Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (128 page)

She
jerked
her
head
in
an
emphatic
negative.
“I
was
better
before
Aggie
lost
it
again.”

“Did
you
sleep
last
night?”

Again
the
shake,
no.
“Not
much.”

“Come
on.”
He
laced
her
fingers
through
his—how
small
her
hand
was—and
led
her
to
the
living
room.
“Got
a
favorite
section?”

“That
one,
why?”

He
gave
her
a
quick
once
over
and
nodded
at
her
shoes.
“Take
‘em
off.
Your
jacket
too.
I’ll
be
right
back
.
”
While
she
untied
her
shoes,
William
pulled
the
comforter
and
pillow
from
her
bed
and
carried
it
back
to
the
living
room.

“Why
here?”

“You’ll
never
fall
asleep
alone
in
that
dark
room.
I’ll
start
a
fire,
and
you’ll
lay
down
and
try
to
relax.
Got
an
iPod
or
something?”

“In
my
purse.”

Determined
that
she’d
fall
asleep
quickly,
he
retrieved
the
purse
and
handed
it
to
her.
Within
minutes,
a
fire
crackled
in
the
fireplace,
the
lights
were
all
but
off,
and
Tina
was
tucked
into
the
couch,
William
by
her
side
on
the
floor.
His
hand
rubbed
her
shoulder,
but
he
didn’t
talk.
Instead,
he
watched
the
fire
as
she
listened
to
whatever
played
on
her
playlist.
It
took
less
than
five
minutes
for
her
to
s
ink
into
a
sound
sleep.

With
Tina
settled,
he
went
to
grab
her
other
pillow
and
another
blanket
from
her
bed.
The
floor
looked
too
uncomfortable,
so
he
took
the
other
section
of
couch
and
tried
to
relax.
Tomorrow.
They’d
find
Ellie
tomorrow.
They’d
find
Geraldine
tomorrow.
She’d
be
the
one
responsible.
Somehow,
William
just
knew
it.

Wednesday,
January
21
^st

Sunlight
streamed
through
her
window,
but
Aggie
pulled
the
covers
over
her
head.
A
sudden
need
for
the
bathroom
sent
her
flying
in
there,
emerging
quickly.
She
glanced
out
the
window,
the
line
of
news
vehicles
still
camped
out
front,
but
in
different
orders.
Had
any
of
them
gone
home?
Surely,
they
had.

The
red
eyes
of
the
clock
told
her
it
was
almost
six
o’clock.
Lately,
Ian
had
been
sleeping
until
nearly
seven.
If
she
hurried,
she
could
get
a
shower.
Her
teeth
felt
fuzzy
.
A
shower,
tooth
brushing,
and
flossing.
Wow.
No
wonder
she’d
felt
as
if
she
let
herself
go
lately.
Aggie
couldn’t
remember
the
last
time
she’d
done
any
of
those
things.

Her
closet
held
an
array
of
new
clothes—some
she’d
not
even
worn
yet.
She
snatched
a
brown
corduroy
skirt
from
a
hanger
and
grabbed
a
green
cowl-necked
sweater.
The
sight
of
argyle
leggings
reminded
her
of
Ellie’s
and
she
grabbed
them.
It ha
d
seemed
like
something
she’d
never
wear
when
she’d
opened
them,
but
now
for
Ellie,
she
would.
Yes,
she
would.