Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (164 page)

“You
and
me
both,
Kenzie.
Aunt
Aggie
has
lost
it.”

Before
Aggie
could
respond,
Vannie
stormed
out
of
the
room
and
down
the
hall,
presumably
to
the
laundry
room
for
the
fabric
they’d
discussed.
She
hesitated.
Should
they
go
now
while
they
were
dressed
and
then
deal
with
Vannie’s
attitude
when
they
returned
,
or
should
she
halt
the
process?

“Let’s
go.”
She’d
talk
to
Vannie
in
a
minute.
There
was
no
reason
to
make
Mrs.
Dyke
wait.

Luke’s
truck
pulled
into
the
driveway
just
as
they
were
about
to
cross
the
street.
Kenzie
gave
a
one-armed
wave
and
Ian
bounced
excitedly.
“Uke!”

“I
like
how
he
says
that.
It
sounds
like
uncle
and
Luke
all
combined
into
one.
Uke.”

Aggie
had
to
agree.
It
was
endearing.
“I
wonder
that
he’s
never
tried
to
call
any
of
us
da-da
or
ma-ma
like
a
lot
of
babies
do.
I
mean,
they’re
the
first
sounds
babies
usually
learn.”

“But
no
one
says
mommy
or
daddy
to
him.”

“True.”

“I
think
he
should
call
you
mommy.
He
doesn’t
remember
our
mommy.”

“I
think
it
might
hurt
some
of
the
others
though.
They
still
remember
your
parents—as
they
should—and
they
want
to
preserve
that.
It
makes
sense.”

“But
it
doesn’t
for
Ian.
He
should
get
to
have
a
mommy
too.”

Thankfully,
Mrs.
Dyke’s
appearance
on
the
porch
with
a
Christmas
tin
removed
the
need
for
Aggie
to
answer.
It
wasn’t
a
comfortable
subject
for
her.
She
agreed
with
Kenzie
at
times,
but
the
closer
it
grew
to
the
anniversary
of
her
sister’s
death,
the
stronger
Aggie’s
desire
to
reserve
parental
titles
for
Doug
and
Allie.

“I
couldn’t
believe
it
when
I
saw
all
three
of
you!
How’s
that
little
man?”

“Driving
me
crazy
and
loving
every
minute
of
it,”
Aggie
admitted.

“He
wouldn’t
be
a
boy
if
he
didn’t—on
both
accounts.”
Mrs.
Dyke
handed
the
tin
of
cookies
to
Kenzie.
“I
put
them
in
that
one
‘specially
for
you.”

Kenzie
grinned
at
the
ice
skating
children
depicted
on
the
lid.
“I
bet
they
won’t
break
their
arms!”

“I
have
a
pen.
Can
I
sign
it?”
Their
neighbor
glanced
up
at
her.
“Can
you
come
in
for
a
few
minutes?”

She’d
neglected
their
neighbor
since
the
beginning
of
school,
and
it
showed
in
how
eager
she
was
to
spend
a
few
minutes
with
Kenzie.
“Let’s
go!
Luke
can
keep
an
eye
on
the
girls
if
they
wake
up.”

“They
will.
Murphy
is
home.”

Aggie
stared
at
her,
confused.
“What?”

“You
always
say
that
Murphy
’s
Law
will
make
something
bad
happen.
She’s
home
,
so
it’s
going
to
happen.”