Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (84 page)

Luke started to respond, but Aggie disappeared up the stairs. As he pulled the door shut behind him, he heard the shower come on in her bathroom. All the way to his truck, the faint sound of her voice followed him.
“
… Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me…
”

Sunday, July 28
^th

Luke
’
s cell phone rang as Aggie was starting the last wall of the library. Tina had the children outdoors and away from the living room, except for Ian, who slept soundly in his crib. Luke left the bathroom with its completed shower and went to find Aggie.

“
That was my cousin Chad. He has a friend
--
it
’
s a long story
--
but anyway, she made something for Cari and Lorna, and they want to bring it out this afternoon.
”

“
Sure! I can
’
t understand why someone would make something for the girls, though. That seems a little strange.
”

“
When I took them to see Uncle Zeke
’
s puppies the other week, Willow was there, and Chad said something about her having leftover fabric, so she made something for the girls to use it up. I don
’
t quite get it, but I don
’
t always get Chad.
”

“
He seemed normal enough when he came out the day I got hurt.
”

Luke
’
s brow furrowed trying to remember.
“
Was he here that day?
”

“
Not for long. He came, made the comment about gravestones, you got irritated, and dragged him inside.
”

“
Oh, right. I
’
d forgotten. I think his visit was overshadowed by your accident.
”
Luke nodded thoughtfully.
“
That was the day Cari informed me that she doesn
’
t
‘
wike me sometimes.
’”

“
Doesn
’
t like you?
”
Aggie
’
s eyebrows narrowed, and she took another swipe at the wall with the roller.

“
She was running, I told her to stop, she didn
’
t want to, so I made her sit on the step until I was done with Chad.
”

“
She told me about that.
”

Nodding again, Luke smiled.
“
I
’
m glad to hear it. I forgot to follow through and see that she did. You must have gone upstairs after that.
”

“
So, what did you say to her when she said she doesn
’
t like you sometimes?
”
This was a new one for Aggie. She didn
’
t know how to handle something like that.

“
Well, I think her exact words were,
‘
Luke, sometimes I don
’
t wike you vewy much,
’
so I just told her that I
’
d always love her
very
much.
”

“
You don
’
t think she should have been reprimanded for being rude?
”

Luke took the roller from her and ran it over the paint tray before it dried. Handing it back to her, he shrugged.
“
I thought she needed a little reassurance that no matter what she did, she was loved. That child gets in trouble five times for every once that any other of the children do.
”

“
Tell me about it,
”
Aggie muttered as she rolled the paint onto the wall, taking care to overlap the edges where Luke had cut in the paint for her already.
“
Will the bathroom be ready for me when I
’
m done?
”

“
It
’
s ready now. I think I
’
ll grab another roller and do it while you finish that wall.
”

“
I can finish
--
”

With a paint tray and roller in hand, Luke shook his head.
“
No, just finish that wall and then go change. You
’
ll want to relax while Chad and Willow are here, and you won
’
t relax if you
’
re covered in paint and thinking about the bathroom.
”

For just a brief moment, Aggie was irritated. Who did Luke think he was, deciding she didn
’
t have time to do something? Just as she was about to stalk down the hall and blast him, Aggie saw her paint-splattered skirt and her sweat soaked t-shirt reflected in the window. He
’
d overheard her complain about her appearance and then, when someone was coming to visit, took over so she could change clothes and feel more comfortable. All along the rest of the wall, she hummed an unintentional medley of half a dozen unrelated hymns, before dumping the roller in the water bucket, removing her shoes on the tarp, and tiptoeing upstairs to change.

* * *

“
Libby!
”
Aggie rose from her wicker hammock chair and went to greet her guests. Luke was still rinsing the paint rollers by the side of the house, but with Libby there, Aggie didn
’
t feel quite as self-conscious.

“
Aggie, you know Chad, of course, and this is his friend, Willow Finley.
”

Willow stepped forward and handed a bundle of fabric tied with a string to Aggie.
“
It
’
s good to meet a friend of Chad
’
s.
”

Luke rounded the corner, drying his hands on his jeans, and hugged his mother.
“
See, I told you I
’
d get you out here today.
”

“
Chad did, you ornery boy.
”

“
And I will take you home.
”
He looked around the group and asked,
“
Does anyone want cookies? I think Tina is baking in the kitchen.
”

While Luke left to retrieve the cookies, and presumably Tina, Aggie unwrapped the bundle and unfolded the jumpers.
“
I can
’
t believe you made dresses for little girls you saw once for such a short time! They
’
re so cute too. Thank you!
”
Aggie hugged Willow impulsively.

“
You
’
re welcome. I had fabric left over and wanted to use it up, so
--
”

“
She hand painted that paisley fabric. Can you believe that?
”

Libby and Luke, returning with the cookies, exchanged amused glances. Clueless to the silent debate raging around her regarding Chad
’
s true interest in Willow, Aggie went into new ecstasies over the fabric.
“
I can
’
t believe
--
I mean, I see it now that I look, but it
’
s so perfect…
”

“
Except for the spot where Chad made me mess up. It
’
s under
--
”
Willow showed a streak of paint under one corner of the overskirt and pretended deep offense at his goof.

Luke led Chad into the house to show him the progress on the bathroom, while the women discussed the nuances of sewing and fabric. When they returned, Willow was trying to take pictures of the girls wearing their new dresses but finding it difficult to capture them with her 35mm camera. Everyone watched, slightly shocked, as Chad explained how to use Luke
’
s digital camera and assured her that she could take five hundred pictures and simply delete the ones she didn
’
t like. It seemed that the woman hadn
’
t ever seen or used a digital camera.

The screen door banged shut as Vannie brought Ian outside after his nap. Sitting him on the floor near Aggie
’
s feet, she nodded at Chad and Willow before sauntering around the side of the house, calling for a game of Mother-May-I. Ian started to crawl to Libby, but at the sight of Willow, crawled to her side as fast as his chubby legs would allow and tried to climb her leg.

“
May I pick him up?
”
Anyone could see that Willow was as nervous as someone around an unfamiliar puppy.

“
Sure.
”
Aggie and Libby spoke simultaneously.

As she fumbled, Willow sent an apologetic look in Aggie
’
s direction.
“
I don
’
t know how to support his head. Aren
’
t you supposed to support their heads?
”

Assured that he could support his own head just fine, Willow played with Ian. A few minutes later, she asked,
“
What is his name?
”

“
Ian. He likes you. You seem very good with children. Do you have siblings?
”
Aggie knew Luke and Libby were curious about the young woman and decided to see if she could draw Willow out a bit.