Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) Read Online Free Page B

phone rang. Shaking her head as she thundered back upstairs, Aggie snatched up the kitchen phone with a breathless, “ Hello? ”
    “ Agathena, the proper way to answer a telephone is to let the caller know who is speaking. You must provide a proper example for the children. ”
    “ Well, I -- ” her heart sank as Geraldine Stuart cut her off.
    “ Do not interrupt me, young lady. I ’ d like to speak to each of the children. ”
    Aggie, eager to get the children ’ s grandmother appeased and off the phone, grabbed Tavish as he walked by with another armload of clothing and swapped clothing for telephone. “ It ’ s your grandmother. ”
    She tossed the clothing to the foot of the basement stairs, feeling foolish that she hadn ’ t thought of that idea earlier. “ Guys, your grandmother is on the phone and wants to speak to you. Tavish is talking to her now. ”
    Jumping out of the doorway, she fully expected the children to stampede to the phone as she remembered doing when she was young. All she heard, however, were a few nervous shuffles and stage whispers of, “ You first, ” followed by, “ No, you go! ”
    Shocked at their reticence, Aggie glanced anxiously at Tavish. Tears streamed down the young boy ’ s face. He shook -- with either rage or fear -- which one, she could only guess. In a swift move, Aggie snatched the phone from Tavish ’ s hand, gave his shoulder a squeeze, and listened as Geraldine continued her lecture. At the first pause for breath, she pounced.
    “ Geraldine, this is Aggie. ”
    “ I was speaking to my grandson, Agathena, and I don ’ t appreciate being interrupted. I was surprised that you didn ’ t send Vanora to the phone first. She is the eldest -- ”
    “ Mrs. Stuart! I ’ ve taken the phone from Tavish because he is visibly distraught. The other children are busy, so I ’ m afraid you ’ ll have to speak to them some other time. ”
    “ I do not think you understand me, Agathena Milliken. I am the children ’ s grandmother, and according to the law, I have the right to visit with them anytime I please. Now -- ”
    Aggie interrupted for the last time. “ Mrs. Stuart. Your so-called right to have visits with the children does not extend to unsupervised conversations that upset them. ”
    For the next twenty minutes, she stared at the phone in her hand waiting for the irate voice to cease. She couldn ’ t bring herself to hang up on an older woman, but neither was she willing to listen to the continuing tirade. When she heard Geraldine shouting her name, Aggie spoke. “ I ’ m still here, Mrs. Stuart. Will there be anything else? ”
    Answered by sudden disconnection, she set the phone back on the receiver and sighed. Aggie rubbed her temple. A headache threatened to explode behind her eyes. In desperation, she reached for the coffee pot.
     
    * * *
     
    Once again, Aggie collapsed in bed physically sapped. Every muscle in her body ached, and she realized she hadn ’ t been off her feet for more than ten minutes at a time all day. Her mind zipped from one thought to another at a dizzying speed. The silky cotton sheets smelled of fabric softener, and the open doors of her closet showed washed and pressed clothing hanging where Allie ’ s clothes hung that morning.
    Doris left just after nine-thirty. Every scrap of clothing in the house was stain-treated, washed, dried, pressed, and put in their proper places. The towels in the bathrooms were luxuriously soft and neatly folded. Stacks of fresh sheets sat in baskets on the washer awaiting a massive bed-changing event. Somehow, she knew that had Doris not run out of time, every bed in the house would be sporting newly washed and dried sheets.
    Nestled in her freshly made bed, Aggie recalled the highs and lows of her day. The children seemed to be settling into the change of routine. Whereas their life had once been well-ordered and structured, now an incredibly loose routine was the best she could manage. “ Geraldine