“Good night.” Hannah walked into the kitchen and rinsed her mug. From what Brett had said earlier, she’d be lucky to see much of him while she was here. That might not make Pat happy, but it suited her. Especially if Pat had a match made in heaven on his mind.
***
Brett walked into the living room and froze. “What are you doing up there?”
The ladder under Hannah’s feet wobbled, sending his heart rate into overdrive. He rushed across the room and grabbed hold of the metal frame. “You need to come down. Now.”
“Don’t yell. You scared me half to death.”
“You would havebeendead if you’d fallen off the ladder.”
Instead of doing what he’d told her to do, Hannah looked at the painting above her head. “I just need to take a few more photos and then I’m done.”
“I’m taller than you are. I’ll take the photos.”
“It’s my job. Besides, I’m used to climbing ladders. You should have seen some of the barns I’ve decorated.”
Brett gritted his teeth. “I don’t care if you’ve crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope. I refuse to scrape your broken bones off the floor. Explaining to Pat why his favorite nurse died in his living room isn’t my idea of fun.”
Finally, after trying to take another photo, Hannah climbed down. “Are you always this grumpy?”
If he hadn’t been holding the ladder he would have banged his head against the wall. “I’m not grumpy, just cautious.”
As soon as her feet hit the floor, Hannah handed him the camera. “I’m not tall enough to get the entire painting in the photo. You might have more luck.”
“What button do I push to take the photo?”
“This one.” Hannah pointed to a silver dial. “Once you’ve taken the photo, tap the screen and the image will appear.”
The painting Hannah wanted to photograph was one of the largest in the room. It must have been at least six feet wide and four feet high. For some reason, Pat had hung it above two other paintings.
The first thing Brett did was leave the camera on the table and move the ladder to the other side of the room.
“What are you doing?” With her blond hair pulled into a ponytail and her hands on her hips, Hannah looked like a life-sized Tinkerbell.
“I should be able to stand back here and zoom in on the canvas. Do you need photos of the other paintings?”
“No. They were easy to take.”
Brett focused the camera lens on Hannah.
“You’re supposed to be taking photos of the paintings, not me.”
“I’m practicing. Why do you look annoyed?”
“Because you’re stopping me from doing my job.”
Brett ignored her scowl and climbed the ladder. “You remind me of Thomas, one of my ranch hands. He’s always one step ahead of himself and way too impulsive.”
“And what’s wrong with being impulsive? It’s better than being super cautious.”
“Being impulsive will get you hurt a whole lot quicker than if you take things slowly.”
Hannah snorted in the most un-Tinkerbell like way. “And you don’t like getting hurt?”
Brett’s hands tightened on the ladder. “Not if I can help it.” He pushed the memories of his parents out of his head and focused on what he was doing.
“If you don’t try new things, you’ll never know if you’re missing something amazing.”
