Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (62 page)

A
cry
from
the
van
told
her
she’d
better
go.
“That’s
my
cue.
Time
to
go.
Call
Tina.
It’ll
mean
a
lot
to
her.
”

The
midnight
corvette
turned
onto
Last
Street
just
as
she
flipped
on
her
blinker
for
her
driveway.
Aggie
frowned.
What
did
William
want
now?
The
kids
thundered
into
the
house
with
such
abandon
that
she
knew
the
entrance
would
be
carpeted
in
all
forms
of
outerwear.

Aggie
carried
Ian
to
William’s
side.
“Is
there
a
problem?
Do
I
have
a
taillight
out
or
did
I
creep
up
to
twenty-seven
miles
per
hour
on
the
way?”

“No,”
he
laughed.
“I
just
thought
maybe
I
could
stay
here
while
you
and
Luke
went
out
shopping.”

“Oh,
man
that’d
be
great,
but
I
can’t
ask
you
to
do
that.”

“You
didn’t.
I
offered,
remember?”

Luke’s
truck
pulled
up
behind
William’s
car.
Aggie
waved
and
smiled.
“I’ll
ask
Luke
about
it.”

“I
love
seeing
you
like
this.”

She
frowned,
cocking
her
head.
“Like
what?”

“You
light
up
when
he’s
around.”

“Do
I?”
She
glanced
up
at
Luke
as
he
arrived at
her
side
and
reached
for
the
baby.

“Definitely.”
William
nodded
at
Luke.
“I
was
just
suggesting
that
you
and
Aggie
go
get
lunch
and
then
do
some
shopping.
”

~*~*~*~

The
remnants
of
dinner
at
Luke’s
favorite
steakhouse
cluttered
the
table
between
them.
They
were
supposed
to
be
discussing
where
to
go
first,
but
instead,
hands
locked
under
the
table,
they
gazed
wordlessly
at
one
another.
Luke
smiled.

“You
know,
I
dreamed
of
this.”

Aggie
squeezed
his
hands.
“Of
what?”

“
Just
being
together—no
fear
of
interruption—”

“Can
I
get
you
anything
else?”
The
impatience
in
the
server’s
tone
said
that
she
wanted
the
table.

“Just
the
check.”

A
folder
was
dropped
on
the
table
,
without
giving much attention to them,
and
the
woman
hurried
to
the
next
table.
Aggie
giggled.
“Nope.
No
interruptions—even
by
rude
waitresses.”

“It’s
almost
Christmas,
and
they’re
bustling
with
business;
you
really
can’t
blame
her.”

“You’re
going
to
leave
a
big
tip,
aren’t
you?”

“Yep.”

On their way out the door
,
the
server
stared
at
them
strangely
when
Aggie
said,
“We
should
have
gotten
engaged
earlier.
Maybe
I
would
have
learned
these
little
things
about
you
a
lot
sooner.”

At
his
truck,
Luke
couldn’t
restrain
his
laughter
any
longer.
“Did
you
see
her
face?
Priceless.
Where
to?”

“Well,
I
was
thinking
we’d
start
with
toy
stores.
It
might
not
be
the
most
well-thought
out
Christmas,
but
we
can
at
least
have
it
be
a
memorable
one.”