“I’ll get one out of the barn in the morning,” Brett said. “Do you need someone to help you?”
“No. I’ll be fine.”
Pat yawned. “If you need anything, let me know. I’m off to bed. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
Hannah stood as well. “I’ll go to bed, too. Thank you for a wonderful dinner.”
Pat smiled. “It was Mrs. Bennett who made the casserole. All I did was reheat it.”
“You did a great job.” She picked up her coffee mug. “Goodnight, Brett.”
He pulled himself out of the sofa and she sighed. He hadn’t said much to her all night. If he still didn’t think she had the ability or intelligence to catalog the paintings, it should have been his problem and not hers. But for some reason, his opinion was important.
Claire had told her that she cared too much about what other people thought of her. Her sister was right, but old habits were hard to break.
“Can I talk to you for a couple of minutes?”
She almost didn’t hear Brett’s softly spoken question. Pat was already in the kitchen, rinsing his mug. It was late. She wanted to start work early in the morning. And there were probably a lot of other reasons why talking to him wasn’t a good idea.
“I want to apologize.”
Hannah turned around.
Brett stood with his hands in his pockets, looking as uncomfortable as she was. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I wasn’t questioning your ability to catalog Ida’s paintings.”
“Whatdidyou mean?”
Brett took a deep breath. “Pat was trying to play matchmaker at the carol competition on Sunday. He thought I should have asked you on a date. I was worried that he wanted you to work here so that we could get to know each other.”
Hannah didn’t know what to say. “I asked Pat why he wanted me to help him. He knew about my art history degree from when I was looking after Ida. He said he wanted someone he could trust to compile the spreadsheet. Are you sure he had an ulterior motive?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but it’s extremely likely.”
“Oh.” It would have been funny if she wasn’t the person Pat had decided would be a good match for Brett.
“I hope you still want to stay here. From what you’ve said, it sounds as though you would enjoy cataloging the paintings.”
Hannah nodded. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s not often you see paintings like Ida’s hanging in someone’s home. Most of the time they’re in galleries and museums.” While they were being honest with each other, Hannah wanted to tell Brett something, too. “I told Pat that I wouldn’t accept any payment for helping him.”
Brett looked surprised. “Why would you do that?”
“Because Ida and Pat are good people. It wouldn’t feel right taking their money.”
“Pat can afford to pay you.”
“I know. But he’s doing me a favor. My sister has gone to San Diego for the week and I’d be at home on my own. I’d sooner be here than in an empty house.”
“You don’t like living on your own?”
Hannah hadn’t liked living on her own since Claire had been taken from their foster family. “I prefer to have someone stay in the house with me.”
“I’m glad you’re here, then. Are we okay?”
Okay didn’t come close to what she thought about Brett. Half the time he confused her, and the other half didn’t count because her thoughts were foolish pipe dreams.
“We’re okay. If I don’t see you tomorrow morning, have a great day.”
“I will. Goodnight.”
