Finding Ella

Chapter 9

Two weeks after the incident in the kitchen, things had settled into a relatively normal routine. The guys spent their days working, travelling into the city for meetings, working out in the gym, or just hanging out and having fun. The most surprising thing for Ella was that she too was starting to have actual fun. More than once she'd caught herself laughing until her sides hurt, and she thought that it was a good sign her spirit was on the mend.

It was late on a Thursday afternoon when Storm came and sat down beside her on one of the wicker rocking chairs on the front deck of the farmhouse. Ella still couldn't get over the fact that they actually had real rocking chairs; they seemed out of place with the macho boys, but the guys all seemed to enjoy spending time outside on the chairs, taking in the peace and quiet of the forest around them.

"Whatcha doin' sweetheart?" Storm asked as he gave her a lazy grin, gently rocking back and forward beside her.

"Just enjoying the view," she replied with a smile of her own.

"You seem to be settling in here pretty well, are you happy?"

Ella looked up in surprise, "Of course I'm happy! You've all been so wonderful to me."

Storm nodded, "I just wanted to check in and see if you needed anything. All you have to do is ask, ok?"

Ella nodded.

"Good. Actually, there's something else the guys and I want to ask you. This Saturday is the annual County Cookout and we were wondering whether you might like to go?" Storm gave her an expectant look. "You've been here for a couple of weeks now and I thought you might like to get out and do something fun."

It was Storm's idea, she should've known. He was the sweetest and most thoughtful of the bunch, always looking out for her emotional wellbeing and checking in with her. His warmth and gentleness were what made him such an excellent doctor, she was sure of it.

"That sounds nice I guess," she said tentatively.

Despite having found a certain level of security and safety with the guys, she was still nervous about being out in the open, especially in town. She'd been into the small town of Crystal Creek twice more since the time Wolf and Hunter had taken her clothes shopping, and she was slowly growing more accustomed to the feeling of being out and about in the world once again. People were starting to say hello to her as they passed which was nice.

"It'll be good for you I think," Storm continued gently. "You've been doing so well going into town to get supplies with us, I reckon this'll be a good next step. We'll all be there with you, I promise."

"Even Wolf and Hunter?" Ella asked dubiously. "A county fair doesn't seem like the type of thing they'd be interested in."

Storm laughed. "Yeah you might have a point, however it's good business to keep the locals on side. Showing up to the town events and helping support the charities and stuff helps keep the locals from getting too nosey about us and our business. We're not doing anything illegal, but we like to keep things private up here, that's why we always have our meetings in the office."

It made sense, if they didn't seem mysterious then people wouldn't look too closely at them. Ella could appreciate not wanting people to pry into personal affairs, it was one of the reasons she'd initially run away from them when she'd overheard them talking about her.

She took a moment to think about what the fair might be like and whether she thought she'd enjoy it. Having the guys with her would definitely make it easier, and perhaps it was time for her to take the next step forward in re-joining the world.