Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (70 page)

“
Well, I
’
ve never been accused of being romantic, but there is something enchanting about someone who knows you well enough to go to all of that trouble for you.
”

After a few more frames of the movie, Luke spoke thoughtfully.
“
Well, then, I
’
d say that you are one of the most enchanting people I
’
ve ever met.
”

Aggie tilted her head backwards over the arm of the couch, nearly hitting her head on the recliner she often thought of as
“
Luke
’
s chair.
”
He grinned down at her. Eventually, he decided to be merciful.
“
Aggie, you go to a lot of trouble for a lot of people, every single day. Every. Day. You even keep my favorite soda and chips nearby when I
’
m working. If enchanting means going to a lot of trouble for someone, I
’
d say you are definitely enchanting.
”
He hesitated, as if unsure if he should continue, and said,
“
Then again, you
’
ve enchanted me for a long time.
”

Luke rose, gathered his things and with a final,
“
See you later, Mibs,
”
he pushed open the screen door. His voice, barely audible with the door shut behind him, reached her ears as almost a whisper.
“
Sleep well.
”

Monday, July 15
^th

William was working on the yard before Aggie was awake the next morning. When she came out to the front steps, she was surprised to see that he had planted four new rosebushes, two of them with blooms.
“
I
’
m going to call you
Quiet Man
.
”

William looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
“
Am I supposed to understand that?
”

Aggie quirked one of her own eyebrows and shrugged.
“
John Wayne and Maureen O
’
Hara. Old movie. She teases him that he is planting roses when they need potatoes or cabbage
--
or something like that.
”

William forced a polite smile onto his face but added honestly,
“
I
’
ve never been a John Wayne fan.
”

Aggie agreed.
“
Me either. I just like this one. Stay tonight. We can watch it, and you
’
ll see.
”

William nodded and went back to his planting. Once finished, he began working on a watering system that involved odd sounding components like bubblers, drippers, and soakers. Aggie, with a hungry crew of children who would inhale every box of cereal they owned if she let them, left him to play with his big boy toys and went inside to cut apple slices and boil eggs to go with the cold cereal. She
’
d learned the hard way that a bowl of cold cereal did not keep her children satisfied for long.

Once they washed, dried, and put away the breakfast dishes, a fierce game of freeze tag broke out on the front lawn. William and Aggie watched several switches in chasers before Aggie developed a glint in her eyes and yelled,
“
I
’
m in! Gotcha, William; you
’
re it!
”
and darted behind the tree.

Aggie and Laird joined forces in distracting the other it players and managed to avoid being tagged. William, with careful maneuvering, tagged a few others, with what appeared to be serious attempts to get Aggie and Laird. However, he was bluffing, as he bided his time. He knew that if they were on their guard, Aggie and her nephew would be able to elude him.

William moved in for the kill. He pretended to attempt to tag Vannie but deliberately tripped over his own feet. Aggie, who was sneaking behind him, tripped and fell over him. William laughed.
“
Gotcha. You
’
re it.
”

Ellene heard the squeals and laughter, while watching glimpses of the game from her window. She wondered what was so fascinating about Aggie and all those children that William chose to spend so much time there.
“
I thought he
’
d love to stay as far away from that place as possible,
”
the woman thought to herself, before picking up the phone to make another call.

As Aggie helped the twins brush their teeth on their way to bed that night, she heard odd sounds coming from downstairs. She arrived at the bottom of the stairs to find the TV and the DVD player gone.
“
Hey, William, I thought officers were supposed to stop thieves
--
not become them!
”

“
I thought we could watch that movie you were telling me about. Come see; I
’
ve got it all set up on the porch.
”

Aggie found it odd, but she had to admit to herself that it was fun sitting in beanbag chairs on the front porch and watching
The Quiet Man,
accompanied by a chorus of crickets. It occurred to her, as they munched on microwave popcorn and laughed at the funny courting practices, that perhaps William
’
s discomfort with being in her home had more to do with propriety than anything too disturbing.

William paused the movie.
“
You know what, Aggie? This is fun. I just realized how much I
’
ve enjoyed being here these past couple of weeks. Thanks for letting me into your lives.
”

Before Aggie could reply, he punched the play button on the remote, and the priests on screen sang hysterical songs at the wedding reception about not wanting to get married.
“
Can you imagine such an arrogant boob?
”
Aggie always became indignant when the brother swept the dowry on the floor.

William smiled at her.
“
Aggie, champion of the underdog. What about this guy? He
’
s like Jacob. He got tricked into giving his sister in marriage.
”

Aggie laughed.
“
He took it personally. He had no real objection to Sean; he just objected to losing a housekeeper. He didn
’
t like Sean, no, but there was no rational reason not to. It
’
s just ludicrous.
”

“
Well, personally, I objected to the deception, but no, you
’
re right. He was just being selfish. It
’
s the deception that irritates me.
”

“
Ooooh, look! I love this part.
”
Aggie settled back into watching as the scene with the roses unfolded.

William roared with laughter.
“
What part did you like? The part where she joshes him for planting the flowers, the part where he gives her a flower, or the part where he swats her?
”

William watched Aggie
’
s face and wondered if she knew how easily he could read her thoughts. Rolling sideways, he reached between the porch railing and plucked a rose from his newly planted bushes. Settling back into his chair, he handed the rose to Aggie.
“
I planted the roses. I
’
ll even give you the flower, but I stop there!
”

Aggie laughed.
“
I
’
ll say you better! My father would have your hide!
”

Mrs. Dyke watched them from her second story guest room and found them charming.
“
Giving her a rose. Smart move, Billy Boy.
”
Poor William never knew how often the elderly woman called him that when he couldn
’
t hear her.

Aggie noticed a change in William
’
s posture and glanced at him. Slowly, he tensed as he sat up straighter, leaning further forward as each second passed. Aggie smiled to herself. The fight scene began, and William became completely engrossed in the scene. Before long, he dodged blows and leaned even closer, jabbing his fists in a perfect imitation of the priest on screen.

She tried not to laugh when he jumped to his feet and yelled,
“
Deck that water guy!
”

Embarrassed by his outburst, William sheepishly settled back into the beanbag and watched as the movie ended.
“
I liked the movie, Aggie. It proves that John Wayne can act
--
given the right part.
”

In her freezer, were several pieces of cheesecake she
’
d squirreled away for an escape after a bad day. Aggie dug through the cavernous recesses of the appliance, retrieved the contraband, and cut slices for each of them. William had the electronics replaced and working before Aggie could get them forks out of the totes. Taking his plate, William led her back to the front porch. Somehow, even though it still bothered her to see further evidence of his discomfort in her home, the evening seemed to solidify their friendship, and that feeling remained long after the tail lights of his Corvette faded into the moonless night.

Tuesday, July 16
^th

Tavish, working hard all weekend, despite the summer heat, cleared the storage area underneath the stairs, painted it, and cleaned up his mess from the previous Friday. Tuesday, he began moving in. After watching him for quite a while, Aggie pulled him aside for a little chat.
“
Tavish, why did you go to all this work? What is wrong with your room upstairs?
”

The boy ducked his head and was quiet. He didn
’
t answer until Aggie, obviously concerned, urged him again.
“
Aunt Aggie, I just like to be alone. The noise bothers me, and I can
’
t think. I like to read and think, and try to figure things out, and it
’
s just a lot easier when I don
’
t have anyone around. Our room isn
’
t just my room, it
’
s Ian
’
s too. I can
’
t tell him to be quiet or go away when it
’
s not all mine, and he has to take naps in there and stuff.
”
With that, he turned back to making his little corner of the house
“
home.
”