Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (75 page)

“I
never
thought
I’d
see
the
day
when
you
spent
this
much
money
on
anything
without
circumstance
forcing
it.”

Her
eyes
roved
over
the
mountains
of
gifts
and
her
face
fell
as
she
realized
he
was
right.
She’d
over
done
it.
“What
do
I
do?
I
couldn’t
tell—”

“Give
me
a
number.
Let’s
start
there.
Just
give
me
a
number,
one,
three,
ten,
fifty.
I
don’t
care,
but
pick
a
number.”

“Five.
Seems
like
I
usually
had
about
five
gifts
at
Christmas.”

“That
works.
”

From
time
to
time,
Luke
held
out
two
options,
waiting
for
her
to
choose,
and
then
put
the
reject
in
a
plastic
bag.
It
took
longer
than
expected,
but
after
much
effort,
the
piles
were
cut
in
half.
“There.”

Aggie
looked
up
from
the
audio
books
she
was
wrapping
for
her
mother
and
frowned.
“Still
looks
like
a
lot.”

“It
is.
You
have
before
you
forty
gifts—not
including
the
ones
you’ve
been
working
on.
We
might
have
to
pull
a
few
more
out.”

“Nope.
I’ve
been
working
on
my
parents,
Tina,
your
mother,
Mrs.
Dyke…”

Strong
hands
kneaded
the
knots
in
her
shoulders
as
she
surveyed
the
room
once
more.
“I
know
this
isn’t
half
what
they’re
used
to,
but
I
don’t
think
I
can
pull
out
more.
I’m
getting
hives
just
looking
at
that.”

“Then
let’s
get
the
other
stuff
out
of
here
anyway.”

Luke
lifted
the
closest
bag,
but
Aggie
stopped
him.
“Wait.
How
can
I
give
them
what
must
seem
like
a
cheap
Christmas
on
the
first
year
they
lose
their
parents?”

“Do
you
plan
to
make
it
huge
every
year?”

“No…”

“Then
they
need
a
new
normal.
The
important
thing
was
to
make
this
Christmas
special—not
recreate
the
past
ones.”

Tears
filled
Aggie’s
eyes.
“And
how
did
I
do
that?
By
disappearing
every
day,
running
myself
crazy
trying
to
find
stuff,
and
being
snappish
because
I
was
totally
stressed
out.”

“
Then
do
the
twelve
days
of
Christmas
to
Epiphany
with
them.
One
fun
thing
a
day.
Coo
kies
one
day,
caroling
another—whatever.
Make
it
a
tradition
that
you
do
the
fun
stuff
after
the
holiday.
It’ll
help
with
the
whole
letdown
thing
too.”

The
idea
was
beginning
to
grow
on
her.
“We
could
watch
movies
one
day
too.
Maybe…
oh,
I’ve
got
a
couple
of
days
and
maybe
they
can
think
of
something!”

Once
more,
Luke
tried
to
leave
the
room
carrying
the
bags
of
rejected
gifts,
and
Aggie
stopped
him.
“Wait
until
they’re
in
bed.
The
last
thing
we
want
to
do
is
give
them
the
idea
that
they
are
being
cheated.”