Yours for Christmas. Сьюзен Мэллери

out?” she asked, her voice teasing.

      “You know it.”

      She watched him go. He was a good guy, she thought wistfully. Before she could allow her thoughts to drift to more places they shouldn’t, music filled the room. Gideon had brought a collection of upbeat holiday carols that soon had everyone singing while they worked.

      Bailey walked to each of the Sprouts. Allison and her family and friends had come prepared with beautiful printouts of Russian nesting dolls.

      “We’re going to decorate the background, then glue on the pictures of the dolls,” Allison told her. “We’ll put clear varnish over the top.”

      “I like it,” Bailey said.

      She noticed Allison’s mom had on a pretty beaded bracelet. For a second she thought it was an adult version of the bracelets the Sprouts wore—one with beads they earned for various projects.

      Allison’s mom saw her studying the piece and held out her wrist. “Isn’t it wonderful? The beads represent all the colors of cancer awareness.” She smiled at her husband. “It was a gift for my birthday.”

      The man in question smiled back. “You’d been hinting you wanted it for weeks. Don’t give me too much credit.”

      They laughed together.

      Bailey nodded and moved to the next group. But before she got there, she glanced back at the couple who had paused for a quick hug.