Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (190 page)

The
discussion
was
depressing.
Suddenly,
she
felt
panicked.
“Luke,
don’t
do
this
if—”

“What?
Don’t
do
what?”

“Marry
me.
Don’t
do
it
if
you
have
any
doubts.
I
will
fight
for
my
marriage
once
it
exists.”

“Good.
That’s
one
of
the
reasons
I’m
marrying
you.”
His
grin
was
a
little
too
lopsided
for
her
comfort.

“I’m
serious,
Luke.
Have
you
heard
how
many
people
are
talking
about
their
second,
third
,
fifth
marriage?
I
get
one
shot.”

“Well,
how
about
we
agree
that
if
we
want
to
be
done
with
this
marriage,
one
of
us
will
have
the
decency
to
die
right
about
then.”

“Deal.”

At
the
clerk’s
desk,
they
presented
drivers’
licenses,
birth
certificates,
and
swore
that
their
information
was
correct.
It
took
less
than
ten
minutes
to
walk
out
the
door
once
they’d
been
called.
“That
was
anticlimactic.”

Luke
grinned.
“I
doubt
signing
it
will
be.”

“I’
ll
look
forward
to
it.
Well
,
what
do
we
do
now
?
We’ve
got
hours
before
your
mom
needs
us
home
and
no
errands
from
Tina—yet.”

“I
was
thinking…”

“Oh,
I
like
it
when
he
thinks,”
Aggie
giggled.
“Do
tell.”

Luke
led
her
to
the
parking
lot
,
explaining
his
mission.
“We
have
four
different
people
taking
care
of
our
kids,
right?”

The
way
Luke
said
“our
kids”
without
hesitation
sent
strange
flip-flops
through
her
heart.
“Right.”

“Well,
I
say
we
do
a
little
shopping
for
thank-you
gifts.”

“Oh!
That’s
a
great
idea.
Let’s
start
with
your
mom.
I’ve
always
wanted
to
really
shop
for
her.
Things
were
so
busy
at
Christmas
that
I
had
to
go
with
the
first
idea
I
had
that
I
liked.”

“She
loves
that
robe,
Aggie.
I
see
her
in
it
nearly
every
day.”

Aggie’s
face
fell.
“You’re
going
to
miss
that;
she
will
too.
”

“Aw,
Mibs.
It’s
the
way
God
planned
things.
Mom
knows
that.
And,
it’ll
just
be
an
excuse
for
her
to
be
a
doting
grandmother
all
the
more.”

“You
know,
when
she
gets
to
where
she
might
need
help—that’s
years
away
I
know—she
could
have
the
guest
room.
We
could
shrink
the
laundry
room
.
We
won’t
need
two
washers
and
dryers
anymore
by
then.”

Luke’s
arms
nearly
crushed
her
as
he
stopped
mid
row,
only
feet
away
from
the
truck,
and
hugged
her
fiercely.
“I
can’t
tell
you
how
much
it
means
that
you
love
my
mama.”

“I’ve
never
heard
you
call
her
mama.”

He
opened
the
door
and
waited
for
her
to
get
her
legs
inside
as
he
said,
“
I
can’t
remember
the
last
time
I
did—probably
w
hen
she
first
met
you.
I
was
upset
about
something
I
think
.
She
said
something
about
it
later.”