Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (135 page)

Whatever
Libby
said
made
all
the
difference.
Kenzie
raced
to
her,
threw
her
arms
around
Aggie,
kissed
her
cheek,
and
skipped
downstairs
to
play
with
Luke
and
the
younger
children.
If
only
her
heart
could
be
as
easily
soothed.

At the kitchen window, she stared out at the back yard, wondering where her world had gone.
What happened to playful children building snowmen or having
snowball
fights?
Where were the kids who couldn’t stand to be away from those dogs— She stared at the dog kennel.
What was wrong with Sammie?
She wasn’t moving.
Miner circled her, sat, and circled her again.

Aggie grabbed her jacket and stumbled across the back yard to the kennel.
“Sammie!
What’s
the matter
?”

Miner’s whimpers tore at Aggie’s heart.
“What’s wrong with her, boy?”

The dog dashed to her side, raced back to Sammie, nud
ged his sister, and then bounded to Aggie again.
The back door opened, causing Sammie to raise her head expectantly.
When
Tina stepped onto the porch and called to see what was wrong, the dog dropped her head to her paws again with a huff.

“It’s Sammie.
She’s—something.”
Aggie returned to the house, dejected.
“I think she knows Ellie is missing or something.”

“Sounds crazy,” Tina said, “but considering how much time Ellie spends with her, it’s probably normal.
Dogs can sense trouble, right?
Some kind of instinct thing?”

She stood at the island, thinking.
Should she take the dog to the vet?
Could a vet do anything?
Probably not.
Sammie would be fine when Ellie came back
,
and if not, well, she didn’t have time to think about a dog at a time like
this
.

Tina’s phone rang.
She gave Aggie a reassuring smile before stepping into the corner to answer questions. “That’s right… mmm hmm…”

Her
eyes
slid
toward
the
clock—again.
It woul
d
be
an
hour
before
her
parents
could
arrive.
Maybe
she
could
just
take
a
drive
somewhere.
It woul
d
help
to
clear
her
head
if
nothing
else.
One
look
at
Tina
gave
her
the
answer
she
sought.

“Thanks.”
Aggie
mouthed
the
word
and
reached
for
the
keys
in
the
bowl
on
the
hall
table.
She
hurried
to
tell
Luke
she
was
leaving.

In
the
basement,
Luke
pushed
Ian
and
Lorna
on
swings
while
Cari
and
Kenzie
chased
each
other
up
and
down
the
slide.
“I’m
going
to
go
for
a
drive.”

“Do
you
want
me
to
come
with
you?”

She
shook
her
head.
“I
need
to
be
alone
for
a
bit
or
I’ll
go
crazy.”

“I
don’t
think
alone
is
a
good
idea
right
now,
Mibs.
There’s
someone
out
there—”

“Talking
about
it
in
front
of
‘little
pitchers’
isn’t
exactly
the
best
idea.”

His
face
looked
confused,
but
suddenly,
understanding
dawned.
“You’re
right.
”
He
thought
for
a
moment,
his
jaw
working
and
his
hands
catching
the
chains
a
little
more
firmly
than
necessary
as
he
pulled
the
swing
slings
back
a
little
farther.
“Considering
the
possibili
ties
of
the
motives
of
the
perpetrator’s
apparent
shenanigans,
solitude
seems
unwise
at
present.”

Aggie
giggled.
“That
was
brilliant.
Um…”
Her
brain
felt
positively
dizzy
as
she
tried
to
match
his
over-the-little-ones’-head
vocabulary
choices.
“Considering
the
alternative
is
acute
mental
distress,
I—”
she
shrugged.
“Um…
disagree
with
your
assessment
of
risk.”

Luke
seemed
to
be
working
double-time
to
formulate
a
reply
when
Kenzie
said
cheerily,
“Uncle
Luke,
Aunt
Aggie
says
she
doesn’t
agree
that
there’s
much
risk.
”
The
child
watched
as
Aggie
and
Luke
exchanged
stunned
glances
and
added,
“I
don’t
think
you
should
use
words
that
you
don’t
understand.
That’s
what
Aunt
Tina
always
says.”

“Regardless
of
what
Tina
says,
I’m
doing
it
and
Luke
understands
why
and
will
support
my
decision.”