Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (49 page)

They planned to start the downstairs on Monday, as long as the weather stayed reasonably dry. It amazed her how much trouble rain outside could cause her inside. She stood in the doorway of the country kitchen and realized what Luke meant when he said it would have to be gutted. All food and dishes would have to be stored in another room, as well as prepared there. She was finally feeding the children real meals at regular times, and now it looked like they would be going back to frozen fare. The thought was depressing.

Luke had made himself quite indispensable. Aggie didn
’
t know how she
’
d ever imagined that she could do all the work that had been accomplished by herself. Proverbs states that
“
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,
”
but Aggie wasn
’
t sure that it didn
’
t carry over to
“
no-longer-a-child-people
”
as well. Luke worked steadily on everything, and while Aggie was certain that he was being underpaid, her insecurity in spending money kept her from raising his bid prices.

“
Luke?
”
Aggie stood in the living room after trying to find him. There was no way she could figure out where the man was. Aggie added another mental note to her endless list.
“
Hook up the intercom.
”

Luke sauntered into the room.
“
You need something?
”

“
Yep. I need you to tell me which room we
’
re going to do first. I can
’
t decide if we should save the kitchen for last, or do it first?
”

Luke was frustratingly silent. What took the average person three seconds to say, took Luke thirty seconds to over a minute. It drove her crazy. Finally, he answered.
“
If you want to protect your furniture during the kitchen remodel, then I recommend that we get that out of the way first. It
’
s a real bugaboo, but I think you
’
ll be happiest with it finished.
”

Aggie waited. She had learned by now that if Luke
’
s jaw clenched at the end of a sentence, he had more to say. Eventually, he continued. Just in time, too. Aggie was about to throttle the words out of him.

“
I think that we need to set up a kitchen in the dining room. I can cut a hole in the wall and route the gas across to there, temporarily. That
’
ll give you a stove. Then, we can put that big old desk you have out there, and cover it with some shower board to protect it and make it easy to clean. That
’
ll give you a counter. You can use that nifty, built-in china cabinet for a pantry, and with the microwave there, all you have to worry about is washing dishes.
”

The silence came again. She could almost see the wheels turning. After a few more minutes, that seemed like hours, Aggie lost it.
“
And?
”
Hands on hips and eyes flashing, Aggie looked like Doris Day in
Calamity Jane
.

Poor Luke was confused. He looked at her, just before Aggie lost what was left of her patience, and asked,
“
Have I done something wrong?
”

“
Uh, no, I was just waiting for you to finish what you had to say.
”
The sarcasm in her tone was unmistakable.

Before Luke could respond, a piercing scream came from the backyard. They ran outside in time to watch a goose egg swell to immense proportions on Tavish
’
s head. Aggie
’
s eyes registered fear, and her mouth went dry. She didn
’
t know what to do. Vannie flew past her and into the house, only to dash back out with a bag of frozen peas and hand it to the boy. Tavish held the peas to his head very gingerly, as he sobbed in pain. Luke looked at the knot and turned to Kenzie.
“
Hey, Kenz, please go get us a dry washcloth.
”

After examining Tavish
’
s eyes, and looking at the knot sticking out from the boy
’
s temple, he turned to Aggie and said,
“
I think he needs to rest on the couch for a moment. Oh, and I have a suggestion for you.
”

Moments later, Aggie whizzed down the road with Tavish holding the peas against his head and moaning in pain. She was amazed. Luke had kept them calm and unaffected while he informed Aggie that he was concerned about a concussion.
“
I am sure you
’
re fine, but let
’
s have a doctor make that decision, ok, pal?
”
Tavish had smiled weakly at Luke and then climbed into his seat in the van.

Upon reaching the Urgent Care admittance desk, Aggie promptly passed out. All the stress and fear of the situation hit her hard, and down she went. The receptionist asked for Tavish
’
s home number and called the house.

“
May I speak to someone regarding,
”
the woman glanced at the paper.
“
Um… Aggie Stuart.
”
She read the paper more closely and corrected herself.
“
Oh, no… Milliken. Aggie Milliken? I need someone to give authorization for,
”
She looked at the patient name slot and continued,
“
Tavish Stuart to be seen by a doctor.
”

Luke was confused.
“
Isn
’
t Aggie there? How did Tavish get there if Aggie didn
’
t make it?
”

“
Oh, she
’
s here all right, but
--
”

Uncharacteristically, Luke interrupted.
“
May I speak to her please?
”

“
Just a moment; I
’
ll wheel her over to the phone.
”

“
What
! Wait, what
’
s going on?
”
Luke was past the point of calm and nearing panic.
“
What happened?
”

“
Miss Milliken had a moment of light headedness and passed out, so we have her in a wheel chair. I
’
ll get her.
”

“
No. Never mind. I
’
ll send my uncle over. Just make sure that she doesn
’
t drive.
”

A cheerful and helpful nurse followed them into the cubicle, once Aggie became fully alert.
“
Well, hon, what happened to you?
”
Without the sincere expression on the nurse
’
s face, her syrupy tone would have sounded contrived.

“
I was walking past my brother, and he swung his bat and hit my head.
”
The nurse looked concerned, and Aggie realized that she didn
’
t know what happened.

“
So, your brother hit you with his baseball bat? Was he mad at you?
”
The woman shot a disapproving look at Aggie.

“
Oh, no! They were playing softball, and I was walking to the swing out back and didn
’
t see them. Laird
’
s probably pretty mad at himself.
”
Embarrassment in Tavish
’
s face and manner made him look dishonest.

“
Didn
’
t you see them playing? How could you just walk into the middle of a ball game?
”
Doubt and suspicion laced the nurse
’
s words, and she surreptitiously pressed a buzzer on the wall. Aggie sighed. She knew they were in trouble now.

Tavish, unaware of the tension growing in the room, answered automatically.
“
Well, I wasn
’
t watching where I was going. I was reading and looked up just in time to see the bat coming at me. I ducked, but I think that just kept me from getting it in the neck.
”

Aggie laughed. She couldn
’
t help it. This was the boy
’
s third accident stemming from walking while reading.
“
Tavish, I have to make it a rule now. You may
not
open your book if you are standing on your
feet
. Do you understand?
”

Tavish sheepishly nodded. The nurse watched the exchange and then smiled.
“
Well, hon, I used to be real klutzy when I was your age, but it wasn
’
t because I was reading. I didn
’
t have a good excuse like that.
”
She gave Aggie a knowing look.
“
I have to go stop the nurse from calling someone about the accident. You understand.
”

Relief washed Aggie
’
s face, and she smiled.
“
I appreciate it. Sorry to be a bother.
”

“
I
’
ll be right back. Happy to stop this one!
”
The nurse walked out of the room, and Aggie overheard her telling the receptionist to cancel the Social Services call.
“
I was premature
--
I remembered hearing about the house with all the kids and the 9-1-1 calls and jumped the gun. Tell Linda I am sorry for bothering her.
”

The doctor examined Tavish and determined that, while there was a concussion, there wasn
’
t a reason to keep the boy overnight. With instructions to keep a close eye on the boy for the next couple of days, and a list of things to watch for, Zeke, a much stronger Aggie, and Tavish went home.