Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (41 page)

When they arrived home, Aggie called everyone out front. Luke heard her voice and watched from the window as Aggie presented the present to Kenzie. Quietly, to himself, he joined in as they all sang
“
Happy Birthday
”
to her. Vannie showed the excited Kenzie the cake mix and took her inside to make the cake.

He continued watching as Aggie chased the twins around the yard until she tripped over her skirt and went rolling across the grass. The twins jumped her, and a fierce tickle fest ensued. Amused, Luke observed as she struggled in vain and then begged for mercy. Her insecurities in mothering her children were evident, but watching her now, he wished he could help her step outside herself and see what the rest of the world must see. Aggie was doing wonderfully. Regretfully, Luke turned back to the room, stuffing more broken tack strips in a large box as he did.

Just after five o
’
clock, Luke descended the stairs, his arms laden with tools, trash, and other indistinguishable paraphernalia.
“
Well, Aggie, the room is ready for a good coat of paint.
”
Luke
’
s grin was infectious.
“
I can
’
t do much more up there tonight without my rollers and drop cloths, but maybe you can show me where to find her furniture and stuff? I can at least carry it upstairs and into the room next to it, so we can move it in as soon as the floor is dry.
”

Aggie grimaced. She had no idea what furniture was going in Vannie
’
s room. She didn
’
t even have a separate bed for the girl. Vannie had slept at the top of a triple bunk bed before the move. A look crossed the girl
’
s face, and she realized that Vannie wasn
’
t looking forward to bringing the large bed into her dainty little room.

“
I decided to give Vannie my daybed. That will have to go up there later because we haven
’
t set up Allie and Doug
’
s old bed
--
it
’
s too big for in here, but Vannie knows which boxes are hers. They are all on the east wall of the study in there.
”
The look of surprise and thankfulness on Vannie
’
s face was worth the loss of Aggie
’
s childhood bed.

“
Meanwhile,
”
she continued, unwilling to think about what she
’
d just given away,
“
we need to decide which dresser she can have and get her some shelves for her personal things and such. Oh, she
’
ll need a night table as well.
”
Her mental list grew before her eyes.

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment and then said,
“
You know, for furniture, there are great garage sales around here this time of year. I bet you could find some good bargains on Saturday.
”
She started to reply, but then Aggie noticed that he wasn
’
t quite finished. After what seemed like an hour but was truthfully
only
a minute or two, he turned to Vannie.
“
Do you have things you
’
d rather keep out of reach of little hands? Something you
’
d like to protect?
”

When Vannie nodded emphatically, Luke continued.
“
What if I made a shelf that runs across the wall with the window and along the top of it. With a step stool in there, you could easily reach your things, but the little guys couldn
’
t.
”

Vannie squealed and threw her arms around his neck.
“
Oh, thank you! That is just the best
--
”
Without another word, she dashed upstairs to plan exactly where she
’
d put everything.

A look crossed Luke
’
s face that unnerved Aggie. While she moved into the kitchen to stuff a pan of chicken in the oven, she asked,
“
What is it? I can see something is bothering you.
”

To her surprise and annoyance, Luke went outside without answering her question. Just as she was about to storm after him and demand that he stop leaving her so confused and frustrated, he reappeared, arms empty and his clothes dust-free.
“
Sorry, I was sifting dust all over the floor.
”
He hurried to wash his hands and arms.
“
You
’
re right, something is bothering me. I just realized that you have a teen
--
”

“
Near teen. She
’
s not quite there yet
--
almost, but not quite.
”

“
Anyway, I remember my father being very careful to give his daughters plenty of time and attention. When all their friend
’
s fathers were pulling back and feeling awkward about showing affection to their daughters, Pop got more affectionate than ever. It was different, but he was determined to try to prevent them seeking unhealthy attention.
”

“
You think Vannie seeks unhealthy male attention?
”
It didn
’
t make any sense to Aggie. While she pulled lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other veggies from the fridge, she waited for Luke to explain himself.

“
No, I don
’
t
--
”

“
Is this about her hugging you? If it makes you uncomfortable
--
”

Shaking his head emphatically, Luke tried again.
“
It
’
s not the hug, really. It
’
s more about the realization that it
’
s not going to get any better. You don
’
t have a brother, your father-in-law isn
’
t much of an option, and your parents don
’
t live close.
”

The extended pause that followed irritated Aggie enough that she began shredding the lettuce with unnecessary force. She chopped cucumbers within an inch of their existence, and the tomatoes were nearly sauce, but still Luke stood, silently thinking, and cracking his knuckles systematically. The sound seemed to echo her knife chops, almost a percussionist accompaniment to her rhythm.

After much longer than Aggie had ever imagined she could wait, he spoke again.
“
I think you need to find men that you can trust to invest in these children
’
s lives
--
Maybe William…
”

She thought she understood.
“
Are you hinting that you
’
d rather not have the job as a male influence around her? I can handle that.
”

It was a lie. She couldn
’
t. Just as the idea of yet another need in the children
’
s lives had dawned, she
’
d realized that Zeke and Luke were excellent options. Now she was being warned not to count on them.
“
Great. How do I give the girl male attention? I can
’
t! I am not a male. I remember Allie talking about how Doug had ways of being affectionate without making Ellie uncomfortable…
”
Aggie sighed in frustration.
“
I wonder if they didn
’
t make a huge mistake when they named me guardian. I can
’
t be a mother and a father. Children need both. This was a huge mistake. At least the Stuarts could give them male and female role models.
”
Aggie started to continue her rant when Luke placed his hand on her shoulder.

“
Aggie, from what I have heard of the Stuarts, your sister and her husband made the best decision. If Doug had been the only one to die in that accident, your sister would have been doing this alone too. I think God knew what He was doing when He prompted them to choose you. We
’
ll just have to figure out how to get all of those little girls some healthy male attention before they get old enough to seek unhealthy attention.
”

Aggie didn
’
t realize it, but the use of the pronoun
“
we
”
was very comforting.
“
You
’
re not trying to tell me not to count on you for help?
”

“
Of course, I
’
ll help. Uncle Zeke, my cousins, my uncles
--
we
’
ll all help if you
’
ll let us. We
’
re family, Aggie.
”
At the odd look on her face, he rephrased.
“
No, you
’
re not a Sullivan or a Tesdall, but we
’
re all Christians, and for us, that means we help just as if you were my sister and Laird was my brother. We
’
re here to help, if you want us, no matter what.
”

For the first time in a long time, her spirit was at peace. She wasn
’
t alone in this daunting journey of hers. She had the Lord on her side; she had friends. Everything was going to be just fine. She just knew it.
“
Thank you.
”
She wanted to show her full appreciation but didn
’
t know how. Instead, she decided to invite him to stay for Kenzie
’
s party.
“
Hey, if you want to be family, you need to join in family festivities. We
’
re about to have a semi-impromptu birthday party. Would you like to join us?
”