Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (63 page)

Luke
’
s silence nearly sent Aggie to the edge of her wrath. At last, he spoke very quietly.
“
Well, they are your children, and you most definitely have the right to allow what you choose
--
”

“
You
’
re blasted-well right I do
--
”

He continued as though she hadn
’
t said a word.
“
However, I want you to think like a child for a minute. If you got away with pretending you won a game that you really didn
’
t, would you expect it to work again the next time? How would you react if it didn
’
t? Those girls don
’
t have malicious intent in their deception
--
selfish intent, yes, but not malicious. But, if they succeed in being allowed that selfishness, they
’
ll try it again, and again. Eventually, selfish intent could even become malicious, and all because these things are so cute when the child is three or four. You wouldn
’
t think it was so cute if Vannie got fed up and went and wrapped her own gift so she
’
d be able to try to claim the prize.
”

He
’
d never spoken so many words at once. Furthermore, he was right, and Aggie knew it. The last thing she felt like doing was admitting that he
’
d caught Cari in yet another situation. She glanced at the child a few feet away and watched the girl
’
s little fists settle on her hips, trying not to smile at the glare on the girl
’
s face.

“
Did you see that?
”

“
Is she glaring at us? I think I saw her hands move to her hips, but I didn
’
t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing I
’
m still watching her.
”
Luke
’
s voice sounded pained. It took Aggie a moment to realize that it had been hard for him to speak up in the first place and she
’
d just undermined any authority that he
’
d established.

“
Will you finish with her? I don
’
t want her to think she can count on me to rescue her from you.
”

“
Are you sure?
”
he hesitated.

“
I
’
m definitely sure. I can see the look in her eye. She knew exactly what she was doing.
”

Luke missed most of the scavenger hunt and the unwrapping of presents, as did Cari. Lorna confessed quickly and was sent out to join the rest of the party, but Cari, in her characteristic stubbornness, refused to admit she
’
d tried to deceive. Had she not shown a clear defiance from the moment they brought the gifts out of the house, Luke might have been conned into believing the child didn
’
t understand what she
’
d done wrong. However, Lorna
’
s parting shot had been,
“
Vannie says cheaters never popper. I knew we shouldn
’
t cheat.
”

“
We won! We bwought gifts fiwst.
”

“
The game was to find the gifts Aunt Aggie hid, and you knew it.
”

“
We won.
”

For twenty minutes, Luke waited for the obstinate child to confess that she
’
d done wrong. Her countenance, her posture, and the hard glint of defiance in her eyes told him she knew it was wrong. She may not have fully understood why, but she
’
d known and done it anyway, and that was the problem.

Cari hadn
’
t bargained for Luke
’
s patience. She
’
d expected him to order, cajole, or even spank her in order to get her to say she
’
d done wrong, and she had no intention of obeying. She didn
’
t know what the prize was, but she wanted it
--
badly. Luke
’
s eyes never left her face, making her feel even more uncomfortable than she had the moment he asked if the gifts they
’
d brought out were Aunt Aggie
’
s.

Finally, her little voice, anger seething beneath the surface, growled,
“
I sowwy I did wwong.
”

“
No, you aren
’
t. You are sorry that you got caught. If I hear you say that pleasantly, I might believe you. But your eyes are angry, your voice is angry, and even your arms are folded across your chest
--
because you
’
re angry.
”

“
It
’
s my pwize!
”
Defiance roared back to the surface when her lie failed.

“
You will not get a prize for deception and defiance.
”

Ten more minutes passed. Aggie stood outside the door directing games and half-listening. She didn
’
t want to start singing and serving cake without Luke and Cari, but it was growing late, and it didn
’
t look like they
’
d ever be done at this rate. Just as she was about to step inside and ask, Luke
’
s voice drifted through the door, making her realize that he knew she was listening; and he was answering her question without letting Cari know she
’
d hear.

“
You know,
”
Luke glanced at his watch.
“
I think it
’
s just about time for them to have cake and ice cream. Then it
’
ll be time for me to help Laird put up the tent. I can
’
t do that now. Laird and Justus will have to sleep upstairs tonight after all. So, you and I won
’
t get any cake or get to see Laird open his gifts, and he won
’
t get to camp on the front lawn.
”

“
Why?
”

“
Because I need to stay with you until you decide to confess that you did something wrong.
”

Cari
’
s voice wavered slightly.
“
But it
’
s Laiwd
’
s pawty.
”

“
And that is a special thing, but little girls and keeping their hearts from storing ugliness in them are much more important.
”

She tried a new tactic.
“
But Laiwd didn
’
t do anyfing wong!
”

“
Did Cari do anything wrong?
”

“
No!
”
The defiance returned almost frighteningly quickly.

“
I
’
m afraid rooting out that lie is more important than Laird
’
s camping and party.
”
Luke
’
s voice never wavered.

Aggie wanted to listen to the conversation but knew he
’
d urged her to cut the cake. Perhaps there was more to it than simply moving along with the party. Maybe he had a plan. With a sigh, she opened the living room door and hurried over to the table where the cake sat in a place of honor.

Libby
’
s cake, decorated simply in her rush for time that morning, was missing a swipe of frosting, and Aggie chose to ignore it. Cari couldn
’
t see that she
’
d noticed, and if Aggie said anything, none of them were going to get any sleep tonight.
“
We
’
re going to sing Happy Birthday. I
’
ll save you guys some cake for when you
’
re done. Cari can have hers tomorrow if she waits past bed time.
”

“
Sing extra loud for me,
”
Luke insisted. He turned back to Cari and smiled.
“
So, do you have anything to tell me?
”

“
Laiwd should have his pawty. It
’
s his biwfday.
”

“
I agree. I hope you
’
ll give him and yourself the one gift that will help you both enjoy the rest of the day.
”

“
I twied.
”
Her arms crossed again.
“
You
didn
’
t wike it.
”

“
I loved the gift, Cari. I always think it
’
s extra special when people give others something that is very personal. There
’
s nothing more personal than your favorite stuffed animal
--
”

“
How did you know
--
”

“
I felt the package.
”
Luke
’
s smile was weak and sad.
“
I just don
’
t like
how
you tried to give it. You tried to cheat in a game and deceive people to get a prize. That isn
’
t a nice way to give a gift.
”