Page 40 of With All My Heart, Joy

The head motion changed from left to right into up and down, just as fast. “Yes, yes!”

So far, this child was easy to please. As Michael Bublé’s smooth voice crooned, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Joy enlisted Paisley’s help with stirring the casserole, mindful to clean as they went. Paisley’s motions were awkward. Spills over the bowl’s edge happened time after time, but it wasn’t earth-shattering.

“What about cookies?” The frozen dough she’d grabbed from her freezer on the way out the door had been genius. It hadn’t taken two seconds to conclude that Isaac didn’t have cookie ingredients in his kitchen. “All we have to do is put them on a baking sheet.”

If Paisley had looked excited before, she was about to burst out of her skin now. Joy didn’t comment as the girl thunked the dough onto the cookie sheet, cramming them much too tightly.

“Great job! They might run together, but we can cut them apart. They will be your own special cookies.” She ruffled Paisley’s hair, and the girl beamed at her, her awe evident. A burst of warmth shot through Joy’s chest. It was nice to be adored.

“See my room?” Paisley tugged at her hand the minute she slid the cookies into the oven along with the baking casserole. She allowed the sweet girl to lead her down a hallway past the kitchen and into a room pinker than anything she’d ever seen.

“I like it.” She sat on the edge of a bed covered with a puffy pink down comforter and gave a little bounce. Isaac might not be a star chef, but to give his daughter a pink paradise like this, he was earning a whole lot of stars as a dad. “What’s your favorite toy?”

Paisley gave her a detailed tour of the room, then the remainder of the house. Joy was relieved when she merely pulled her past an open doorway and said, “Dad’s room. Boring.” Going inside Isaac’s private bedroom would have felt wrong.

“You have a nice house, Paisley.” She escorted her charge to the living room. “Now, I have something fun for you while our food is cooking and our cucumbers marinate.” She reached into her bag and came out with a heavy pouch, dumping the contents across the wide, low coffee table in front of a couch that had seen better days but was divinely comfortable. “Pick a color, and I’ll paint your nails.”

The squeal that erupted into the air, overpowering “Jingle Bells” from Joy’s phone, made the entire evening worthwhile. Even if Joy was skipping a promised livestream for Joy Lives Life. She’d been slacking lately on her lifestyle channel, and her subscriber count showed it.

“All! I want all!” Paisley scooped the pile of nail polish toward herself in a desperate hug.

“You want a different color on each nail?”

Nodding, she abandoned the nail polish and jumped up. More hopping ensued.

“Okay. But you’ll have to sit down, ’kay?”

Sit down Paisley could do. But nothing could contain her wiggles. Joy did her best not to slop nail polish onto Paisley’s skin, but it was tricky. Paisley didn’t seem to notice, gaping open-mouthed at her hands when Joy announced she was done.

“I so…beautiful!”

Joy felt a tender ache bloom in her chest, creeping up her throat until she couldn’t swallow. “Yes, Paisley. You are.” Why on earth was she blinking back tears? Batting her eyelashes until her eyes were dry, she noticed the timer on the oven. “Oh, look. The cookies are done. The casserole will be next. Sit so your nails can dry until it’s time to eat.”

Paisley devoured the food, barely pausing to chew. The sight filled Joy up with something. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt incredibly wonderful.

“When is your dad going to set up your Christmas tree?” she asked as Paisley dug into the glass casserole dish for thirds. A shrug was the only reply she got as Paisley chowed down yet again. She was a small girl, but she could really put the food away.

“Do you know where he stores the Christmas decorations?” It was nearing the second week of December. Something had to be done. “We could get them out.”

Paisley choked on her food and spat it out. “Yes, yes!” She was already launching from her chair, charging in a back-and-forth lurch toward the garage door. “In here.”

Joy bit back a laugh. She was a lot to keep up with but such a delight.

Together, they hauled boxes into the living room. There weren’t many, but that didn’t surprise Joy. At this rate, she was surprised Isaac had any.

“My parents get a real tree,” she said as she tugged the top of an artificial tree from the biggest box. “But I use a fake one since I set mine up early. I guess we’re in luck that your dad does the same. Shall we put it together?”

Paisley’s eyes shone as she held the bottom of the tree steady while Joy fitted the next section. “Can we decorate it? Can we?”

Joy hesitated. “I think that’s something you shouldn’t do without your dad. But let’s see what else we can do.” There was a small crèche with porcelain figurines. Paisley chose to put it on the coffee table. A few garlands and bows remained in one box, but other than a box of tree ornaments and lights, that was the extent of Isaac’s Christmas decorations.

Pitiful.

“We’re going to need more. Good thing I brought craft supplies!”

Another cry of glee burst from Paisley’s mouth as she followed Joy back to the kitchen. Joy subscribed to a monthly craft kit and reviewed it on Craft My Life. In exchange, the company gave discount codes for her viewers. This month’s kit was a family-friendly assortment of tree ornaments, including glass balls with glittery paint, cloth bows, and fast-drying clay with molds and ribbons for hanging. A lot of leftovers had remained when she was done with her video last week.

As they worked together, it struck Joy that she hadn’t done a craft off-camera in months. She also hadn’t had this much fun in months.

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