Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (64 page)

“
But I couldn
’
t find the
‘
nother ones. Worna and me twied.
”
Tears formed.

“
I know.
”
Luke held out his arms and wrapped them around Cari as the little girl crawled in his lap.
“
It
’
s hard being the little girls in a big kid
’
s game, isn
’
t it?
”

“
I wants to win.
”

“
Would you have liked it if Vannie wrapped up some of her books or games and said
they
were the gifts, so she could win the prize?
”

“
That
’
s not faiw!
”
As she said it, Cari burst into tears.
“
I want to win!
”

“
Even if you cheat?
”

A sniffle broke the silence around them.
“
Noooo...
”

“
What you did was wrong
--
not because you gave a gift, but because you tried to steal a prize with a gift and a lie.
”

“
That
’
s bad.
”
The adamant defiance was now replaced with certain insistence.

“
It is bad. I
’
m glad you understand now.
”

Wiping away her tears, Cari jumped from his lap. Giving him a big hug, she grinned.
“
I unnerstood befow. I just don
’
t wike getting in twouble. I
’
m always in twouble.
”
Her matter-of-fact tone dwindled to a sigh as she confessed her propensity to misbehavior.

“
Well, little troublemaker, let
’
s go have cake and sing for Laird again.
”

“
I can have cake?
”
Cari
’
s eyes lit up excitedly.

“
Of course. You didn
’
t lie about the cake, or did you?
”

“
Well… I didn
’
t lie
‘
zactly. But
--
”
The temptation to hide her taste-testing was written all over the child
’
s face.

“
When you confess what you do wrong, you usually are in less trouble
--
it
’
s when you try to hide it or make it a habit that adults have to try to teach you somehow not to do it again.
”
Even as he spoke, Luke was sure the child wouldn
’
t understand. He was trying to rephrase when Cari
’
s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“
Does that mean if I tell you I ate some fwosting fwom Laiwd
’
s cake that I won
’
t get in twouble?
”

“
I think, this time anyway, that
’
s exactly what it means.
”

“
I
’
m sowwy, Luke.
”

“
I know, honey. Let
’
s go eat cake and forget about trouble for tonight.
”

The relief on Aggie
’
s face was mirrored in Luke
’
s eyes. He hadn
’
t bargained for nearly an hour of standoff between Cari and himself. As he helped himself to a piece of cake, he read the dread she
’
d felt and realized that she knew it could have been even longer.
“
Does she do that often?
”

“
Not if I can help it. I try to head her off at the pass, so she can
’
t put me there. I almost never win once we get to that point.
”

“
That
’
s why she does it.
”

“
I don
’
t have an hour or two every day, three or four times a day, to focus just on Cari and her stubbornness!
”

“
You don
’
t have the time not to. Multiply her faults now by ten, and that is Cari as a teenager. Do you want her pretending to be going to a school field trip while she sneaks out to party with her friends? Those things start at age three when a mom lets them get away with pretending that they didn
’
t
mean
to knock the eggs off the counter, even though the mom watched them deliberately push them off.
”

“
Why do I get the feeling that one of your sisters had a mishap with some eggs?
”

“
Not them, me. Was mad at Mom, thought she wasn
’
t looking, and pushed. I tried to convince her that it was an accident. Three hours and a sore bottom later, I confessed, and Mom told me what happens if you don
’
t stop wrong behavior when it starts. I
’
ve never forgotten it.
”

“
How old were you?
”

“
Around four or so. I don
’
t think I was any younger, but I know I wasn
’
t in school yet.
”

“
Well, I
’
m glad you were here. I
’
d have taken it to be a cute thing for her to do. I didn
’
t think of it as cheating.
”

“
You also missed that she challenged you to defy her.
”
Luke hated to mention it, but it was important.

“
She did?
”

“
Yep. But, I
’
d say we
’
ve dealt with enough child-training for one night. How about I start the boys pitching the tent before it gets too much darker?
”

Aggie decided to stay inside as the guys set up Luke
’
s tent and dug a hole for the hibachi in the gravel driveway nearby. Between teeth checks, hair brushing, and goodnight kisses and stories, she watched as the campers sat around the fire, roasting marshmallows and singing the silly add-on songs that she hadn
’
t sung since junior high camp. She
’
d offered to play a game with Vannie, but the girl had shaken her head and insisted she was too tired.

Just as she punched on the laptop
’
s power button, Aggie heard tires crunch in the driveway. She met William at the door, surprised both to see him, and that they hadn
’
t seen him earlier. He
’
d been over every day that week, but today he hadn
’
t even called.
“
Hey, William!
”
She stepped outside and sniffed the air, catching the sweet scent of semi-burned marshmallows.

William lowered himself onto a porch step and rested his arms on his knees. With a jerk of his head in the direction of the tent, he sighed.
“
Mrs. Dyke saw the flames and decided that it was my duty to check it out. She
’
s that way about things. I
’
m a one man volunteer fire department, paramedic, handyman, and law enforcer all wrapped up in one oversized package.
”
A wink softened his words.

“
She really thought a fire was over here?
”
Aggie glanced at the flames that barely rose a foot over the ground and shrugged. It seemed safe enough to her
--
especially half-buried in gravel.

“
They lived over there when the first house burned over fifty years ago. Since then, she
’
s been paranoid about fire. I
’
d say terrified of it too.
”

Aggie nodded. As they sat and talked, Luke watched from his seat by the fire. He never could decide what it was about William that made him feel so uneasy. Zeke
’
s snores brought his attention back to the boys, and Luke decided that his comfort, or lack thereof, was most likely due to unfamiliarity. Regardless, the boys were trying to tell a continuing story, and it was nearly Luke
’
s turn. There was no time for speculation about local law enforcement officers.

After a short conversation about the readiness of the house for painting, William stood and assured Aggie he
’
d let Mrs. Dyke know all was well on the Milliken-Stuart home front. She watched him tiptoe to the now-silent tent and poke his head in. Seconds later, a group of wild boys burst from the flaps, ready to pursue their invader. They chased him to his car, but the doors were shut and locked before the posse reached him. Laughing, William carefully backed out of the driveway and drove over to appease a curious and slightly frightened Mrs. Dyke.

Aggie smiled. It was wonderful to see William loosen up and have a little fun. As she climbed into bed a while later, Aggie was sorry she hadn
’
t thought to invite him to stay.
“
Next time, Aggie. You can wait until next time.
”