For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance) (25 page)

With the younger children, Laird developed a different kind of patience. For most of his life, the laid-back boy had simply ignored or tolerated his siblings’ immaturity and annoyances out of laziness. Even Vannie had noticed a change in his interaction. When Kenzie did something foolish and almost destroyed Ellie’s latest watercolor, he took the girl for a walk and talked to her. The scene was so similar to something her father would have done, that she’d gone upstairs, closed her door, curled up in a ball, and wept. Aggie found her there a while later and was surprised at Vannie’s simple tears.

“
I missed you downstairs. Are you ok?
”

A sniffle reached her before Vannie’s head peeked out from beneath her arm.
“
I’m good.
”

“
You look upset. Are you sure?
”

“
I am upset. Isn’t that silly?
”
The girl brushed her hair from her face and sat up.
“
I
--
I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels good to cry this time.
”

Aggie climbed up onto her niece’s daybed, the one
on which
she’d shared confidences with Allie at Vannie’s age, and tried to pry a more coherent answer from the girl.
“
Why does it feel good? Why tears?
”

“
I saw Laird with Kenzie. Usually, he’d just let Kenzie be foolish and careless, and Ellie would be the one hurt when her painting was ruined, but he didn’t.
”

“
What did he do?
”

“
He took Kenzie’s hand and walked with her to the far field at the edge of the property.
”
Fresh tears pooled in Vannie’s eyes.
“
Oh, Aunt Aggie. It looked just like Daddy. Daddy used to do that when one of us was being reckless. He’d take our hand, walk us up and down the street, and talk to us. He showed us how to think of other people.
”
She swallowed hard.
“
This looked just like that
--
well, except that Laird is shorter.
”

“
So, it felt good to cry about missing your father?
”
None of Vannie’s words made sense, but what made less sense was that she agreed with the girl.

“
It felt good to cry about a good memory instead of because he was gone.
”

As insane as the words sounded, Aggie understood. She started to respond, but a squeal from the front sent her flying to the window.
“
Oh, it’s just Luke. I thought someone was going to start wailing.
”

“
Aunt Aggie?
”

She stopped at the door, and at the sight of Vannie’s face, retraced her steps.
“
Hmm?
”

“
Are you sorry Mommy and Daddy left you in charge of us?
”

“
Of course not!
”
No one would doubt the sincerity of Aggie’s protest.
“
Why would you ask that?
”

“
Remember when Laird and I rode to the library last week?
”

“
Yeah…
”

“
Well, there were two women in there. They didn’t see me come back for my library card, and they were talking about us.
”

A frown began to grow on Aggie’s forehead.
“
What did they say?
”

“
Just stuff about how it’s a lot to ask of someone your age and how no one would want to marry someone saddled with eight kids.
”

Stunned, Aggie sat beside her niece, wrapped her arms around the girl, and whispered,
“
I am so sorry you had to hear something so thoughtless and untrue.
”

“
But it is true, Aunt Aggie. Not that they won’t want to marry someone so great, but they won’t get to know how great you are because they’ll see all us kids and go running.
”

“
Did it occur to you, Miss-Vannie-with-the-care-of-the-world-on-my-shoulders, that the kind of man I’d want to marry is the kind of man who wouldn’t let that stop him? If I have to pick between you kids and marriage, it’s a no brainer for me. I pick you every time.
”

“
But
--”

“
Do you think I haven’t thought of this?
”

The question was obviously unexpected. Vannie’s eyes widened, she frowned, and then shrugged.
“
I guess I thought you hadn’t.
”

“
Well, I have. And besides, William has taken me out twice and would go again if I told him I wanted to. Every man on the planet isn’t afraid to be my friend.
”

“
Luke is your friend too, but he hasn’t asked you out.
”

The obsession with her love life was getting a little annoying, but Aggie managed to keep her tone strictly matter-of-fact.
“
Well, not every guy who is a friend thinks he has to declare his undying love. Some guys can be friends without all that.
”
Remembering something
her father once said, she added,
“
Unfortunately, there are a lot of men who can’t. I think that’s why William keeps trying to make things into something romantic. He doesn’t know how to be a friend with a girl.
”

“
But Luke can?
”

“
Well, it seems like it, doesn’t it? He’s about as close to an older brother as I’ve ever had, and he hasn’t gotten all goofy or anything.
”

Vannie must have heard something in Aggie’s tone that hinted at dissatisfaction.
“
Would you though?
”

“
Would I what?
”

“
Would you want to go out with Luke if he asked?
”

Tired of the discussion and ready to get the pups inoculated and ready for new homes, Aggie stood, smiled at her niece, and shook her head.
“
Oh, I don’t think so, Vannie. I like things how they are. Going out with men seems to make nice things all complicated, and I’m just not interested in that.
”

Luke’s voice called out softly before she could reach the door.
“
Aggie? Are you up here? Mom sent some popsicles.
”
His face appeared in the doorway.
“
Can I let the kids have them?
”

“
Sure.
”
She slipped past and hurried downstairs to cut one apart for Cari and Lorna before someone gave them each a whole sugar infusion.

Luke waited for Vannie before following them downstairs. The young girl gave a quick glance over her shoulder and saw something in his face she wasn’t meant to see. Dejection.

~*~*~*~

Vaccinating the
four
remaining puppies was not the easy task that Aggie had pictured. She’d imagined they’d grab a puppy, Luke would stab the shot into the pup’s rump, and it’d be over. She didn’t take into account activity, readying the needle, or the little ones. Although Ian ignored the proceedings, obsessed with his spoon and a dirt patch in the yard, Lorna and Cari had very decided opinions on the use of shots in any form. At the sight of the needle, Lorna screeched, Cari wailed, and Luke jumped, dropping the syringe.

“
What!
”

“
You won’t do that to ow puppies! You won’t huwt them wike that!
”
Cari pushed him, as if to forcibly eject Luke from the property.

Aggie turned the pup over to Tavish and led Cari onto the porch to administer a sound scolding. Before she could open her mouth, Cari kicked her shin and ran. Lorna, seeing reinforcements on the way, pushed Tavish and grabbed the puppy. Unfortunately, she was only able to grab his tail, and a bite was the thanks she got for rescuing him from the evil Dr. Luke.

The ensuing chaos resulted in a row of children sitting sullenly on the front steps, a call to the police for a domestic disturbance, and a visit from Murphy. The
woman took one look at the line
up, the traveling vet show on the back of Luke’s pickup bed, and Aggie’s harried expression, and retreated to her home, reserving her snickers for her own yard. Tavish winced each time Luke grabbed a leg, but his determination to keep the pups from the pound was stronger than his trembling stomach.

The ordeal took ten times longer than either Luke or Aggie had expected. By the time he was done, Luke was stifling guffaws, and Aggie was ready to send the kids back to bed
--
for a month! While he packed up the syringes and the bottles of vaccine, Aggie stood, hands on hips, Megan looking on with her own amusement barely hidden behind her hand, and addressed her troops.

“
What on earth do you think you are doing?
”

“
’tecting the puppies! You said that we have to ‘tect the puppies. Wuke was huwting them!
”
Of course, Cari spoke first.

“
And you think I’d let Luke do something mean to the puppies I told you to protect?
”

“
Well
…
”
Confusion flooded Cari’s face.

“
The shots hurt! You don’t know, ‘cause you don’t have to have them.
”
Little Lorna spoke with complete confidence.

“
I got one just a few weeks ago, remember?
”

“
You did?
”
Lorna’s brain searched her recent memory banks for something that resembled an instrument of prickly torture and came up short.
“
When?
”

“
When I got poked by the nail in the attic. I slept a lot, remember?
”

“
See!
”
Cari’s sense of logic went into overdrive.
“
The shots made you sweepy, and Wuke had to wake you up all the time. I wemembew! Shots are bad!
”
Her little arms crossed as if she’d delivered the final verdict
--
guilty.