Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (10 page)

Luke
yawned
.
Ready
to
send
him
on
his
way,
Aggie
pointed
to
the
house.
“Let
me
out
and
go
home.
If
you
can’t
sleep,
ding
me.
I’ll
be
up
for
a
while
yet.”

“Can’t.
No
internet
at
the
house.”

“On
Cygnet?
You’re
sleeping
there?”

He
pulled
up
by
her
front
door
and
put
the
truck
in
park.
“Yeah.
I
can
work
as
late
or
as
early
as
I
want.
I
can
also
make
sure
no
more
pipes
burst
.
I’m
going
to
test
all
the
outside
walls
for
insulation
again—make
sure
I
didn’t
miss
any
others.”

Aggie’s
heart
sank.
She’d
miss
their
Internet
chat.
“Well,
come
over
for
breakfast
if
you
like…”

“Can’t.
I’ve
got
food
there
to
eat
while
I
work.
I’ve
got
to
get
this
done
swiftly.
Every
day
lost
is
money
lost.
There’
s
a
house
in
Fairbury
that
I
want,
but
until
this
sells…”

The
temptation
to
offer
him
the
money
was
overwhelming.
She
had
it.
He’d
get
it
back
for
her.
Soon
enough,
i
t woul
d
probably
be
his
money
too.
Her
conscience
pricked
her.
It
wasn’t
“her”
money;
it
belonged
to
the
children.
She
had
no
business
loaning
out
their
money
to
anyone
for
any
reason.
Then
again,
isn’t
that
what
investments
were?
She
had
investments—lots
of
them.

“Luke?”

“No,
Aggie.
I
cannot
tell
you
how
much
it
means
that
you’d
offer,
but
no.”

She
blushed.
“
I
hate
how
people
can
read
me
like
that.
I
wish
my
face
was
totally
deadpan.”

“It
isn’t
your
face
this
time,
Mibs.
It’s
you.
I
know
you,
and
I
also
know
just
how
much
of
a
struggle
it
was
to
offer.
It
means
a
lot
to
me,
but
I
can’t
do
it—”

“If
things
were
different…”

His
chuckle
warmed
her
heart
and
sent
her
stomach
flopping
in
that
delightfully
peculiar
way
that
was
becoming
quite
predictable.
“Even
if
we
were
married
and
I
had
every
penny
of
yours
at
my
disposal,
I
wouldn’t
do
it.
I
have
the
money
in
my
personal
account
for
a
down
payment,
but
I
don’t
mix
personal
and
business
accounts.
I
just
don’t.”
He
leaned
closer,
winked
and
added,
“But
I
do
like
that
your
mind
went
there.
I
like
it
a
lot.”

Aggie
struggled
to
open
her
heart—share
what
she’d
wanted
to
say
for
weeks,
but
a
lump
rose
in
her
throat,
choking
off
any
hope
of
coherent
speech.
Instead,
she
gave
what
she
hoped
was
an
encouraging
smile
and
stepped
from
the
truck.
Just
as
she
started
to
close
the
door,
she
heard
him
murmur,
“I
love
you,
Mibs.”