Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (45 page)

“And you didn’t happen to mention that you couldn’t find your snow boot, why?”

The girl’s face nearly glowed red.
“Well, I kind of wondered and thought I’d get in trouble.
I hoped the other one would get too small first.”

“Kenzie…”

Luke pulled himself into the van again and put the vehicle in gear.
“Well, we’re going to need a new section of fence.
Sammie has managed to dig under the buried wire.”

“She’s smart,” Tavish observed with pride that is usually
shown
by doting fathers.

“She’s a nuisance.”
At the crestfallen look on the boy’s face, Aggie added begrudgingly, “But she’s a smart nuisance.”

“Can we get a tree now?”

“Yes, Lorna.
I think getting a tree now would be a great way to forget this mess.”

“Happy birthday to EllieandTavish, happy birthday to—” Lorna glanced around her.
“Come on!
We should sing!
Happy birthday to…”

Once
they turned onto the highway, Aggie glanced back at the forlorn looking puppies sitting alone in their pen.
Somehow, the affection she’d once felt for the animals was gone.
Then,
in a move that seemed designed to
garner all the sympathy possible, Sammie laid her head on Miner’s as if to comfort him.
“Dratted dogs.”

“Did you say something, Mibs?”

“Nothing worth repeating,” she muttered.

~*~*~*~

Squeals
pierced
the
air
as
the
family
traipsed
indoors
with
the
first
live
tree
of
the
Stuart-Milliken
household.
Vannie
and
Laird
thundered
down
the
basement
steps
without
even
removing
their
coats,
eager
to
find
the
lights
and
ornaments.
By
the
time
Aggie
hung
up
her
own
coat
and
disentangled
Ian
from
his
bundles,
the
floor
was
littered
with
parkas,
mittens,
and
scarves.

“Hey,
get
over
here
and
hang
these
things
up.
What’s
with
you?
Were
you
born
in
a
barn?”

The
joke
usually
caused
good-natured
protests,
but
this
time
Tavish
turned
and
said,
“What’s
wrong
with
that?
Jesus
was.”

“Very
funny,
young
man.
Get
it
all
put
away.
I’ll
make
hot
chocolate.
Where’s
Tina?”

The
answer
was
on
the
whiteboard
on
the
fridge.
Tina
was
out
with
William.
“Well,”
she
muttered
to
herself,
“at
least
one
of
us
can
enjoy
some
time
alone
with
a
good
guy.”

“What?”
Luke
stood
in
the
doorway.

“You
heard
me.”

“Yep.
I
like
it
too.
Thought
you
should
know.”
With
that,
he
disappeared
again
while
Aggie
continued
to
dump hot chocolate
powder
in
to
mugs.

“The
lights!
They
found
the
lights
and
the
garland!”

“
Yippie
doodle,
”
she
muttered
under
her
breath.

Aggie
gripped
the
counter
and
took
a
deep
breath.
Whatever
was
causing
the
sarcasm
and
irritation
had
to
end.
There
was
no
reason
to
ruin
the
day
for
everyone
else.
The
tea
kettle
whistled
and
she
poured the water,
singing,
“
Silent
night…
holy
night…
all
is
calm
…
all
is
bright…”

Wrapping
the
tree
became
a
comedy
of
errors.
While
Luke
struggled
to
attach
enough
lights
to
satisfy
the
children,
Aggie
attempted
to
knock
it
over
half
a
dozen
times
but
succeeded
only
once.
“What
is
wrong
with
this
thing?
It
won’t
stay
standing!
I
think
we
bought
a
bum
stand.”

“It
is
a
bit
wobb—oh,
look.”
Luke
pointed.
“We’ve
got
the
legs
upside
down
.”

“If
we
ever
use
another
real
tree
again,”
she
muttered
as
her
face
received
a
pine
needle
exfoliation
process,
“I
suggest
we
buy
that
big
round
one
that
doesn’t
need
assembly.”

“Deal.”

The
lights
shone
beautifully
even
in
the
full
sunlight.
At
night
it
would
light
the
room!
Aggie
pointed
to
the
boxes.
“Those
are
the
ornaments,
right?”