Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance) (73 page)

~*~*~*~

William
burst
through
the
door
seconds
after
Ron
and
Martha
arrived.
“What
happened?
Who—what?”

A
room
full
of
excited
people
stopped
chattering
and
stared
at
him.
Ron
stepped
forward,
“Glad
to
see
you,
deputy.
You
didn’t
have
to
rush
over
to
welcome
us.”

“You
didn’t
call?”
His
eyes
sought
Aggie’s.
“Dispatch
said
we
got
another
9-1-1
call.”

“What?”
Aggie’s
eyes
darted
around
the
room,
illogically
landing
on
Laird,
but
the
confusion
on
his
face
was
genuine;
she
was
sure
of
it.
“I
don’t
know,
William.
Ian’s
asleep—”
At
that
thought,
she
dashed
upstairs,
expecting
to
find
the
baby
playing
with
the
phone
in
his
crib,
but
Ian
was
sound
asleep,
crammed
into
his
favorite
corner
of
the
crib.

She
arrived
at
the
bottom
of
the
stairs
in
time
to
hear
Kenzie
insist
William
come
see
the
presents
under
the
tree.
“I
have
a
present
for
you.
Look!”

“Sweetheart,
I
have
to
find
out
what
happened
with
the
phone,
but
thank
you.”

The
child
was
visibly
crushed
by
her
hero’s
dismissal
of
her
surprise,
and
Aggie
saw
something
else
there—something
strange.
“Kenzie,
come
here.”

Eyes
wide,
the
little
girl
bolted
from
the
room,
through
the
kitchen,
and
out
the
back
door.
Confused,
Aggie
started
to
go
after
her,
but
William
stopped
her.
“Let
me.
I
think
I
understand
quite
a
few
things
now.
Where’s
her
coat?”

Laird
followed
him
to
the
mu
droom
and
handed
him
her
coat
saying,
“Thanks.
It’s good to see that someone cares
.”

In
the
living
room,
he
sat
next
to
Martha
and
asked
about
their
trip.
Aggie
watched
him,
curious,
until
a
call
from
Tina
distracted
her.
By
the
time
she
slid
her
phone
shut
again,
William
led
a
tearful
Kenzie
into
the
room
and
beckoned
her
to
follow
them
into
the
mudroom.

“Wha—”

“Kenzie
has
something
to
tell
you.”

“Kenzie?”

The
little
girl’s
tears
were
half-frozen
on
her
cheeks.
She
stared
miserably
at
Aggie
and
said,
“I
called
the
number.”

“How
many
times,
Kenzie?”
William
pressed.

“Almost
all
of
them.”

“And
why
did
you
do
it?”

Aggie
began
to
protest.
Why
wasn’
t
really
the
issue.
That
she
did
it
at
all
was
sufficient.
“She
knows
better.
I
don’t
think—”

“I
think
she
should
tell
you
why.”

“I
wanted
him
to
come.”
The
girl’s
sniffles
made
the
next
words
difficult
to
understand,
but
the
meaning
was
clear.
“I
wanted
him
to
come
,
so
he
would
like
you.”
She
frowned.
“But
it
didn’t
work.
You
said
no
and
now
you’re
going
to
marry
Luke
instead.”