She reached out to squeeze his hand. “Don’t feel bad. You’ve already done so much. And Kendall and Zee are helping me. We’re heading over there soon.”
“You’re going to do the best job tonight,” Isla said, unwrapping a piece of candy from her bucket. “You’re the best baker in the whole wide world.”
Hallie raised her brows at Christian, and he chuckled. “I swear I didn’t pay her to say that.”
“But Daddy, you promised to buy me a?—”
He covered up her comment with a forceful cough. Laughing,Hallie bumped his arm with her side. “Can you come in for a minute? I have something for the girls.”
“Sure, we have some time before they start begging for more candy.”
She pulled her gaze away from his wry smile and pushed the door open for them. “It’s upstairs. I’ll be right back.”
“I’na come!” Penelope reached up for Hallie.
Christian started to object, but Hallie lifted the child into her arms, touching their foreheads together. “Of course you can come. You all can, if you’d like.”
She and Penelope led the way up the stairs with Isla and Christian following a few steps behind. Entering her bedroom, she set the little girl on the bed. Penelope burrowed into the pillows like she owned the place.
Hallie sat down on the mattress, studying Christian as he studied the room. “Look familiar?”
“It’s a lot cleaner now than when it was mine. I’m beginning to understand your obsession with my laundry room.”
She rolled her eyes but shot him a flirty smile in response.
A plain pink gift bag with white tissue paper exploding from the top sat in the middle of the blue bedspread, but she ignored it for now, reaching for Foxie instead. She ran a hand along the worn orange fur before motioning to Isla.
In the forty-eight hours since her party, Hallie’s mind hadn’t let go of the hurt look in the girl’s face when she’d realized no one would be coming. She’d thought long and hard of ways to help Isla move on from the blow. The plan she’d settled on wasn’t much, but hopefully, it would be enough.
“I want to introduce you to my special friend.” Hallie held the plush between them so Isla could take a good look. “This is Foxie. My mom gave her to me when my family moved to Chile. Do you know where that is?”
Isla shook her head.
“It’s a country far away from here, in South America,” Halliecontinued. “I was only a little younger than you when I moved there, and I was really scared because I didn’t know anyone.”
She watched Isla carefully for any signs of distress, but the girl hadn’t pulled her eyes away from the stuffy.
“When my mom gave her to me, she said that no matter how far away I go from home, I’d always have Foxie. We’ve been through a lot together. Maybe she can help you too. Would you like to hold onto her for a while?”
Isla pulled her eyes away from Foxie long enough to look at Hallie in awe. “Really?”
Hallie gave her elbow a light squeeze. “Really. But she’s very important to me, and she’s old, so I need you to take good care of her. Do you think you can do that?”
Isla took the animal gingerly in her hands for a minute before giving it a hug. “Yes. Icando that.”
“Good.” Hallie accepted Isla’s one-armed embrace before pulling the gift bag closer to herself. “And I didn’t want you to be left out, Nellie, so this is for you.”
Penelope popped up to a sitting position as Hallie pulled out a floppy pink bunny. With a squeal, she snatched it to her chest, squeezing the stuffie tightly. “I love it!”
“What do you say, girls?” Christian asked.
Hallie spared a glance at him for the first time since they’d entered the room. Perhaps she should’ve checked with him first before lavishing his children with gifts, though he didn’t seem disappointed. He just casually leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, watching the scene.
Isla and Penelope each offered an eager, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Hallie circled an arm around them both.
Was there anything better than tight hugs from these sweet girls? Except those from their father, of course?
