For Keeps (Aggie's Inheritance) (52 page)

“
You wanna know why
it hurts
? He’s a twit. He doesn’t care about me
--
not like
--”
She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“
Not like me?
”

“
Well…
”
Aggie ducked her head.

“
It’s ok, Aggie. I chose to tell you.
”

“
Anyway, if he actually cared, I’d be more sympathetic, but he doesn’t. Like I told him, his pride is hurt not his heart.
”

“
And,
”
Luke asked, leaning forward to see her eyes.
“
What about your heart? It looks as if your heart is suffering, Mibs.
”

“
It does hurt. It hurts a lot. Right now, William has taken his opinion of me from ‘incompetent’ to ‘immature’ simply because I am unwilling to submit to his Galahad complex.
”
She shook her head impatiently.
“
I’m going to lose a good friend to pride. It makes me mad.
”

Before Luke could respond, his cell phone rang.
“
That’ll be mom.
”

Aggie stood.
“
Tell her I’m ready for my children. I could use some snuggles right now.
”

“
It’s going to be ok, Mibs. It is.
”
Luke turned away and flipped open his phone.
“
Mom? Aggie’s ready.
”
He waited until he saw her round the corner into the kitchen and added,
“
I think she could use a hug, Mom.
”
His ears grew red as he listened to his mother’s reply.
“
I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.
”

~*~*~*~

The door slammed shut behind him, but William didn’t notice. His neighbor glanced out the door in stunned disbelief, never having seen the deputy show anything but deliberate self-control. Inside his townhome, William tossed his keys onto the counter along with
his hat and the newspaper
,
before collapsing
into his chair. He grabbed the remote and snapped on his stereo system, anticipating the familiar sounds of his favorite Jazz ensemble. Instead, the instrumental hymn CD that he’d purchased on his trip to Seattle played an annoying tinkling piano rendition of
“
Just as I Am.
”
His plan to familiarize himself with Aggie’s constant hymn-speak had been precipitous.

He jumped from his chair, punched the open button on his CD player, and jerked the offensive disk from the tray. On his way to the garbage can, he snapped it in half, enjoying a sense of satisfaction as he did. Yes, it was a little immature, but considering his company that afternoon, it seemed fitting somehow. His hands gripped the edge of the counter as he leaned over the sink, trying to control his emotions. He wanted to call Aggie and blast her. The selfishness alone was inexcusable. Those children deserved better than a novice mother and no father.

Shoving himself away from the sink, William walked toward his bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt, unstrapping his belt and holster as he walked. He paused before the mirror, and stared at the reflection. Perhaps discussing marriage with a gun on his belt had been a bad idea. He shook his head. That was a ridiculous thought. Aggie knew his job, yet had never shown distaste for his job or the weapons that came with it.

He’d intended to take a shower, but his running clothes beckoned him. In minutes, his feet pounded against the asphalt as his mind whirled with all the things he should have said. She’d have to listen to reason. As he thought about it, he realized that maybe she just needed time to adjust to the idea. She was young. She probably had dreams of romance that she needed to relinquish before she could accept the necessary. If only Tina could
--

His mind darted in a dozen directions. Tina. She wanted to talk to him, and that probably meant she was upset. Well, she could forget it. He wasn’t about to call her and let her lash out at him for being the voice of reason in the situation. Perhaps he should talk to Libby Sullivan. Maybe she could talk sense into Aggie
--
or maybe Luke could.

As a car peeled around the corner, William paused, hands resting on his knees, breathing heavily.
“
Buddy, if I had my car, you’d be busted,
”
he gasped.

Angrier than ever, he turned and jogged home, fighting the urge to call and demand that Aggie stop being so selfish. Once home, he strode through the house, peeling his clothes off on his way to the shower. Usually, the water felt comforting as if pounding away the stress and frustrations of the day, but that night, William felt every drop hit and each struck a new nerve as it did.

Frustrated, he snapped off the water, toweled dry, and pulled on his favorite sweats and t-shirt. All of his routines were out of whack. He hadn’t checked the mail, paid the bills, fed the fish, emptied his pockets
--
none of it. His pants lay draped over the end of the bed, so he started there. Inside the pocket, Tina’s number mocked him from the paper Aggie had given him. There was no way he’d call her and no way would he let her call and blast him for doing the right thing.

Seconds later, he fished the paper from the trash and smoothed the wrinkles from it on the counter. A glance at the clock told him it was after nine o’clock, but William didn’t care. In his experience, college students never went to bed before midnight. If he called and controlled the conversation, perhaps he could show Tina where Aggie was wrong. No one could talk more sense into Aggie than Tina
--
except perhaps her parents. Maybe he’d get Tina to give him the Milliken’s number.

William pulled an enchilada dinner from the freezer, popped it in the oven, and then dialed Tina’s number. The woman sounded distracted as she answered.
“
Hmm?
”

“
Tina?
”

“
William?
”
Her voice squeaked, making him smile. Something about Tina was always a little refreshing.

“
I need your help.
”

“
With what?
”
Tina sounded wary.

“
Well, Aggie is being a little difficult about something
--”

“
You have got to be kidding me.
”

“
What?
”
Even as he asked, William mentally kicked himself. He couldn’t give her an opening. He tried to steer it back to his agenda, but he’d underestimated Tina’s determination and grit.

“
Look, William. I talked to Aggie today. You really have some nerve
--”

“
Why am I the villain here? Don’t you think that Aggie needs help? Can you honestly say that you think she should have to do this job alone?
”

“
No, but
--”

“
So, when I step in and say, ‘Look, I’m ready to help you. Let me take some of the burden off your shoulders so you can look back on these years with fond memories instead of exhaustion, I’m somehow being a jerk. You girls make no sense.
”

“
Did you say those words, William? When you asked
--
did you even ask? It sounds to me like you told her you guys were getting married. You didn’t even ask!
”

He started to object and insist he had, but his own words came back to mock him. He had told her.
“
It wasn’t some romantic interlude, Tina. You know as well as I do that Aggie and I aren’t like that. We tried, but it didn’t work. Making it into a big deal would have made her furious.
”

“
But telling her what she has to do with her life is going to make her jump for joy? Seriously, William? I really had a lot of respect for you. I thought you were better than this.
”

“
She’s floundering, Tina. She’s going to burn out. I can’t stand to watch it. She needs help.
”
He hated how vulnerable he sounded.

“
William, do you love Aggie?
”

“
Well, not like you mean, no. I think I could, but…
”

“
Look, Aggie isn’t like me. I’ve always wanted the full package. I want a guy who loves me, who will romance me, who will make me feel like I’m the only girl for him. Aggie has never been that way. She’s probably one of the few women I know who could take a situation like hers and agree to a proposal such as you devised.
”

“
I hardly believe that.
”
William began to believe he’d chosen the wrong person to help him. Obviously, Tina didn’t know her friend as well as she thought.

“
But William, I don’t know a woman on the planet who would take well to, ‘You can’t handle your responsibility so you’re going to marry me so maybe you won’t fall flat on your face.’
”

“
I never said anything like that! That’s an absolute distortion of my words.
”

He ran his hand through his hair as he heard her deep breath.
“
William, think carefully. Did you say or imply that she has too much on her plate?
”

“
Um…
”
He thought carefully.
“
Yeah, I said that she needed the kind of help and support that only a husband can give.
”

“
And why does she need help?
”

“
Because she can’t do this alone. All those trips to the clinic, she lost the baby that time, the kids haven’t started school…
”
William jumped as the timer went off on his meal.
“
You’ve lived there. You know how chaotic that house is! Can you imagine the state of her finances?
”
William seemed unaware that he was almost rehashing his original conversation.

“
Ok, so if you were sheriff of Brant’s Corners, doing your job, having the normal speeders, domestic disturbances, etc., and a man came in and said, ‘I can see that you are having trouble in town, so I’m going to be your supervisor and help you get this mess whipped in shape,’ you wouldn’t mind? You’d consider that an offer of gracious help?
”

“
I
--”