Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (37 page)

Tavish
beat
all
of
the
children
but
Cari.
The
little
girl
turned
a
revolting
shade
of
puce
as
she
refused
to
give
in
until
Tavish
did.
Aggie
tried
to
insist
that
she
give
up,
but
the
girl
shook
her
head,
staggering
a
bit
with
the
movement.
Desperate,
Aggie
whispered
for
Tavish
to
stop,
and
he
did,
gasping
for
breath
as
he
leaned
his
hands
on
his
knees,
but
Cari
didn’t
give
in.

“You
won,
Cari!”

The
little
girl’s
face
screwed
up
in
protest
and
then
the
child
collapsed
at
their
feet.
Aggie’s
eyes
went
wide
, and
she
reached
for
Cari.
“She
fainted!
You
can
really
do
that?
Hold
your
breath
until
you
pass
out?”

“Toddlers
have
been
doing
it
for
centuries,”
Mrs.
Dyke
said.
“I’m
surprised
that
one
hasn’t
done
it
before.”

Cari
stirred,
one
hand
reaching
for
her
head.
“My
head
huwts.
Did
I
win?”

“Yes,
you
silly
girl!
You
scared
me!”
Aggie’s
panicked
voice
brought
a
smile
to
the
little
girl’s
face.

“
Yay!
I
won!
I
get
the
balloons!”

Sure
enough,
Vannie
arrived
and
tied
a
huge
bouquet
of
balloons
to
Cari’s
wrist.
“I
should
spank
you
instead
of
giving
you
these.”

“The
rules
said
the
one
who
went
the
longest,
Vannie.
Next
time
we’ll
add
a
pass
out
disqualification.”

Cari
sat
up
swiftly,
swaying,
and
with
one
hand
to
her
head.
“That’s
not
faiw!”

Libby
announced
that
the
food
was
ready,
giving
Aggie
time
to
take
Cari
upstairs
to
get
a
little
Tylenol
and
lay
down
with
an
ice
pack
for
a
few
minutes.
While
the
guests
munched
on
crab
cakes
and
bruschetta,
Aggie
sat
beside
her
youngest
niece
,
brushing
wisps
of
hair
off
the
girl’s
forehead
and
trying
to
get
her
to
relax
long
enough
for
the
medication
to
work.

A
shadow
filled
the
doorway.
“Are
you
ladies
hungry?”

“Did
you
bring
cwab
cakes?
Vannie
said
you
brought
some
after
all.”

“I
did.”
Luke
passed
the
plate
to
Cari,
curious
to
see
what
she
thought
of
the
food.

“I
don’t
get
any
cake?
I
didn’t
mean
to
be
bad, but
I’
m
vewy
good
at
it.
Laiw
d
said
so.
He
said
it’s
my
talent.
”

“That’s
not
true,
Cari.
Your
talent
is
in
inventing
things,”
Aggie
insisted.
To
Luke,
she
whispered,
“Even
if
it’s
just
trouble
for
right
now.”

“I
like
that.
I
want
to
be
an
inventor.”

Cari’s
switch
from
substituting
Ws
for
Ls
and
Rs
told
Aggie
that
the
child
would
be
fine.
“I
think
you
can
come
back
down
to
the
party
if
you
want.”