Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (40 page)

Aggie
was
halfway
down
the
hall
before
Vannie’s
voice
reached
her.
“I’m
sorry,
Aunt
Aggie.”

She
turned,
smiling
at
her
niece.
“I
didn’t
thank
you
for
a
wonderful
surprise
and
a
beautiful
party.
It
was
thoughtful—special.
I’ll
cherish
the memory of
every
minute
of
it
for
the
rest
of
my
life.”

“Even
the
mistletoe
game?”

Unaware
that
Luke
stood
behind
her,
grinning—eager
for
her
reply—Aggie
sighed
and
gave
Vannie
the
most
satisfactory
mush
factor
possible.
“
Especially
the
mistletoe
game—now.”

“Glad
to
hear
that.”
Luke’s
voice
almost
tickled
her
ear
it
was
so
close.
“Very
glad
to
hear
it.”

Vannie
crept
toward
the
kitchen,
avoiding
the
hallway
where
Luke
and
Aggie
stood whispering things that the girl could not hear but knew were delightfully mush
y
—just enough to satisfy the budding romantic
.

~*~*~*~

The
toddler
in
the
pack
‘n’
play
was
much
too
large
to
be
the
baby
she’d
hyped
up
on
caffeine
a
mere
ten
months
ago.
When
he’d
curled
up
against
the
corner,
he’d
looked
properly
sweet and
infantile,
but
once
he’d
relaxed,
his
limbs
spread
out
over
the
little
playpen,
making
Aggie
wonder
if
it
was
a
little
too
small
now.
Regardless,
with
arms
flung
wide
and
legs
in
strangely
contorted
shapes,
he
looked
much
too
old
to
be
her
tiny
little
man.

She
twisted,
trying
to
pop
her
back
after
a
grueling
hour
of
trying
to
settle
Ian
down.
He’d
fought
sleep
harder
than
ever
before—a
testament
to
his
exhaustion
if
Libby
and
her
mother
were
to
be
believed.
How
an
exhausted
child
could
be
so
wound
up
was
beyond
her.
Those
words
had
earned
her
an
ineffectively
stifled
giggle—from
nearly
everyone
in
earshot.

Determined
not
to
make
Luke
wait
any
longer,
Aggie
hurried
from
her
room
and
down
the
stairs.
She’d
have
to
remember
to
be
quiet
when
she
went
to
bed
or
she’d
have
a
bed
hog
for
the
night.
As
she
neared
Vannie’s
door,
she
overheard
her
niece
talking
to
someone.

“—don’t
understand
why
it’s
wrong
to
kiss
your
fiancé.”

“It
isn’t—usually.
It’s
just
that
your
aunt
made
a
vow
that
she
wouldn’t,
and
vows
are
serious
things.
You
can’t
break
them.”

“Why
did
she
do
that?”

“You’d
have
to
ask
her
about
it.”

“Don’t
you
wish
she
hadn’t?”

Luke’s
confident,
“No,”
was
reassuring.
“I
have
a
privilege
not
many
men
get.
I
will
know
that
my
wife
has
only
show
n
that
kind
of
affection
for
me.
No
one
else.”

“Hmm…
I
wonder…”

A
small
smile
began
and
grew
into
a
grin
as
Aggie
listened
to
one
of
Luke’s
familiar
silences.
“I
believe
that
your
grandpa
made
the
right
decision
for
Aggie
,
but
I
see
the
gears
turning
in
your
mind,
Vannie.
Just
know
that
if
you
try
to
make
some
kind
of
similar
vow,
the
day
I
know
of
it
and
have
the
authority
to
do
it,
I’ll
revoke
it.
The
Bible
gives
fath
ers
and
husbands
that
right.”