Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (34 page)

“Oh,
they’re
something
all
right.”
She
tried
to
shuffle
back
down
the
path,
but
the
woman
kept
talking.
“Ellie
and
Sarah
won
the
snowman
contest
with
that
one—”
Tara
pointed
to
the
one
Aggie
had
liked.
“They
won
hot
chocolate
kits.
I
hope
that’s
ok?”

No
matter
how
obvious
Aggie
was
in
inching
away
from
the
chatterbox
masquerading
as
her
children’s
friend’s
mother,
the
woman
kept
talking.
Desperate,
she
leaned
forward
and
whispered,
“There’s
a
surprise
party
for
the
kids
just
waiting
at
our
house.
I
need
to
get
them
there
before
the
people
jump
out
and
scream,
‘Surprise!’
at
the
mail
lady
or
something.”

“Oh,
that’s
great!
I
was
…”

The
rest
of
Tara’s
words
were
lost
in
a
buzz
that
made
her
feel
as
if
she
had
a
bee
hive
nestled
in
her
brain.
Waving,
she
hurried
down
the
sidewalk,
slipped
on
the
same
icy
patch,
and
clutched
at
the
picket
fence
for
balance.
“Thanks!”

“Are
you—”

With
another
wave
flung
into
the
air
with
wild
abandon,
she
rounded
the
front
of
the
van,
opened
the
door,
and
climbed
inside.
“I
thought
I’d
never
get
away.
It’s
too
cold
out
there
to
sit
around
listening
to
the
nuances
of
snowman
competitions—congratulations,
by
the
way.
Well
done,
Ellie.”

“I
think
Tavish
had
the
best
idea,
but
he
was
paired
with
Braydon
and—”

“W
hen
we
get
home,
I
need
you
guys
to
get
your
junk
put
away
downstairs.
You
left
a
mess
down
there
this
morning.”

“But
Cari—”

Aggie
frowned
to
see
Ellie
nudge
her
brother
in
t
he
rearview
mirror.
That
was
odd.
“I
don’t
care
who,
what,
when.
Just
do
it.”

~*~*~*~

“Surprise!”
Ellie
and
Tavish
whirled
and
shouted
with
the
rest
of
the
room.

A
flash
somewhere
froze
the
moment
for
future
enjoyment
as
aunt
and
children
screamed
in
unison.
Aggie’s
eyes
rose
to
see
the
banner
hung
over
the
fireplace.
“Congratulations
Aunt
Aggie
and
Soon-to-be-Uncle
Luke.”

Her
eyes
roamed
the
room,
looking
for
her
fiancé
to
see
if
he
knew
anything
about
the
sign—and
the
wave
of
well-wishers.
Vannie
beamed
and cried
,
“It
worked!
We
did
it!”

Laird
frowned.
“Where’s
Luke?”

Just
as
he
spoke,
Luke
pushed
through
the
door,
carrying
a
caterer’s
box
from
a
place
in
Brunswick
.
“Aw,
I
missed
it!
Surprise…”
His
eyes
absorbed
the
words
in
the
banner
and
his
forehead
scrunched
up.
“What—”

“We
got
you
to
help
us
pull
off
your
own
surprise
engagement
party,”
Ellie
explained.

M
usic
filled
the
room
as
people
came
forwa
rd
to
congratulate
the
couple,
killing
the
other
questions
in
Aggie
’s
and
Luke’s
mind
s
.
As
she
glanced
around
the
room,
she
saw
Libby,
most
of
the
people
from
church,
and
then
in
the
corner
of
the
couch,
her
mother.
“These
were
some
thorough
kids,”
she
muttered
to
Luke.