Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (6 page)

“Oh,
no!”
Her
heart
sank
for
him.
“How
bad
is
it?”
Her
teeth
tried
to
chatter,
but
Aggie
rubbed
her
hands
together
and
set
her
jaw
, listening
.

“I’ll
have
to
gut
the
laundry
room,
replace
two
walls
of
the
kitchen,
and
do
some
repairs
on
the
powder
room.
The
living
room
has
some
damage
,
but
nothing
too
bad.
I’m
not
sure
about
the
kitchen
floor
though.”

“Can
I
do
something?”

“Right
now,
no.
I’m
still
assessing
damage
and
waiting
for
the
insurance
adjuster.
I
am
glad
I
insured
the
house
before
I
insulated
or
this
wouldn’t
be
covered.”
His
voice
sounded
strained
and
weary.
“I
just
wanted
you
to
know
I
wouldn’t
make
it
for
lunch.
I’m
really
sorry,
Mibs.”

“Stop
by
on
your
way
home
if
you
like.”
She
sounded
too
eager
and
she
knew
it.
The
last
thing
he
needed
was
to
feel
obligated
to
do
anything.
“And
let
me
know
if
I
can
do
something—even
if
it’s
just
run
ning
errands
so
you
don’t
have
to
leave.
The
kids
would
love
to
get
out
of
the
house.”

“I’ll
call.
Got
to
go.”

She
stared
at
the
dead
phone.
“Bye.”

As
she
opened
the
door
to
the
house,
something
Luke
said
clicked.
“Lunch.
I
didn’t
cut
the
veggies
for
lunch.”
She
peeked
her
head
in
the
library
and
asked
if
anyone
needed
help.
Several
heads
shook,
but
Aggie
saw
Cari,
Lorna,
and
Ian
getting
restless.
“You
three
come
with
me,”
she
said
, scooping
up
Ian.
“I’ve
got
to
go
work
on
lunch.”

“Is
Luke
coming?”
Laird
didn’t
even
raise
his
head
from
his
math
book.

“He
can’t.
Pipes
burst
over
on
Cygnet,
and
I
guess
there’s
a
lot
of
damage.”

Laird
frowned.
“It
wasn’t
my
fault,
was
it?
I
didn’t
work
on
pipes.”

“No,
he
forgot
to
insulate
a
wall
in
the
kitchen
or
something.
”

“Can
I
go
help?”

Aggie
shook
her
head.
“Let’s
wait
until
tomorrow
to
ask.
He
has
a
lot
to
do
and
take
in.
The
damage
sounds
extensive.”

She
shooed
the
little
ones
into
the
kitchen
and
gave
the
girls
plastic
knives
and
bananas
to
slice
for
the
Jell-O.
Ian
enjoyed
a
snack
of
banana
in
the
high
chair
while
she
chopped
vegetables.
Into
a
large
bowl
went
chopped
potatoes,
carrots,
celery,
and
a
couple
of
cans
of
stewed
diced
tomatoes.
She
covered
them
with
water,
put
a
plate
over
the
bowl,
set
the
timer
for
an
hour,
and
set
it
aside.
S
he
added
the
rest
of
the
previous
night’s
chopped
chuck
steak,
garlic
powder,
and
chopped
onion
into her heavy Dutch oven
.
The
clock
was
against
her.