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.Sometimes they would come over and play and Ellie would dance with her brothers and sister.She had always loved music.It had been a long time since she had danced though, and she had forgotten most of the steps.So tonight she was unsure of herself, stumbling a little, but Michael was expert enough to cover up the small trips she made.No one was watching anyway, that she could see.The good cheer of the room was infectious.The simple town meeting room had been made to look charming.Glowing lanterns were set high on little shelves on the wall and pink and orange paper chains snaked across the ceiling.Ellie had never thought she could feel this carefree, just four weeks after leaving her dire situation in Boston.She had managed to keep thoughts of Jared from her mind.She simply felt grateful to be here, having fun with these merry people.Today she had worked until her arms and legs had ached and begged for mercy and her fingers were red and swollen from the hot water and lye.It felt good to let loose now and move for the pure joy of it.Grammy had been right.This was exactly what she had needed.Ellie had been touched by the work Grammy had put into adjusting and decorating her dress.Why had Grammy done all this for her? Ellie was just a housekeeper, nothing more than that; she was not part of the family.When Ellie had first seen the dress, it had been difficult to hold back her tears of joy.She had never seen such a beautiful dress.She had fingered the pink ribbon bows and gazed at the dress in delight, too overwhelmed to even say thank you at first.Once she had the dress on, she had hugged Grammy again and again as the old lady fended her off.Then she had wanted to dance right away, she felt so light and airy.She had spun around Grammy’s room in the sunlight with the pups yapping and dancing around her ankles.In the corner, some cowboys had taken over the food preparation for the evening.They had set up a wood burning stove and grill, and were serving up wholesome country food.They cooked with panache, causing flames to flare up from the grill as they shouted to each other theatrically.They served flame-grilled meat and tasty sausages with tomato sauce on cornbread, and a savory stew of chewy oysters with thickly buttered dense potato bread.All the ladies were in ecstasies over the delicious offerings and complimented the boys on their skills.They loved to watch the cowboys cook, entranced by their exhibitionist style, so different to the way the ladies cooked at home.Ellie had eaten some of the stew earlier with Joe Allen and his wife, and she had enjoyed it very much.She had made mental notes of the various flavors she could detect, planning to experiment with cooking it herself sometime.As Ellie danced she became aware of a pair of eyes on her.She did not look around for their source, but she could see a tall figure in her peripheral vision.She knew it was Jared.She allowed her glance to pass over him as Michael led her through a turn.Very tall, standing as still as a statue just like that day at the train station.His eyes were following her as she moved.She looked again.Green eyes, white shirt, arms crossed.He looked kind of angry.She could see he was completely ignoring Anne, who was standing beside him and plucking at his sleeve, talking to get his attention.The dance came to a stop and as Ellie thanked Michael, she couldn’t help looking in Jared’s direction once more.He was still looking at her.His eyes never left hers.She held his gaze this time, and his eyes looked soft and warm, even from way across the dance floor.Might he -? Ellie felt a little dizzy.She couldn’t let herself believe that he might admire her.Michael said something to her, and reluctantly Ellie dragged her eyes away from Jared’s and back to her dancing partner.Michael’s face was beaded with sweat.He searched her face with an eager, friendly look in his eyes.“Are you all right, Miss Ellie? You are swaying from side to side and look like you are in a dream.”Ellie became aware of her surroundings.She felt as if the room was still spinning even though she was standing still
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