Chapter 50

fifty

LUKE

It takes a rotation schedule and several shifts between all of us, but we get the wedding set up similar to what Ella showed me in Once Upon a Brew.

The chaos is every bit as exhausting as I imagined it would be. Annie set up at the entrance, directing vendors the best she can, considering the traffic flow on a Saturday. Violet is installing the florals and the fabric at the arch by the lake, and I asked Dean to be there in case she needs anything.

The weather is cooperative, but cool. A vast improvement from the freezing temperatures only a couple of days before. I think I’ll live out the rest of my life with that image of Ella, pale and chattering in my arms.

I don’t think we’ll know immediately, but I’m confident we didn’t lose any crops. Maybe it’s the magic in the soil Mom and Dad keep alluding to.

We’ve got a couple of hours until Holly’s wedding, and I want to give Ella some space to breathe. The last few days have been a little wild. I’m still a little surprised I could convince her to stay at my parents’ farmhouse until the wedding is over. Bruno was probably actually the winning argument.

But things haven’t felt as settled before, for any of us. And I’m pretty sure she’s channeling her overwhelm into work.

I unhook my farm walkie-talkie from my pocket.

“Does anyone have eyes on Ella?”

“No. Currently dealing with a situation at the goat pen. Kid thought it would be funny to put feed inside his shirt,” Dean grumbles.

Sam’s distinctive snicker comes through the static. “That’s… unfortunate.”

“Is everyone okay?” I ask.

“Yep. We just had a talk about the do’s and don’ts of how to feed animals and he got a new farm shirt.”

“Probably a good thing he didn’t try that with the donkeys,” I say.

Sam doesn’t even try to hold back his laughter this time.

Donkeys have big teeth, an attitude, and an affinity for chomping. There’s a reason we have signs posted instructing everyone to feed with a flat hand. But not everyone reads. Or cares.

“Ella is here. At the ceremony site,” Violet adds. “We have a bit of an issue here, too.”

“What kind of issue?” I hop into the Gator and punch the gas petal.

“A… singing bird issue?”

“A what? Don’t all birds sing?”

“You’ll see when you get here.”

I run through a whole list of potential issues by the time I arrive at the pond. But nothing prepares me for the sight of Ella, literally conversing with birds.

“What is happening here?” I approach Violet, who’s standing with her arms crossed and an amused look on her face .

“She’s negotiating with them.”

“With the birds?”

“Watch and listen. I think the pressure finally got to her.”

Several feet away, Ella gestures to an entire area of trees behind her.

“You have lovely singing voices, but you’re just a bit too loud. Would you mind moving? Just until tomorrow? It’s important that everyone can hear the ceremony in a couple of hours.”

I chuckle, because this really isn’t that out of the ordinary for her.

“I’m borrowing her.”

“You think she will actually go with you?” Violet skewers me with a concerned look. “There’s a crisis, Luke.”

“Those birds will do whatever she asks when it comes down to it. She just needs a distraction.”

“Ew. Nevermind.” She waves at me and heads back to the small site. “I don’t want to know!”

A bluebird takes flight from a lower branch in the opposite direction.

“Thank you!” Ella calls after it.

“Surely it wasn’t just the one bird giving you all that trouble.”

“No. But hopefully his friends with follow.” She sighs. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

She steps into me, simultaneously wrapping her arms around my waist and tipping her head back. I press a kiss to her lips, relishing in the fact that we do this now.

No rules needed.

“I want to show you something.”

“We have a schedule,” she murmurs. “Everything has to be perfect. ”

“Everything will be perfect. We’ve planned for everything.”

She tightens her arms and says nothing for a long moment. She’s worried about Charlotte throwing a surprise wrench into things. My whole family is aware of the potential issue, and we made all farm employees aware what to do if someone shows up that shouldn’t be here. We unfortunately have lists. While they normally contain unruly customers, sometimes they contain less than stellar humans.

“What if we didn’t?” she asks.

“Then you’ve got an entire farm at your disposal to fix it.”

“Fine. Ten minutes.” She steps away. “Fifteen tops.”

“You might want more once you see what I want to show you.”

I lead her to the Gator, even though we could probably walk the short distance. We talked Holly into having her reception in the trees with a view of the pumpkin patch. Since my gnarly pumpkins have mostly healed, she’ll have a perfect backdrop behind the tables we set up.

“I wanted to surprise Holly, but I thought maybe you’d like to get the first ride?” Her gasp is audible as we pull up behind our back barn.

I asked Gran to do her thing and make a carriage for Holly’s grand exit. She only agreed to it once I admitted that I also wanted it for Ella. There was a whole conversation over breakfast the morning after what we’ve dubbed ‘the frosty incident’.

“I know it’s a surprise for Holly, but can you tell me a little about it? Is it a real pumpkin?” She clamors out of the Gator and scurries toward it, her entire demeanor reminiscent of a kid meeting Santa for the first time.

“It’s real.”

“Can we really take a ride in it?” Her hands are clasped and tucked under her chin as she stares up at it. It’s adorable .

“That’s why I brought you out here. You can touch it. You won’t break it.”

She presses her lips together, then mounts the steps on the side, giggles escaping with each movement forward.

There’s only a couple of items left on her bucket list to check off, and I’ve been thinking that once we’re done with this one, we should make a whole new one. Bringing her joy has been the highlight of our time together, fake or otherwise.

I’m surprised to discover hardwood floors and plush, velvet seats when I make it inside, both with intricate vine patterns included in the designs. A small chandelier twinkles overhead, with strands of twinkle lights running down the ribs.

Luxury wasn’t high on my expectations list, but leave it to Gran to make it something really nice.

The carriage lurches forward as we take off, causing an envelope to flutter right into Ella’s lap. This item isn’t on her bucket list, but it’s on mine.

And I’ve been ready to check it off for a long time.