Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (187 page)

“Bottle
of
wine,
fruit
of
the
vine—”

Aggie
interrupted
him
before
he
could
continue.
“Don’t
even
think
about
finishing
that,
Tavish.
I
think
I
know
the
next
line.”

Without
Ian
wearing
her
out,
Aggie
was
able
to
fry
pancakes
much
swifter.
As
she
waited
for
the
bubbles
to
pop
on
the
cakes,
she
began
breaking
eggs
in
a
bowl.
“Where’s
the
whisk?
I
just
had
it.”

A
twang
came
from
the
direction
of
the
highchair.
“Sorry,
I
let
Ian
play
with
it.”

“That’s
ok.
I
can
use
a
fork.”

All
through
preparation,
children
filed
into
the
kitchen
looking
reasonably
well
groomed
and
chipper.
She
slid
plates
across
the
island
nearly
as
quickly
as
they
arrived,
and
the
noise
in
the
room
rose
to
what
she
hoped
was
a
“dull
roar.”
It
seemed
like
a
mini-version
of
a
school
lunchroom
,
but
something
about
it
worked.

“W
hat
are
we
doing
today?”
Vannie
asked.

“We
have
to
get
everything
ready
for
you
guys
to
take
your
work
with
you
while
I’m
gone,
so
the
rest
of
this
week
and
next
are
for
getting
things
ready.”

Laird
stood
with
fork
raised
and
shouted,
“Let’s
roll!”

~*~*~*~

School
hadn’t
run
this
smoothly
since
they’d
started.
She
managed
to
get
Kenzie,
Tavish,
and
Ellie
current
on
their
core
subjects—even
taking
into
consideration
the
month
lost
to
sickness.
Vannie
and
Laird
were
each
still
over
a
week
behind,
but
considering
how
many
months
they
had
left,
she
felt
confident
that
they’d
catch
up
in
April
or
May.

The
children
worked
quietly
and
diligently,
and
the
little
ones
played
until
naptime
without
a
hitch.
Once
the
little
children
were
down
for
naps,
she
hurried
to
clean
the
kitchen
and
get
dinner
into
the
oven.
“Three
meals
without
having
to
be
reminded
of
time
or
defrost;
it’s
a
record!”

As
she
opened
a
can
of
tomato
juice
to
pour
over
the
stew,
the
phone
rang.
She
dove
for
it,
hoping
it
wouldn’t
wake
the
kids.
“Hello?”

“Hey,
Aggie.”

“William!
Tina’s
not
here,
remember?
She
went
to
visit
her
dad
for
the
day.”

“No,
I’m
calling
for
you.
Just
thought
you
should
know,
we
caught
Josh.
He’s
in
custody
in
Illinois.
Someone
saw
the
picture
that
they
had
of
Luke
and
‘recognized’
Josh
as
someone
living
in
their
motel.”

“You
got
him?”

“It’s
completely
over.
From
what
the
FBI
guys
say,
he’s
spilling
everything.”

Relief
washed
over
her.
She
put
the
lid
on
the
stew
and
shoved
it
in
the
oven
while
listening
as
William
explained
what
would
happen
next.
Once
he
finished,
she
asked
the
question
the
kids
would
love
to
hear
most.
“What you’re saying is that
the
kids
are
safe
to
leave.
They
can
ride
up
and
down
the
street
or
to
the
library
or
to
your
house
without
anyone
out
there
looking
for
them
specifically.”