Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (77 page)

“Stockings!”
Her
wail
was
likely
heard
at
the
North
Pole,
but
Aggie
didn’t
care.
“I
forgot.
I
got
the
few
little
things
back
when
I
expected
a
U-haul
truck
from
the
GIL
and
then
promptly
forgot
about
them.”

“We’ll
pull
from
the
bags.
Where
are
the
stockings?
I’ll
see
what
fits.”
Luke
seemed
to
hover
in
the
doorway,
wa
iting
for
direction
to
find
Aggie’s
new
nemesis.

“They’re
in
my
closet.
Top
shelf
to
the
right.”

She
hadn’t
exaggerated.
The
limp
stockings
held
the
toothbrush,
candy
bar,
and
small
silly
item
she’d
described
to
her
mother—those
things
not
even
filling
the
toes.
“If
I
had
been
thinking
,
I
could
have
bought
gloves,
scarves,
socks—anything
to
fill
them
up.”

“I’m
on
my
way.
You
and
your
dad
figure
out
what
you
have
in
those
bags
that
can
fit—even
if
you
have
to
take
it
out
of
packaging—and
by
the
time
I
get
to
the
store
we
can
fill
them
up
over
the
phone.”

Luke’s
feet
thundered
down
the
stairs
and
moments
later,
the
front
door
banged
shut.
Aggie
stared
at
her
father.
“Oh,
I’ve
really
blown
it
this
time.”

“You
know,
you’ve
been
saying
that
a
lot
lately.
Ever
since
Thanksgiving
actually.
I
can’t
decide
if
you
are
regretting
your
engagement
or
regretting
agreeing
to
keep
the
kids.”

“Dad!
I’m
not
regretting
either.”

“Well,
it
sounds
like
you
are
to
me
,
and
if
I
hear
it
just
the
little
I
get
to
talk
to
you,
what
do
you
think
the
kids
or
Luke
think
of
it?”

He
had
a
point.
Although
Aggie
didn’t
want
to
admit
it
to
herself
or
to
him,
her
father
made
an
excellent
point.
“Maybe
that’s
why
Vannie
seems
to
bend
over
backwards
to
help
and
Laird
is
so
strange
lately.
Maybe
that’s
why
Luke
seems
hesitant
to
step
in
or
out
of
things.
Maybe
I
just
really
am
not
cut
out
for
this.”
She
sank
to
the
floor
and
covered
her
head
with
her
hands,
her
knees
pulled
up
to
her
chest.
“I
won’t
give
up,
but
right
now
I
want
to.”

“Why?”

“Because
it’s
hard,
Daddy.
It’s
just
really
hard.
I
had
a
mental
idea
of
what
difficult
meant
when
I
stepped
into
this
mom
thing.
My
head
knew
it;
hey,
even
my
heart
knew
it,
but
knowing
and
knowing
are
two
different
things.
I
never
know
if
I’ve
made
the
right
decision.
I
never
know
if
I’m
doing
a
good
job
unless
someone
says
so,
and
even
then
I
wonder
if
they
say
it
because
they
mean
it
or
if
they
think
it’ll
keep
me
from
cracking.”