Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (54 page)

Aggie
smiled.
She
thought
she
knew
where
the
conversation
was
going
and
she
was
excited.
“I
know
the
whole
family
is
hoping
you
guys
will
get
married.”

A
visible
shudder
washed
over
Willow.
“I
hope
they
keep
those
opinions
to
themselves.
Chad
and
I
have
a
wonderful
friendship
and
I
don’t
want
to
lose
it
because
all
the
pressure
makes
him
think
he’s
giving
people
the
wrong
idea.”

Tuesday,
December
16
^th

Aggie
worked
with
Vannie
on
a
Steampunk
styled
ornament
for
Tavish.
It
was
the
most
pathetic
thing
she’d
ever
seen,
but
Vannie
seemed
content.
That
was
what
mattered,
wasn’t it
?
“What
if
we
wrap
it
in
tinfoil
first
and
spray
with
black
spray
paint?
That
might
make
it
look
less—”

“Stupid?
It
looks
stupid.
I
wasn’t
going
to
say
anything,
but
since
you
said
it…”

“I’m
sorry.
I
am
not
very
good
at
this
stuff.”

“Hey,
you’re
letting
me
do
it
myself instead of doing it for me
.
That
counts.
I’ll
get
the
aluminum
foil.”

Against her better judgment, Aggie ignored the sounds of demolition and chaos around her.
The twins tattled on each other and everyone
else
at least two dozen times.
Her only response was to holler, “Keep it down to a dull roar,” or “Behave yourselves!”
They ignored her, and though she knew better, she did nothing about it.
Aggie knew instinctively that
she’d regret turning a blind eye to the bedlam; unfortunately, she had no idea of just how much.

What
she’d
expected
to
be
a
forty-five
minute
project
took
nearly
three
hours,
two
trips
to
the
hardware
store,
and
one
absolutely
demolished
house
to
complete.
They
called
Tavish
in
to
see
the
results
and
the
delight
on
his
face
was
worth
the
hassle.
Well,
worth
it
until
she
saw
ribbons
shredded
all
over
the
living
room,
heard
the
running
water
upstairs,
and
discovered
a
trail
of
jelly
along
the
hallway.

Had it been the first time, she might have had a more reasonable reaction, but everything seemed to converge on her at once—the work, the failures, the loss. She ha
d
gotten
used
to
having
Tina’s
eyes—and
so
had
the
children.
Shaking
with
repressed
anger
and
burgeoning
despair,
she
turned
and
climbed
the
stairs,
a
wavering
rendition
of
“
Haven
of
Rest
”
faltering
on
her
lips
with
every
other
step.
Vannie
called
after
her,
or
so
she
thought.
She
wasn’t
sure,
but
Aggie
didn’t
bother
to
find
out.
It
felt
like
the
clock
had
turned
backward
and
she
was
now
back
in
her
sister’s
house
in
those
first
days
when
nothing
she
did
was
right.

The
door
to
Aggie’s
bedroom
stood
ajar
just
as
it
had
in
the
old
house
in
Rockland.
Unlike
that
room,
it
was
clean,
the
bed
was
made,
and
the
style
suited
her
rather
than
her
sister
or
her
house.
Something
about
that
seemed
to
buoy
her
spirits.
She
closed
her
eyes,
took
a
deep
breath,
and
then
opened
them
slowly,
taking
in
every
detail
that
Luke
had
put
into
it
for
her.
It
was
beautiful.
As
was
the
rest
of
her
home.
And
now
was
the
time
to
go
back
and
face
the
ugly
rather
than
run
away
from
it.