Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (122 page)

She
bolted
upright,
her
eyes
meeting
William’s.
“I’m
glad
you
got
a
little
sleep.
You’ll
need
it.”

“Where’s
Luke?”

“Upstairs
with
the
kids.
They’re
having
trouble
settling
down.”

She
flushed
as
she
realized
how
close
she’d
been
to
another
man.
He
stood,
stretching.
“You’ve
been
out
for
quite
a
bit.
My
legs
were
getting
numb.”

“How
did
I
end
up
with
my
head
in
your
lap?”

He
chuckled.
“You
should
have
seen
Luke’s
face
over
that
one.
One
minute
you
were
asleep
on
that
pillow
and
the
next
you
just
sat
up
and
flopped
down
with
your
head
on
my
leg.
Every
time
I
tried
to
move,
you
got
restless,
so
we
let
you
sleep.”

“Awkward.”

“You’re
telling
me.
I
just
endured
two
and
a
half
hours
of
glare
from
Luke.”

It
killed
her
to
ask,
but
she
had
to
know.
“Any
updates?
Any
word
at
all?”

“None.
Sorry.”

“Is
it
on
the
news?”

“Yes.
The
Amber
Alert
,
of
course.”

She
nodded
and
flipped
open
her
phone.
“Did
Dad
call?”

“Yes.
He
said
not
to
mention
it
to
your
mother
yet.
He
kept
the
news
off.”

Torn
between
hearing
her
father’s
voice
and
knowing
he
couldn’t
hide
the
conversation
well,
Aggie’s
eyes
shifted
between
cell
phone
and
laptop.
“Can
you
get
me
a
cup
of
coffee?
It’s
gonna
be
a
long
night.”
She
stuffed
her
phone
in
her
pocket
and
flipped
open
her
computer.

“Aggie,
you
need
to
try
to
get
some
more
sleep.
There’s
nothing
you
can
do
for
her
if
you’re
worn
out.”

“I
need
to
talk
to
my
father.
If
you
won’t
get
me
coffee,
I’ll
get
it
myself.”

“I’ll
get
it,
I’ll
get
it.”

It
seemed
to
take
forever
for
the
laptop
to
boot,
the
internet
to
connect,
and
her
messenger
program
to
sign
in.
The
box
popped
up
with
an
offline
message
the
moment
she
connected.

Milliken says:
Ding me as soon as you can. Anxious for news.

Milliken says:
Aggie?

Aggie says:
Dad. I’m here. What have you heard?

Milliken says:
Just that Ellie was taken by a man in a blue truck who is average height with brown hair.

Aggie says:
The people who saw him thought it was Luke.

Milliken says:
Impossible.

Aggie says:
Luke’s truck is clean of fingerprints. Ellie’s hat was in there, but she wasn’t wearing it today. She left it at his sister’s house a week ago. He was just bringing it back.

Milliken says
: I thought Geraldine until I heard the description.

Aggie says:
So did Luke. He just assumed. I think I didn’t want to think about it. I was sure she was with him for some kind of surprise until he said he didn’t have her.

Milliken says:
I can bring Mom if you need us. I’d rather not overtax her.

Aggie says:
I need both of you, but I’m going to need you even more if the worst happens. I can’t handle looking for Ellie, taking care of the kids, and worrying about Mom.

Aggie says:
How long before you tell her?

Milliken says:
Tomorrow night. I can keep her off the news and field calls that long, but then she’ll start to get suspicious. I don’t want to risk someone telling her before I can.

Aggie says:
That sounds wise.

Milliken says:
I know what you’re thinking, Aggie, and you’re

wrong.

Aggie says:
What am I thinking?

Milliken says:
Allie wouldn’t have lost a kid. If Allie were here, this couldn’t have happened. Allie was the perfect mom. I am a failure. I should have these kids taken away from me.

Milliken says:
Oh, and EPIC FAIL!

Aggie says:
LOL. I needed that last one.

Milliken says:
And it’s all a lie. It could happen to anyone.

Aggie says:
Not if I don’t let a nine-year-old ride off to the library.

Milliken says:
You sent her to the library alone?

Aggie says:
No! Vannie and Laird went with her. She went back outside for her library card.

Milliken says:
Then you were a responsible parent who had a normal childhood thing turn into a tragedy. Just like moms who have eight year olds playing in the back yard—fenced—and go check on them five minutes later and the kid is gone. It happens.