Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (80 page)

Iris found an old battered trunk. The cloth was torn in places, but it was sturdy.
“
What about this for your bedside table? You could put a lamp on it and an alarm clock.
”

Aggie readily agreed and pushed the trunk toward the door. Behind the trunk, she found a piano stool lying on its side.
“
Oh, look! This might work for a desk if I find one.
”

“
Hey, Aggie, look at this!
”
Tina carefully folded a dusty sheet away from what looked like a bed frame. As the dust cleared, the women saw a beautiful antique wrought iron bed frame, headboard, and footboard with verdigris antiquing.

“
Oh, wow! I love it, but how are we going to get this out of here?
”
Aggie was frustrated. When she got excited about a project, she didn
’
t like to have to stop. Unfortunately, she knew that there was no way the four women could move all the heavy pieces downstairs.

Libby Sullivan smiled.
“
I
’
ll go get Luke. He
’
ll know how to take it apart.
”

“
Have him call and see if William has a moment to come help.
”
Aggie found different things here and there that she wanted in different rooms of the house. The attic was full of amazing treasures and boat loads of junk. Finding what she wanted wasn
’
t quick or easy, but it was a lot of fun.

“
Aggie, look at this neat desk! I thought it was a bookshelf, but it
’
s a desk! Look at the front of it!
”

The women moved the old bicycles and the dress form that blocked the way to the desk and turned the filthy piece of furniture around for a better look. The desk was beautiful in its simplicity.

“
Wow. I think it
’
s perfect!
”
Aggie was excited.

Libby Sullivan spoke from the doorway.
“
I think that
’
s a Hitchcock. The color is wrong… and I think they always had stenciling or decals or something, but the style looks just like my mother
’
s.
”

Aggie looked carefully at the back and sides. Pulling out the drawer, she saw the stain inside was much darker than the exterior.
“
Look… do you think it was refinished?
”

Libby looked carefully before nodding.
“
Yep. It
’
s a shame, I think these can be quite valuable, but honestly, and you didn
’
t hear this from me, I think it
’
s nicer without the pictures on it. It
’
s beautiful.
”

Aggie heard William
’
s voice downstairs and called for him to come see what they wanted. As she led him to the bed and showed him the desk across the room, William stiffened and grew and visibly nervous the closer she got to the bed. Aggie didn
’
t notice, but Tina and Libby grew concerned.

William shouted a warning, as Aggie reached to pull the bedstead away from the wall.
“
Aggie, watch
--
”

She yelped. William
’
s shout startled her, and she stumbled into one of the studs in the wall. A wave of pain washed over her as she saw a nail embedded in her upper arm. She wrenched free, the blood pooling against the surface of her skin.

The blood covered nail appeared to be holding something on the other side. Despite her pain, Aggie was curious. She reached for what appeared to be fabric of some kind, but the pressure ripped the pieces, and they fell to a heap on the floor.

“
Aggie! Let me see your arm.
”
Panic filled William
’
s voice, and when he saw the large bubble of blood, he practically pushed her out of the room and down the stairs. Despite her protests, he insisted that she climb into his car. In the attic, the women heard a siren wailing as he tore out of the driveway, unaware that he left several terrified children gawking after him.

“
What was that all about?
”
Tina spoke first. The other ladies shrugged.

“
It was almost like he knew where the nail was, wasn
’
t it?
”
Iris was thoughtful.
“
Not to mention, he sort of overreacted with that siren, don
’
t you think?
”

The deflated retreated from the attic, its treasures forgotten. Downstairs, they made lunch for the children, reassured them that Aggie would be fine, and dreamed up more ideas for the other rooms. Tina hardly participated in the discussions; her mind was occupied with all the things Aggie had shared about William and his reactions to her home. She wanted to get the other women
’
s input but realized it wasn
’
t her story to share.

* * *

Aggie was frightened but not because of her arm. The pain was almost gone, and there was very little blood, but William was completely distraught, and it unnerved her. She didn
’
t understand what was wrong, and he wasn
’
t talking.

At the clinic, he escorted her inside, and his mere presence seemed to command immediate attention. As Dr. Schuler inspected the wound, he gave William an odd look. Pulling William outside the examination cubicle, Aggie heard the doctor questioning her friend.
“
William. Pull it together. What
’
s with you? This is a simple puncture.
”
The doctor
’
s voice trailed off, and Aggie heard sobs. Surely, they couldn
’
t be William
’
s!

“
William, come into my office; she
’
ll be fine. I
’
ll get Linda to give her a tetanus shot, just in case.
”

Aggie fired off one p-mail after another, in rapid succession. She didn
’
t notice the pinch of the needle as Linda gave her a long overdue tetanus shot. She also didn
’
t notice the sting of the cleanser used to clean her wound. The only thing on Aggie
’
s mind was the obvious pain William felt and how she could help.

Sooner than she expected, William returned to the cubicle, led her out the door, and to his cruiser. Dr. Schuler followed them outside and hollered after William about paperwork, but William waved him off and drove toward town. At the park, William pulled over and parked under a large shady tree.

“
I watched you all here one Sunday. Did you know that?
”
William
’
s tone was broken and weak.

Aggie shook her head.
“
William, what
’
s wrong?
”

He sighed and hung his arms over the steering wheel. She recognized the sigh as the same one she
’
d heard after one too many 9-1-1 calls and the episode with Tavish and the stair cupboard. Absently, she rubbed her thumb over a scratch on her hand. They sat in complete silence for quite a while before William looked over at her.
“
Are you ok?
”
His voice was ragged
--
husky with pain she didn
’
t understand.

Aggie nodded.
“
Are you? What
’
s going on, William?
”

“
Aggie, I don
’
t know how to tell you about it. I will sometime; I will. But, you triggered a memory today, and I wasn
’
t prepared for what it would do to me.
”

Aggie started to reply, but William shook his head.
“
Aggie, I know I owe you an explanation, not to mention an apology.
”
He shook his head as she began to protest.
“
No, I do. But please, can you give me time until I
’
m ready to explain? I will soon, but I want to talk to the Vaughns first.
”

He sounded as though he was pleading with her. Unable to refuse, Aggie nodded. She wanted to talk, ask questions, but a heavy wave of exhaustion crashed over her unexpectedly. Between the adrenaline rush and the emotional upheaval, Aggie suddenly needed a nap.

* * *

“
What happened? Why is she unconscious?
”
Tina
’
s panicked voice grew louder as she saw William
’
s unsuccessful attempts to rouse Aggie.

Lifting her, as difficult as it was to extract her from the car, William grunted,
“
I don
’
t know. She got drowsier and drowsier as we drove home. I think she
’
s just exhausted from the whole ordeal. She should be fine after a nap.
”

William carried Aggie upstairs and carefully laid her on her bed. Luke and Mark Landry, working in Aggie
’
s bathroom, put down their tools and silently agreed to work on it later. As Luke left the room, he glanced at sleeping Aggie. William had laid her on the bed and rushed away, but Luke was concerned. He looked at her arm and wondered why she was so exhausted from a simple nail puncture.

When Luke arrived downstairs, Tina was still questioning William about Aggie
’
s condition. William started over for the third time, telling exactly what had happened.
“
I think Linda gave her a tetanus shot while we were talking, and then
--
”

“
That
’
s it.
”
Tina
’
s voice was flat. She took note of the time on her watch and thanked him for taking Aggie to the doctor. Then, as if nothing happened, she turned and asked Iris about window treatments for the library.