Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (56 page)

The crunch of his wheels on the driveway brought Mrs. Dyke to the door, spatula in hand.
“
I have eggs, biscuits, and gravy all ready. The orange juice is still chilling in the icebox. Why don
’
t you pour us some?
”

William worked in relative silence with Mrs. Dyke, until time for grace. With bowed heads, William recited the oft-prayed meal blessing taught him by Mr. Dyke many years ago.
“
Heavenly Father, thank You for the food prepared for us. Sanctify it for our body
’
s nourishment. In Jesus
’
name, amen.
”

Wise and wily, Mrs. Dyke waited until William had a full mouth before she spoke.
“
William, you have a date tomorrow evening. Seven o
’
clock sharp. Aggie
’
ll be waiting; so don
’
t be late. Gives a bad impression, you know.
”
She smiled at him until she saw him swallow, then put a fork full of food in her mouth.

With more effort than he ever imagined possible, William managed not to choke on his food. Upon Mrs. Dyke
’
s announcement, the man was ready to do battle. Had Aggie
really
asked him to go to dinner via
Mrs. Dyke?
Furthermore, had the traitorous old woman accepted for him? The idea was inconceivable. Wasn
’
t it? This must be what Aggie meant by
“
see you Friday.
”
The audacity!

William finally calmed himself enough to try to sort out the situation.
“
Mrs. Dyke, just when did Aggie suggest this?
”

“
Oh, son,
Aggie
didn
’
t suggest it; I did. I asked her for you, and she accepted. By the way, if you stand her up out of anger at me, you
’
ll really look like a fool. I suggest you just realize that I know what I
’
m doing and make the best of it.
”

He started to speak, but Mrs. Dyke cut him off with an afterthought.
“
Oh, and William, make sure you apologize. You really were quite imperious the other day. It
’
s a wonder that she agreed to go. If she didn
’
t feel so badly about losing her temper, I doubt that she would have accepted.
”

Again, William started to speak, but Mrs. Dyke preempted him.
“
I wonder why that girl hasn
’
t been snapped up before now. William, if you aren
’
t careful, that young man Luke will see what you seem too blind to see; and I think you might regret it.
”

William rose, rinsed his plate and glass in the sink as he
’
d been taught as a young boy, kissed Mrs. Dyke
’
s cheek, and left without saying a word. The awkwardness of being with Aggie at the lake tonight with this deception hanging between them made him uncomfortable. As he contemplated his dilemma, a call came over his scanner, and when William heard the address, he quickly turned his car around and drove back to Aggie
’
s. On duty or not, he had experience with this one.

It appeared to William as though Geraldine Stuart was determined to upstage the fireworks show. He stood back and allowed the on-duty deputies to try to reason with her but didn
’
t expect much success. William looked everywhere for the children, but they and the van were nowhere in sight. When he finally spotted Aggie near the side of the house, he went to speak to her.

“
Hey, Lisa.
”
William greeted the officer talking with Aggie.

“
Markenson, aren
’
t you off today?
”
The young rookie, fresh from the academy, fought the temptation to flirt. Aggie would have found it comical in a normal situation. As it was, she was more concerned with controlling the nearly overwhelming urge to give the
“
GIL
”
a verbal thrashing.

“
I know Aggie and have dealt with Mrs. Stuart in the past.
”

“
Well, I don
’
t know why the woman isn
’
t taking the hint. Some guy was here, but he just packed up the kids and drove off. Creighton said it was ok.
”

William nodded.
“
She has full custody, and the grandmother doesn
’
t have legal visitation. Actually, I thought you had a restraining order, Aggie.
”

“
She doesn
’
t. We asked.
”
The young deputy was obviously disgusted.

“
I didn
’
t want the hassle of court, and I was afraid they
’
d drag the children into it.
”
Her face drooped visibly.
“
I guess I hoped she would leave me alone.
”
Aggie sighed.

When the deputies escorted Geraldine Stuart and her shadow of a husband off of the property, Aggie and William sat on the porch and waited for Luke to return with the children.
“
He wasn
’
t even working today. He drove up just seconds after she did, packed them up, and left. I don
’
t even know why he was here.
”

Her fingers lightly traced the edge of a bolt on the old picnic bench. William moved across from Aggie, leaning over the railing, watching her. After a while, he asked the question that seemed, in his professional opinion, to be the ultimate solution.
“
Have you considered that if you let her spend time with the children, this might not happen? Is it that important that you have them all to yourself?
”

Aggie sighed and pulled a photocopied letter from her pocket, handing it to him. William read the letter carefully and then looked up at her.
“
I guess this answers that question.
”

“
Do you think they were paranoid? She wasn
’
t like this before I was awarded guardianship. Intense
--
oh yeah! But she wasn
’
t out of control like she is when she
’
s here. I don
’
t understand the change. It
’
s like she lost control of her world, so she lost control of herself or something.
”
Aggie
’
s heart felt tied in strangling, emotional knots.

“
I think that Doug probably knew what is best regarding his mother. Most men don
’
t decide that their mothers can
’
t be around their children, unless it
’
s necessary. We just don
’
t rock boats that we can ignore.
”
William
’
s words were spoken intently
--
almost fiercely.
“
There are exceptions, of course. I know that. But, in my experience, women are more likely to create this kind of situation. Your brother-in-law had a childhood that some would consider abusive.
”
Again, the words were nearly forced between clenched teeth.

Aggie wondered about his attitude but was too concerned about the situation at hand to question him. With a heavy heart, she decided to file the paperwork for the restraining order and questioned William about the particulars. As William explained the process, she saw him relax slowly but visibly.

After several minutes of silence, Aggie ran her fingers along the letters carved into the rough bench.
“
I wonder who WJN is? I wish I could just travel back to when they were here. It must have been such an innocent time. No ugly scenes with grandmothers
--
”

“
Don
’
t be so sure.
”
William
’
s harsh tone stunned her. She decided to change the subject and ask about the fireworks, but he pushed himself away from the porch, walked over to his midnight blue corvette, and climbed into the low seat. Driving up to the porch, he rolled down the passenger window and said,
“
I
’
ll be here tomorrow at six. Does that sound ok with you?
”

Aggie nodded absently and watched, confused, as he drove down the drive and onto the street. Did that mean he
’
d changed his mind about helping her find the fireworks display that evening? She considered William
’
s attitude and words, but before she could give any serious thought to it, Luke drove in with a van full of laughing children. Aggie smiled from her perch on the porch as they all spilled from the van and shared the goofy stories and songs that they
’
d enjoyed with their impromptu chauffeur.

Laird sat next to her on the bench and waited for the right moment.
“
Is Grandmother ok?
”

“
I don
’
t know, Laird. I
’
d love to be able to trust her enough to invite her to visit, but with the way she does things and what your father instructed
--
”

The boy seemed to lose interest in the conversation almost immediately. Aggie wondered if she
’
d hurt him by sending his grandmother away, but a few minutes later, he returned and laid his hand on her shoulder.
“
Aunt Aggie, I don
’
t know if Vannie or Mom told you, but Dad didn
’
t let Grandmother visit us at the old house very often. I overheard him tell Mom once that they needed to keep visits to public places as often as possible. I didn
’
t hear why, but if Dad said that about his own mother, then I think that
’
s why he chose you to take care of us. He knew you
’
d do whatever he said was best.
”