stare in wonder at her surroundings. It warmed her heart to know they had plucked her from deprivation, saved her from her awful life, and could now show her how beautiful the world could really be.
Daniel pulled into Fall Farm’s parking lot, which was little more than a muddy field. There were tons of cars here already, despite the early hour; clearly every parent in Sunset Harbor and the local area had decided apple picking would be their last activity with their kids before school.
As Daniel parked, Chantelle was quick to take off her seat belt and grab the door handle.
“Not so fast,” Daniel said. “We need to put the dogs on their leashes first or they’ll run off, never to be seen again.”
“Sorry,” Chantelle said, dipping her head with shame.
Daniel looked over at Emily with an appealing gaze. Emily just shook her head, communicating to him silently that they shouldn’t make a fuss, that there was nothing they could say to make the little girl feel better, and that love, time, and patience were the only things that could teach Chantelle not to feel so ashamed of herself. She felt bad for Daniel, for his seeming lack of intuition in these situations. He seemed so out of his depths at times, and yet Emily felt like she was taking to motherhood like a duck to water.
Emily clipped leashes onto the dogs and then everyone clambered out of the car. Other families milled around, with children laughing and playing, rushing in circles around their parents. As they strolled toward the entrance to Fall Farm, surrounded by other chatting families, Emily felt a surreal moment of realization about just how much her life had transformed over the last year. She’d gone from being a busy marketing assistant in New York to an inn-owning sort-of-mom in Maine. She’d gone from waiting seven long years for a ring from Ben to what she was beginning to feel was the greatest relationship of her life.
“Come on, Emily!” Chantelle cried.
Emily looked up, broken from her reverie, to see Chantelle and Daniel at the kiosk waiting to collect their basket for apple picking. Chantelle was tugging on Daniel’s hand, just like how Rain would tug on his leash. Daniel was laughing, smiling in a way Emily had never seen before. He was clearly overjoyed to be with Chantelle, to be here, as a family.
Emily jogged toward them and took Chantelle’s other outstretched hand. They reached the kiosk and collected their basket, then headed into the orchard.
“Let’s find the juiciest, reddest apples,” Emily said to Chantelle in an excited whisper. “I bet you they’re further at the back of the field.”
Chantelle nodded with wide eyes, excited by Emily’s conspiratorial tone.
Emily looked up at Daniel. He was smiling at her broadly, a hint of pride in his eyes. Emily couldn’t help but blush.
As they began to fill their baskets with juicy apples, Emily realized she was having more fun than she’d had in years. Daniel, too, was laughing like a gleeful child. He was rushing around, picking Chantelle up and twirling her around, giving her piggybacks so she could reach the highest branches. Emily had never seen Daniel’s goofy side. Seeing it now was a joy to behold.
“This is fun, right?” Daniel said breathlessly as he jogged up to Emily.
“I don’t think I’ve had this much fun since I was a kid,” Emily replied.
“Me neither,” Daniel said.
Emily felt warm all over. Somehow, having Chantelle with them was healing the wounds of their own traumatic lives.
After apple picking, Emily decided that Chantelle could do with some new clothes. The little girl couldn’t sleep in Daniel’s shirts every night, especially as colder weather was approaching. She’d need pajamas, and underwear, a coat and gloves, and clothes for school. She’d brought such a small backpack with her, with so few things in it, Emily would need to buy her practically an entire wardrobe worth of clothes.
“Only girls are allowed to come,” Chantelle said as they reached the car.
Emily knew the comment would hurt Daniel, especially after how well their time at the farm had gone. That Chantelle would choose now to exclude him would be confusing and painful. And though Emily could tell he didn’t want to miss this bonding opportunity, at the same time he wouldn’t want to go against Chantelle’s wishes and push the little girl into something she didn’t want.
Emily looked down at Chantelle, clutching her hand tightly. “Your daddy doesn’t have much of a sense of fashion, does he?” she said, trying to make light of the situation.
Chantelle began to giggle.
“I guess I’ll let you two have a girly day out then,” Daniel said, an air of resignation in his tone.
“We’ll give you a fashion show when we get back home,” Emily said, trying to lift his spirits by including him.
Emily and Chantelle waved goodbye to Daniel and the dogs, then began to stroll the streets of Sunset Harbor. There weren’t that many children’s clothes shops in town, though Emily knew of a good one tucked down a side street that sold vintage clothes and had some children’s stuff. She could just picture how beautiful Chantelle would look in a Victorian-style duffle coat, though she worried that Chantelle would find Emily’s style old-fashioned. Emily had no idea at all what kids wore these days.
They turned down the side street and Emily led Chantelle into the vintage clothes store.
“Now, if you don’t like the stuff I pick out for you, just say,” Emily told her. “I don’t want you to wear anything you’re not comfortable in or don’t like.”
Emily wanted Chantelle to fit in with the kids she’d meet at school. She was already at a disadvantage, having suffered through a neglectful childhood; the last thing Emily wanted now was for her to be singled out because of her fashion choices!
“Ooh, Chantelle, what do you think of this coat?” Emily said, holding up a navy blue duffle coat with large buttons. She imagined it was the sort of coat Sara Crewe wore in A Little Princess.
Chantelle look awestruck. She reached out and held the coat, then rubbed the fabric against her cheek. The lining was a beautiful montage of flowers in pale pinks, greens, and yellows.
“Do you like the lining?” Emily asked.
Chantelle nodded and Emily made a mental note to search for some floral print clothes for her.
Chantelle took the coat off the hanger and put it on. Just as Emily predicted, she looked absolutely delightful in the coat, like she’d stepped off a page of a Dickensian novel. As Chantelle looked at herself in the mirror, tears began to glitter in her eyes.
“We don’t have to get it if you don’t like it,” Emily said, suddenly worried.
Chantelle shook her head. “It’s not that. I just didn’t know I could look pretty.”
For the hundredth time since the little girl had come into her life, Emily felt her heart break. Had Chantelle gone through her entire life not being told by anyone that she was beautiful? There was a lot of lost time to make up if they were going to rebuild Chantelle’s confidence.
Emily and Chantelle spent a good hour in the vintage store, trying on dresses and tops, cute pedal-pusher trousers and turtleneck sweaters. Emily couldn’t tell whether she was just biased or not, but she thought Chantelle looked amazing in all the outfits, like a child model. It was astounding to see the transformation in her, not just physically, but also in her demeanor, as she became more comfortable, more confident and bold with her choices. For a little kid who’d never had the chance to choose how to dress, she had a real creative flare. By the end of the hour they had five new outfits.
“We’d better head to the department store now,” Emily said. “Pick up some underwear, socks, and pajamas.”
Together, they left the vintage store, Emily’s arms laden with bags, and headed in the direction of the department store. As they went, Emily spotted Vanessa with baby Katy in her stroller. Vanessa had been doing cleaning shifts at the inn for weeks now. Emily waved at her from across the street.
“Chantelle,