Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (110 page)

Aggie
stepped
from
the
bathroom
two
minutes
later
and
nearly
ran
over
Corinne.
“Oh!”

“I
heard.”

That
possibility
hadn’t
had
a
chance
to
register
yet.
“Oh.”
Illogically,
Aggie
pondered
how
ineloquent
she
must
sound
with
her
variations
on
a
single
two-letter
word.

“I’m
sorry.
I
really
wanted
this
to
be
a
special
day
and
my
nervousness
ruined
it.”

“Your
nervousness—”

Tears
splashed
onto
Corinne’s
cheeks.
“Of
course!
I
was
meeting
Luke’s
Aggie.”

“And
I’m
supposed
to
understand
what
that
means?”

“My
brother
has
never
shown
much
attention
to
women—not
special
attention
anyway.
He
picked
you.
We’re
all
a
little
intimidated
you
know.”

“Intimidated
by
a
kid
with
a
bunch
of
kids?
Are
you
kidding
me?”
Really,
Aggie,
she
rebuked
herself.
Are
you
really
incapable
of
using
anything
but
the
same
words
over
and
over?

“Intimidated
that
we’re
meeting
the
woman
that
Luke
thinks
is
pretty
much
perfection
on
legs?
Yeah.
We
kind
of
idolize
our
brother—in
the
old
fashioned
sense.
If
he
thinks
he’s
the
luckiest
guy
in
the
world
to
have
you,
then
you’re
a
lot
more
special
than
you
seem
to
realize.”

Cassie
hurried
down
the
hall,
a
phone
in
her
hand.
“I
thought
maybe
it
was
your
sitter,
but
it
says
it’s
Luke.”
She
winked
at
Aggie.
“Good
girl;
stick
up
for
yourself.
Don’t
let
us
intimidate
you.”

The
call
was
a
text
message.
Corinne
read
it,
blushed,
and
then
passed
it
to
Aggie.
“See?”

BE
NICE
AND
DON’T
EVER
MAKE
MY
MIBS
CRY
AGAIN.

Aggie
giggled.
She
whipped
out
her
phone
and
her
fingers
flew
over
the
keyboard.
She
showed
it
to
Corinne
just
before
punching
the
send
button.
ALL
IS
WELL.

“If
you
were
home,
you’d
start
singing
It
Is
Well
with
My
Soul,
wouldn’t
you?”

Her
eyes
widened.
“How—”

“I
told
you.
Luke,
for
as
little
as
he
talks,
has
said
a
lot
about
you.
Well,
he
and
M
om
have.”
             

Saturday,
January
17
^th

Bedtime
couldn’t
come
quickly
enough
for
Luke.
He
chased
the
little
ones
around
the
house
until
he
was
ready
to
drop
with
exhaustion
and
then
sent
them
up
to
Aggie
for
baths.
All
settled
again,
he
snuggled
on
the
couch
with
them,
reading
stories
and
doing
his
best
to
ensure
they
would
fall
asleep
in
no
time.

Vannie
and
Laird
were
having
Ping-Pong
war
s
in
the
basement.
Aggie
dragged
herself
down
the
steps,
giving
Luke
half
a
smile
as
she
passed,
and
then
called
down
into
the
basement.
“Ok,
there
are
two
bathrooms
open
now.
Have
at
it.”