Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (150 page)

“You
did.
You
gave
me
the
deal
you
really
wanted
and
I
was
perfectly
happy
with
it,”
Tina
assured
him.
This
way
I
can
tell
my
father
about
the
twelve
thousand
you
knocked
off
the
price
and
that
I
did
it
without
you
knowing
it
was
me.
He’ll
be
tickled
pink
that
I
got
one
over
on
you—in
his
mind
anyway—and
it’ll
give
him
something
to
brag
about.
I
consider
it
essential
to
his
recovery.”

After
several
long
moments
of
his
head
swinging
back
and
forth
in
search
of
something
from
the
girls,
Luke
shook
his
head
and
asked,
”Is
this
what
it’s
going
to
be
like?”

“What?”

“Marriage
to
Aggie.
Never
knowing
what
you
two
will
come
up
with
next?”

Tina
laughed
while
patting
his
arm
on
her
way
out
to
check
on
the
children.
“As
long
as
I’m
her
friend,
pretty
much.”

“Wait,
don’t
go.
The
other
thing—I
figured
out
a
reception
hall.
Close,
inexpensive,
gorgeous,
and
perfect.”

“Where’s
that?
”

“That
private
school
that
meets
in
the
old
schoolhouse.
That
whole
place
has
been
completely
restored.
It’s
amazing
in
there—just
beautiful.
There’s
also
that
huge
deck
outside
so
the
kids
would
have
a
place
to
go
out
without
getting
all
dirty
if
it’s muddy
that
day.”

“Is
it
available?”

Luke
flicked
Tina’s
phone
across
the
island
toward
her.
“Only
one
way
to
find
out
,
coordinator
lady.”

Excited,
Tina
snatched
up
her
phone
and
hurried
to
grab
her
coat.
Aggie
went
back
to
rolling
enchiladas,
her
mind
already
decorating
her
mental
image
of
the
schoolhouse.
“Is
it
painted
wood
inside
or
stained?”

“What?”

“The
schoolhouse.
”

“I
think
it’s
all
wood.
The
walls
are
painted
though
.
It’s
very
bright
and
airy.”

“It
has
those
really
nice
windows,
doesn’t
it?
I
wonder
if
they
would
let
us
take
down
the
curtains
and
put
up
tulle…”

“Tulle?”

“Well,
I
don’t
know
it,
of
course,
but
I’m
picturing
the
curtains
in
there
to
be
pretty
old-fashioned—kind
of
like
ruffled
country
things.”

“True.
Hmm…”

“Can
you
text
Tina
and
ask
her
to
ask
about
it—never
mind.
We
can
do
that
when
we
go
look.”

“From
the
way
she’s
dancing
like
a
crazy
woman,
I
think
that’s
going
to
be
right
about
now.
”

~*~*~*~

The
room
was
large—surprisingly
immense
.
The
director
of
the
school
showed
them
where
the
original
teacher’s
quarters
had
once
been
behind
a
wall.
“When
we
renovated,
we
tore
that
wall
out.
It
wasn’t
even
a
full
wall
to
the
ceiling.
They’d
just
built
it
like
a
permanent
screen.
So,
we
didn’
t
think
it
was
too
inauthentic.”