Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (86 page)

His
words
registered
in
some
part
of
her
brain,
but
her
concentration
was
on
the
words
of
the
verse.
“…makes
her
the
joyful
mother
of
children…”

“That
verse
personifies
you,”
Luke
murmured
between
teeth
inclined
to
chatter.

“Let’s
go
in.”

She
planted
herself
back
on
the
stool
she
had
been
using
and
played
with
the
little
wooden
pieces.
“Will
you
use
black
screws?”

“Not
brass?”

Her
nose
wrinkled.
“Ew,
no.
Too
shiny.”
As
she
spoke,
she
looked
up
at
him
apologetically
and
then
frowned.
“That
wasn’t
nice.”

“What’s
wrong?”

“That
verse.
It’s
not
like
me
at
all.
I’m
not
joyful.”

“You’re
having
a
bad
week,
but
that
doesn’t
mean
that
usually
you
don’t
enjoy
this
life
you
have.”

“Then
I’m
a
really
good
actress
I
guess.”
She
dropped
her
head
in
her
hands.
“I’m
also
a
failure
it
seems.”

“Laird?”

“Yes.
I
took
the
world’s
most
easy-going
boy
and
turned
him
into
a
nasty
rebel.
Allie
is
probably
crushed.”

“You
know,
a
couple
of
weeks
of
bad
attitudes
doesn’t
mean
the
kid
is
a
hopeless
case—ruined
for
life.
It
just
means
we
have
to
find
the
root
of
the
attitude
and
fix
it.”

“Have any i
deas?”
Aggie
shoved
Luke’s
present
across
the
counter.
“Your
turn.”

“I
do,
but
I
don’t
like
it.”

“Why?”

“Why
what?”

That
didn’t
bode
well.
He
was
stalling.
She
opted
for
what
was
likely
the
less
painful
answer.
“What
don’t
you
like?”

“I
think
he’s
lost
respect
for
you.”

“Or
never
had
it
is
more
like
it.”

Luke
rested
his
chin
on
the
box
in
front
of
him.
“You’re
determined
to
be
miserable,
aren’t
you?”

“That’s
not
fair…”
She
sighed.
“Yeah,
I
guess
it
is.”
She
shook
her
head
and
eyed
the
box.
“Just
open
it.”

Nestled
in
a
square
box
were
half
a
dozen
hand-tied
fishing
flies.
“Where—Willow.
Chad
said
she
made
them.
You
bought
them
when
you
went
to
do
the
dresses,
didn’t
you?”

“Yep.
I
hope
Chad
forgives
me.
They
were
supposed
to
be
part
of
his
gift.”

Luke
grinned
as
he
fingered
each
one,
commenting
on
their
uniqueness
and
beauty.
“We
won’t
tell
him
then,
eh?
”

Another
package
sat
between
them,
but
neither
wanted
to
acknowledge
it.
Once
open,
Luke
would
feel
obligated
to
leave.
“Oh,
I
decided
not
to
do
school
all
week.
I
think
a
break
is
going
to
be
good.”

“Well,
I
think
I
know
the
answer
to
my
dilemma
then.
I’ve
been
deciding
if
I
should
invest
the
time
in
a
set
of
built-ins
around
the
fireplace
on
Cygnet.
What
if
I
do
it
and
see
if
Laird
wants
to
help
?
Maybe
he’ll
open
up
to
me
if
we’re
just
working
together.”