Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (57 page)

Without waiting for a response, Laird raced down the steps and called,
“
Counting to fifty, anyone I see when I
’
m done is it!
”

Luke sat beside her, holding a cup of iced coffee with a huge dollop of whipped cream on top out to her. Aggie laughed.
“
You hold that like it
’
s a peace offering or something.
”

“
It is. I offer you peace and quiet from overly intrusive grandparents, and you should know, we prayed that she
’
d relax and become reasonable.
”

“
I
’
m not sure it
’
s a good idea to put those ideas in the children
’
s heads.
”
Irritation grew slowly in Aggie
’
s heart. The last thing she needed was a large crop of bad attitudes to harvest and burn.

“
That came from Tavish. Vannie prayed that her grandparents would find Jesus and that Jesus would take away the anger and pain that makes her act so strangely.
”

Curious, Aggie asked about Kenzie.
“
Did she pray too? I think this is really hurting her the most.
”

“
She prayed that God would take away all the mean grandmothers in the world and replace them with nice ones that have round squishy laps, bake cookies, and tell stories about the olden days when they were friends with Laura Ingalls.
”
The smirk on Luke
’
s face nearly sent Aggie over the edge.

“
You
’
re kidding.
”

“
Not a bit. I don
’
t know where that came from, but I wrote it down word for word so that I wouldn
’
t forget it. My mother would insist it go in the child
’
s scrapbook.
”

“
Scrapbook! Who has time for scrapbooks! I
’
ve hardly taken a picture in six months!
”

“
Well, I
’
d suggest you start now. Teach the older children how to use and care for your camera, but get pictures. You can
’
t get these days back again.
”

“
Since when,
”
she questioned with just a hint of derision in her voice,
“
does a man care about pictures or a scrapbook?
”

“
Since he was brought up in a house with four sisters and a very feminine mother. She taught me that there is value in memories
--
and that it isn
’
t specifically a feminine accomplishment.
”

Sighing, Aggie stood, brushed her hands together, and glanced around the yard where the children squealed as they raced to the largest oak tree for safety.
“
Why did you come this morning? I was just about to call Zeke when your truck rolled in.
”

“
I realized you guys might want to go out to the lake for fireworks and thought I
’
d ask.
”

Her first inclination was to accept gratefully, and if William arrived, he
’
d just have to meet them there. From the way he
’
d acted, she was quite certain she didn
’
t have an escort to the lake or the fireworks. However, the idea of going at all suddenly made her very weary.
“
You know, I really appreciate it. I was going to say yes, but I think I
’
ll go into town and buy fireworks at one of those stands instead. The idea of a late night like that is just too much for me right now.
”

Luke pushed himself away from the porch railing and pulled the familiar notepad from his pocket.
“
Ok, what do you want? I
’
ll go get them for you while you make the kids some brunch. They were complaining about missing breakfast while we were gone, but I didn
’
t know if you had something fixed already or not, so I just got them apples to tide them over.
”

“
I don
’
t know what I want. Just buy one of those big packages and make sure there are lots of sparklers.
”
She hurried inside for her purse and returned quickly.
“
Oh, by the way, would you mind grabbing some root beer and ice cream? We
’
ll have floats for dessert. With the watermelon I got at that fruit stand, it
’
ll feel very Fourth of July-ie.
”

“
July-ie?
”

She grinned.
“
Yes, that
’
s right. July-ie.
”

Tina says:
Happy Independence Day to you, Happy Independence Day to you…

Aggie says:
Yeah, yeah. Stuff it.

Tina says:
Thanks. I was getting tired of typing it all ready.

Aggie says:
Did you see the fireworks?

Tina says:
Yep. Saw your parents there.

Aggie says:
How did Mom look?

Tina says:
She stayed almost the whole time, so that
’
s good, isn
’
t it?

Aggie says:
Hmmm… as long as she
’
s not trying to be self-sacrificing, it
’
s very good. I
’
ll go for the hopeful approach.

Tina says:
Did you guys go see anything spectacular? Didn
’
t you say something about fireworks over a lake?

Aggie says:
Nope. After the GIL showed up…

Tina says:
Will that woman never learn?

Aggie says:
You
’
d think. After that, I just didn
’
t have the strength to think about it all, so I sent Luke for fireworks and decided to stay home.

Tina says:
Not to add to your burden or anything, but you can
’
t hole up in that house and never leave. Those kids need to have experiences outside their own four walls.

Aggie says:
Well, I
’
ve got an idea. You come take them for these experiences. I
’
m doing good to give them the experience of food, clean clothes, and a roof over their head.

Tina says:
And for now, that
’
s good. Just don
’
t let yourself become a recluse because it
’
s easier.

Aggie says:
I hardly think missing one outing qualifies me as a hermit.

Tina says:
Don
’
t get your panties all knotted. I
’
m just saying that it
’
d be easy to do, and I want you to think of it when you
’
re tempted.

Aggie says:
Gotcha.

Tina says:
You
’
re taking offense when you know I
’
m not trying to attack you.

Aggie says:
I
’
m sorry, Tina. I
’
m tired, I
’
m sick to death of this woman affecting our lives like this, and I haven
’
t had more than two or three hours to myself in months. I can
’
t go to the bathroom without someone asking if they can have or do something.

Tina says:
I know. You
’
re doing a great job, you know that?

Aggie says:
I can
’
t even take them anywhere without someone giving me advice on what I should do next. Get them into activities, the
y
need music lessons, they need time with kids their own age, they need men in their lives…

Tina says:
And then your friend gets on and gives it to you via cyber reproof.

Aggie says:
Sigh. More like that faithful wound thingie that I never did like very much.

Tina says:
Maybe one of the guys would volunteer to help. A zoo trip or the aquarium or something.

Aggie says:
I
’
ll wait and you can go with me. If it
’
s so important to you. ;)

Tina says:
You
’
re typing very slowly. Go to bed.

Aggie says:
I should. Ian will be up sooner than later.

Tina says:
We
’
re good?

Aggie says:
Always good. Thanks, Tina.

Tina says:
*poofs*

Aggie says:
Poof!