Ready or Not (Aggie's Inheritance) (89 page)

“
Well, Naggie Aggie, I
’
m not sure, but with the last wall between us torn down, it seemed reasonable to consider it.
”

Aggie was thoughtful. After their disastrous attempt at a date, she was certain that she was through with dating all together, and she wasn
’
t interested in trying it again. Then again, if they both hadn
’
t wanted to consider a relationship, and now William did, perhaps the Lord had other plans for her.
“
I guess the worst thing that would happen is we
’
d find out this isn
’
t what the Lord wants for us…
”

“
Well, if that isn
’
t the most unenthusiastic
“
yes
”
I
’
ve ever heard…
”

“
You know, I won
’
t have much time for this. Between my responsibilities with the kids, the work still left on the house…
”

“
We
’
ll take it as it comes, if it comes, then. I just thought,
”
William seemed to struggle for words, in an almost Luke-like manner,
“
it made sense for us to see. Meanwhile, I
’
m on duty in the morning. Wade
’
s grandmother died, and I took his shift.
”

They walked back to her house, where William climbed into his car and backed out of the driveway. Aggie smiled to herself as she climbed the steps to her newly refurbished home.
“
Lord, it
’
s a good thing that life isn
’
t supposed to be like a Hollywood movie. This one would have flopped big time. There wasn
’
t any music swelling into a crescendo, we didn
’
t have those nauseating long, lingering glances at one another, and thankfully, there was no passionate kiss,
”
she whispered, relieved.
“
You know, Lord, there has to be more to living than Hollywood
’
s shallow imitation of life.
”

As she crawled into bed, the irony struck her. The Shambles represented pain and rejection to William; however, as Iris had said during the toast of lemonade to her family, this house had most definitely become Aggie
’
s and her family
’
s haven. Almost six months before, ready or not, the Lord had thrust her into the most unfamiliar life she could have imagined. Chaos often characterized her days. She rarely knew what she should do, but thanks to an unlimited p-mail account, a generous supply of hymns, the comfort of the Bible, and dear friends and family to bolster her, Aggie
’
s life was as imperfectly perfect as she could desire. She wasn
’
t ready yet, but she
’
d come a long way.

The End

Libby
’
s Blackberry Cobble
r
Ingredients

1-1/2 sticks butter (Forget margarine, eat the real thing!)

2 cups all-purpose flour (If you want whole wheat, fine… but it won
’
t be as good)

1-1/2 cups sugar (Yes, the lovely white refined kind)

4 tsp baking powder (Stephen always said was a housewife
’
s
gunpowder
!)

1 tsp salt (Zeke, it won
’
t raise your blood pressure if you eat just one piece!)

1 TBS Lavender blossoms (optional)

1 cup milk, half & half, or whipping cream (I recommend whipping cream)

2 tsp vanilla extract (Everything is better with vanilla)

2 TBS tapioca pearls

4-1/2 cups (2 average-sized packages) frozen blackberries, thawed and drained (You can have the taste of summer all year round thanks to the lovely invention
--
the deep freeze!)

Bake in a 13
”
x 9
”
pan (Think of it as dessert casserole!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. As the oven preheats, add the butter to the baking dish and place in the oven. Remove pan from oven when butter has melted. (Hint: You really do want to keep an eye on it… burned butter just isn
’
t the flavor you
’
re trying to achieve.)

Meanwhile, mix flour, sugar (reserve half a cup), baking powder, lavender blossoms and salt into a large mixing bowl. Next add milk (or if you want an exceptional product, cream!), and vanilla extract to the dry mixture, and mix well. As you mix, remember to thank the Lord for creating berries!

Spread the batter evenly over the butter in the baking dish. Next, arrange the blackberries over the batter, and then sprinkle the tapioca and half cup of sugar over the berries. Place the baking dish in the oven (DON
’
T forget to use potholders! That pan is just out of the oven, and if you
’
d been in the oven at 375 degrees you
’
d be hot too! You can burn your hands so fast it
’
ll take prescription strength salve to soothe them
--
not that I
’
d know anything about that) and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (until the crust is golden brown). To test doneness, insert a toothpick into the batter. A
“
clean
”
toothpick indicates a done dish (which in cooking is a done deal)!

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Don
’
t miss the next installment of Aggie
’
s Trials with

For Keeps

Six months after Aggie Milliken
“
inherited
”
her sister
’
s eight children, life seemed settled if a bit chaotic.
But, then a letter arrived that has the potential to change everything.

Between chicken pox, mishaps, and daily living with a brood of children, Aggie feels like she
’
s losing her marbles and now must decide if she
’
s playing
For Keeps
.

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