DeVille and Hank Cutter. He’d told her how he’d found a place to belong, and how he’d help her make new friends.

And he touched her as often as possible. Even when they weren’t kissing, he’d been holding her hand, or she was running her fingers through his hair. They couldn’t seem to not be in contact, and he loved it. He loved everything about her.

Despite the fact that no one was around them, Ian had known that they weren’t alone. The people of Everland were watching them constantly, and he welcomed their interest. He was going to marry this woman, after all. As the sun dipped lower in the west, the band started up again, and the couples came together to dance. Ian pulled his crutch towards him to escort her towards the dancing, but she stopped him with her hand over his.

Meeting her clear eyes, he held his breath. “No,” she’d said. “No. I want to stay here with you.”

Ian had felt his heart trying to climb up his throat. Loved everything about her? No, he loved
her
. She didn’t pity him, but accepted his limitations. She accepted him as he was, and he loved her for it.

When it was nearly dark, she’d kissed him one last time—that kiss!—and looked into his eyes. “Ian Crowne, I love you.” He thought his heart would explode.

And then, while he was still trying to make himself breathe again, she turned and disappeared into the crowd. He hadn’t been able to find her again. She’d disappeared, just like that first time.

Only now, he knew she was real. Knew she was his. How could she not be, if she loved him? And after seeing the way she’d peered at the bystanders at the basket auction, he had a fairly good idea who she was.

And there were a pair of cowboy boots downstairs that needed returning.

Yesterday had been magical, but today…? Ian smiled up at the ceiling, knowing that last night’s dreams couldn’t compare to yesterday’s kisses. Today was going to be the start of their future.

“And that dress! Did you see how lovely that turquoise silk and velvet went together?”

“Oh, the cut was just divine! Wasn’t it just divine, Sibyl? Of course, with you dragging us around to talk to people, I only ever got to see the backside of the dress. Did you see the front, Eunice?”

“No, Gaston kept me busy feeding him pasta salad and cookies. He’s a man after my own heart.”

Mabel huffed and rolled her eyes. “Sibyl, since you must have seen it, do sketch it for Ella. I want a dress like that, in red for next year.”

As their youngest sister muttered something noncommittal and glanced in her direction, Ella ducked her head over her pot roast, and tried to hide her smile. She kept having to remind herself that as far as her older stepsisters were concerned, she’d spent yesterday here at the ranch, definitely not enjoying herself or practicing kissing with Everland’s most handsome bachelor.

Normally, she’d be thrilled to listen to Mabel and Eunice relate every detail of the July Fourth celebration; hanging on each word and hoping against hope that they’d tell how they each managed to snag a husband with her gowns or her cooking. That had been Ella’s goal for so long, it was odd to realize that yesterday was the culmination of all of her work.

But today, it had been hard to listen to them go on and on about how wonderful the parade and picnic and dancing had been, inflating their experiences and preening in front of her, knowing that she could reveal that
she’d been there
. She’d sat on the hill and watched the dancing with Ian, and knew that while Eunice had danced every song with Ian’s friend Gaston, Mabel had pouted and sulked through a few partners, and then sat alone and fumed most of the time.

Yesterday had been magical, but had been far too public. With Papa’s threat hanging over her head, she knew that, if she wanted to see Ian again, it’d have to be in private. Could she spend the rest of her life sneaking away to see him? Or could she be strong enough to defy her stepfather’s edict, to risk his wrath, to be with Ian? Could they thwart him, together?

“She had the loveliest dress—far nicer than anything
Ella
could manage for us, that’s certain.” Mabel was being nasty, as usual. “Daddy, could you send away for some Paris magazines again? Maybe Ella could manage something half that nice, if she practiced some more.”

Papa was reading his newspaper, as usual, and gave a distracted “Yes, darling” before flipping the page. Mabel smirked, and the birds sitting on the bush outside the dining room window began to chirp and trill again. The oldest Miller daughter sent them a dark look, and Ella managed not to roll her eyes. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who found the birds’ attention annoying.

Eunice reached for the mashed potatoes, and Ella eyed her gown with a bit of worry, wondering if she was going to have to take out her sister’s dresses if she kept eating like this. “Well, her dress was lovely, but so was her suitor.”

“Oh, I
know
.” Mabel’s smitten sigh dragged Ella’s attention away from the mound of potatoes on Eunice’s plate. “That man might be a cripple, but did you
see
his arms?”

Eunice pretended to fan herself with her fork. “Be still, my heart. Freckles and red hair have suddenly become quite suitable. And those eyes? I never knew a pair of spectacles could be so
manly
, but the way he looked at her…” Both she and Mabel sighed in unison. “She must be
quite
the hussy, to have snagged him so quickly.”

Ella felt the meat turn to lead in her stomach, and she put her fork down beside her plate. Knowing that she couldn’t defend herself, defend him, was hard.

But to her surprise, salvation came from an unexpected source. “Well, Daddy and I watched the whole scene, and I thought that the kiss was incredibly romantic.” Ella looked across the table, and found Sibyl staring directly at her. “Mr. Crowne was obviously very much in love with her, and I think that she was in love with him, too.” The birdsong suddenly seemed much louder than a moment before.

Ella swallowed again, unable to answer the question in her younger stepsister’s eyes. She wanted to thank Sibyl—for seeing, for understanding—and maybe someday she’d find a way. Not today, though. Not at Papa’s table.

Speaking of whom… “What’s that?” Apparently his name had drawn him back into the conversation. “You’re talking about that Yankee in my house?”

Mabel was quick to dismiss his reaction. “We’re just saying how handsome he is, Daddy. Now that he’s joined society, and isn’t hiding away in that shop of his, we’ve realized what a fine catch he’d be.”

Slowly, deliberately, Papa creased his paper and placed it beside his plate. He folded his hands in front on him, leaned forward, and said, “Let me be clear.” He met each girls’ eyes in turn, including Ella’s, whom he held. “You will not admire him. He is nothing.” His voice rose in volume, but Ella refused to flinch. “He has found a hussy to keep him busy, and you will not mention his name again in this house.
Am I clear
?”

“I think that’s going to be a problem, sir.”

Ella had fainted in the face of her stepfather’s anger, and was dreaming. That was the only explanation for why she was hearing Ian’s voice here, in the dining room of the Miller Ranch. But she squeezed her eyes shut, and opened them again, and Papa was staring at the door like he’d seen a ghost. Unable to hope, Ella slowly turned in her chair.

He was real.
He was here
.

Ian took one of his hopping steps into the room, swinging himself on his crutch with the sheer strength of those massive shoulders, and Ella couldn’t do a thing except stare. Maybe she
was
dreaming. But no; he caught her eye, and smiled, and she remembered the taste of those lips and knew that this was no dream.

This was better than a dream.

“Mr. Crowne!” Mabel’s sickly-sweet voice cut through Ella’s daze. “We were just speaking of you. Do come join us for dinner.”

Without dropping Ella’s gaze, he shook his head slightly. “No thank you, Miss Miller. I’ll just be here a moment.”

“How did you get into my house?” Her stepfather’s croak sounded like he was just-barely containing his fury. “Where in the hell is Heyward?”

“Oh, he’s… too slow.”

Mr. Heyward chose that incredibly opportune moment to stagger through the doorway, slumping against the jamb. He had both hands clasped over his nose, and blood was dribbling from between his fingers. He met Papa’s gaze, and groaned, and Ella finally felt a moment’s pity for the man who followed her stepfather’s every order. He’d obviously tried to stand up to Ian, but underestimated her prince’s strength.

Ian winked at her, faintly, and Ella wondered if anyone else had seen it. But then he moved closer to the table, and looked her stepfather dead in the eye. “Mr. Heyward—who I recognize from hanging around outside my store, by the way—tried to stop me from entering. But I decided that I wasn’t going to accept that answer.”

“You
decided
?” Oh dear. Papa sounded like he was choking, and just as soon as Ella could make herself look away from the magnificent man standing beside the table, she’d check. “You think that it’s okay, to just let yourself into a man’s home?”

“I do, when that man is about to become my father-in-law.”

There was silence for a long moment, and then the room erupted. Papa’s incredulous roar mixed with Sibyl’s excited squeal and her sisters’ flattered clamorings.

Ian halted the racket without saying a word; he simply shifted slightly, and held up his other hand. There, dangling from the strong fingers she loved so well, were her boots, cleaned and oiled and gleaming. Her toes curled inside her new shoes, the ones that he’d gifted her, and knew that she’d be leaving with him today, somehow.

He spoke to them all, but it was Ella whose gaze he held. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—look away. “You see, Mr. Miller, I fell in love with one of your daughters a while ago. She’s kind, and generous, and far more caring than the rest of her family. She’s the type who’d defy you, just to save a puppy.” Ella pushed away from the table slightly when he moved towards her, and she saw Mabel and Eunice exchange confused looks out of the corner of her eye. But it didn’t matter—nothing mattered—because had he just announced his love for her? In front of her family? “I kissed her yesterday, for the first time, and knew that I couldn’t let her escape me again.”