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“Lorna Bea!” Betsy cried.
“Hey,” Cade said.
Paisley looked back and forth at all of them then up at Ms. Ellie. “It’s okay, let’s go inside,” Ms. Ellie said.
“We’re so excited you’re here,” Mrs. Hammerstein said.
Ms. Ellie gently coaxed her forward and Paisley clenched her box like a lifeline and shuffled over to the sofa where everyone found a seat. Cade and Betsy plopped at her feet and stared up at her with goofy expressions.
Had they just stopped here to say hello? If so, why would Ms. Ellie bring Paisley’s books inside?
“Lorna Bea,” Mrs. Hammerstein said.
Ms. Ellie cleared her throat. “She wants to be called Paisley,” Ms. Ellie said. “That was the name her mother gave her.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Hammerstein reached out and touched her hand. “Paisley, you can call me Gina.”
“And I’m Ken. We have so much to thank you for,” Mr. Hammerstein said. “You saved Betsy the first time when she fell in the shed. And you saved her when… when that man broke into your cabin.”
The memory made Paisley’s wooden body feel like it was cracking. “I’m sorry for what he did.” Her voice quivered. Tears threatened to steal her voice.
“Oh, honey, none of this is your fault,” Mrs. Hammerstein said softly.
“Without you, we might have lost Betsy,” Mr. Hammerstein said.
Paisley looked at him and realized he meant it. Betsy shivered for a minute and crawled into her mother’s lap.
“We understand you’ve been through a lot,” Mrs. Hammerstein said. “And Ms. Ellie told us that you don’t have other family.”
Betsy wiggled. “So we wants you to be in ours.”
Paisley fidgeted with a tattered corner of her box.
“She’s right,” Mr. Hammerstein said. “We’ve fixed a spare room up for you.”
“Well, we didn’t decorate it too much,” Mrs. Hammerstein added. “I thought you might want to go shopping with me and pick out some bedding and curtains.” She gently stroked Paisley’s hair. “And we can get you some hair ribbons and new clothes and shoes. You have a nice closet in your room.”
Paisley hugged the box tighter. “I just keep my stuff in my box so it’s ready to go when I have to leave.”
Mrs. Hammerstein pulled Paisley’s hands in hers, squeezed them. “Honey, I don’t think you understand. We want you to live with us and be part of our family. To stay here. Forever.”
“Forever,” Betsy added.
“You can keep your box if it makes you feel better,” Mr. Hammerstein said. “But you won’t need it anymore. You’ll have your own dresser.”
Paisley studied each of their faces, searching for a sign they were joking. Then she looked at Cade and he grinned.
“I told Mom you like mystery books so we picked you out some at the library,” he said.
They got her books? Nana and her father—Frank—made fun of her for reading. “Always got your face stuck in a book or one of those books,” he said.
“We heard you like to write stories, too,” Mrs. Hammerstein said.
Paisley gave a little nod, too afraid they’d laugh and say it was silly like everyone else did.
“I love to read, too,” Mrs. Hammerstein said. “Cade’s into sci-fi and Betsy likes books about puppies and kittens. We read every night at bedtime.”
“Say you’ll stay,” Cade said.
