Page 75 of With All My Heart, Joy

One of them. There was another she wanted very much. But it wasn’t up to her.

As soon as she uploaded the devotional, she drove to her parents for Christmas brunch and the gift exchange they did each year. Victor joined in on camera, and TJ and Melody made a quick appearance before they were scheduled to catch a flight to Knoxville for their Gatlinburg honeymoon. The lovebirds were so absorbed with each other, Joy didn’t know why they bothered to show up. She and Ben had a grand time mocking their googly eyes behind their backs. Man, it felt good to have another brother again.

“Well.” Joy stood up. “Merry Christmas, everyone. I need to run.”

“But, Joy!” Her mom looked flabbergasted. “We have the whole day ahead of us. All of our Christmas traditions.”

“I have something to do. It’s important. Like, one of the most important things I’ve ever done.”

Lucy gasped, “Isaac?”

Joy’s face relaxed with a smile. “He left me a note last night. I’d like to respond in person.”

“We won’t see her again today if Isaac has any say in the matter,” Silas’s deep voice said as she retreated from the room, but she didn’t stop long enough to respond. Her dad beat her to the door.

“Go get, ’em, Joy.” He winked and lowered his voice. “Don’t tell anyone. Lucy thinks she’s everyone’s favorite. But between you and me…you’ve always been mine.”

Joy accepted his hug with both arms. “You’re the best dad I could ask for. I love you.”

In front of Isaac’s house, she clutched the card she’d prepared early this morning, walking carefully on the slick pavement in his driveway. She stood on the porch and rang the bell, nerves dancing in her stomach, but they calmed the moment the door opened and Isaac’s beloved face peered through.

“Joy.” His voice was breathless, his face slack with disbelief. “You’re here.”

She could only stare. Isaac had shaved. His beard was gone. Every last hair. “Your beard,” she blurted, reaching her hand to trace it along his jawline. He tilted his head back, and her eyes fastened on the scars. They were hardly noticeable. Without the beard, he looked younger but every bit as handsome.

“I liked the beard, but this is good, too.”

He wagged his head back and forth. “It was more of a personal statement than a fashion one. But I’m glad you like both looks.” He stopped. Was he holding his breath? “I’m not sure why you’re here, but…would you like to come in?”

Joy fully expected to be terrified, but the same sweet comfort Isaac had filled her with from the moment she met him spiraled inside her, grounding her and telling her that Isaac Miller was made for her. “First, I want to apologize for the way I ended things on Thursday. I reacted in fear, not faith.”

His eyes crinkled at the sides in his wonderful way. “I understand all about that.”

“This is for you.” She extended the card, and he tore it open right in front of her. Joy’s cheeks flushed with heat as he read the words aloud.

Dear Isaac,

You asked me once if there was anything else I wanted to be other than an influencer. I didn’t know then, but I do now.

I want to be a wife and mother.

I love you.

Merry Christmas.

With all my heart,

Joy

His dark eyes were so warm with tenderness that she almost melted under his quiet study. “Whose wife and mother, specifically, would you like to be?”

She had never felt more sure. “Your wife, Isaac. And Paisley’s mother. Not right now,” she rushed to say as his eyes sprang wide open. “I’m not proposing or anything.”

His wonderful laugh exploded into the frosty air as his hands stretched out to frame her face and pull her close. “My answer is yes.” Then his lips were giving her a Christmas kiss that left her with no doubt that she was cherished, adored, and very much wanted by Isaac Miller.

Breathless, he drew back an inch, resting his forehead on hers. “I love you so much.” A grin lit up his face. “Come inside. Meeting you will make my mom’s Christmas complete.” Clasping her hand in his, he pulled her through the door. Paisley screamed and came at a run, and, of all things, a puppy trotted at her heels.

“Joy! Joy!” She launched herself into Joy’s arms as she always did, and as Joy wrapped the darling girl in an embrace, she knew this was where she wanted to be. Forever. “Dad said no mom, but you came, you came!” Paisley took off, pumping her arm through the air, the adorable pup behind her. “Best Christmasever! A puppyanda mom!”

---