“I thought I’d have a look in the attic. Pat said he left most of his grandparents’ paintings there after he married Ida.”
“Do you need someone to give you a hand?”
“No. I’ll be okay.”
Brett poured syrup over his pancakes. “If you change your mind, I’ll only be on the ranch for a couple of hours.”
“Thanks.”
Mrs. Bennett smiled at each of them. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Hannah stopped chewing. She glanced at Brett, wondering if he knew what Mrs. Bennett was talking about.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t ask me,” he said. “I don’t know either.”
Mrs. Bennett poured herself a cup of coffee. “Helping Hannah will make her job more enjoyable, Brett.”
“I offered to help yesterday, too.”
“Only if I followed your orders,” Hannah reminded him. “And sometimes your orders were crazy.”
Brett finished eating his forkful of bacon and pancakes. “Mysuggestionsare never crazy.”
“Calling you every five minutes to hold the ladder was a waste of everyone’s time.”
“It wasn’t every five minutes, and it was better than falling off.”
“I didn’t—”
“Would anyone like a pancake?” Mrs. Bennett interrupted.
“No, thanks,” Hannah said. “Your granola is delicious.”
Brett helped himself to a cup of coffee. “I’m okay, too.”
Mrs. Bennett sipped her coffee. “The way you two bicker reminds me so much of when I met my Louis. We would have been married for forty-five years next month.”
Hannah’s spoon paused halfway to her mouth. She looked at Brett, then wished she hadn’t.
His worried frown brought a rush of heat to her face.
Mrs. Bennett sighed. “Sometimes, it takes a miracle to bring two lost souls together.”
Hannah dropped her spoon into her bowl. “We aren’t lost, Mrs. Bennett. We know exactly where we are.”
“I don’t mean in the physical sense. In the metaphysical world, each of us is on a path toward finding the truth. Sometimes we find that truth on our own and at other times we need the courage and support of another person.”
“Like Yin and Yang?” Hannah asked.
“Almost.”
Brett demolished the rest of his pancakes in double-quick time. “I’ll make sure Thomas and Dave are awake, then head to the barn.”
Hannah grinned. Someone didn’t like hearing Mrs. Bennett’s theories on the universe. “Can I ask you a question before you leave?”
“Sure.”
Brett looked as though he was bracing himself for something he didn’t want to answer. “Are there lights in the attic or do I need a flashlight?”
