“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like that,” Hannah said softly. “Claire and I were placed in foster care when I was eight years old.”
“That must have been hard.”
“The first family we stayed with were okay. But by the time we’d moved three times, Claire and I weren’t the best kids to be around. Our case manager thought it would be better if we were split up. So she placed us with different families. We ran away.”
“How old were you?”
“The first time?”
Brett didn’t seem surprised. “How many times did you run away?”
“About four. By the time I was eighteen, I thought I’d lived through the worst years of my life. I was wrong.”
“Did your dad get an early parole?”
Hannah shook her head. “No. Mom overdosed on heroin and then disappeared.”
“What did you do?”
“We tried to find her, but she hadn’t gone to any of her usual places. One day she just turned up out of nowhere. She told us she was clean and wanted us to be a family again. We didn’t realize she meant dad as well. Luckily, Claire already had a job, so I lived with her while I went to college.”
Brett’s eyebrows rose.
“I know. Even I was surprised when I got a scholarship. Claire pushed me to apply for as many as we could find. The one that I was awarded covered all my tuition and living costs. I don’t know how we would have managed without the scholarship.”
“Why didn’t you become a full-time artist?”
Hannah dropped her chin to her chest. When she lifted her head, tears filled her eyes. “When I finished college, I needed to help pay the bills. We moved to Bozeman and I got a job as a nursing assistant. Once we’d saved some money, we decided the time was right to start Perfect Staging.”
“You gave up your dream?”
“Claire was my rock. She gave up so much for me. I can paint later, but for now, I need to help my sister make her dream come true.” She wiped her eyes and tried to smile. “So now you know some of my deep, dark secrets.”
“You’re more than your past, Hannah. You should be proud of what you’ve done with your life.”
“I am. It’s just that sometimes…”
“It all comes back faster than you can push it away?”
She nodded.
Brett took a deep breath. “I know the feeling. My mom suffered from depression. She committed suicide when I was seventeen years old. Before that, I’d been working part time on the McConachies’ ranch. When they heard what had happened, they asked if I wanted to stay with them. I feel the same way about Pat and Ida as you do about your sister. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them.”
“Where is your dad?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to think he sorted out his life, but I doubt it. If I ever get married and have a family, I’m going to be the best dad I can be.”
“I try not to think about having children,” Hannah said quietly. “It’s a huge responsibility. I’m not even sure I’d make a good mom.”
“What we’ve been through makes us stronger. I used to worry about having a family too, but you just have to take everything one day at a time.”
The grandfather clock downstairs started chiming.
Hannah looked at her watch and frowned. “I can’t believe it’s midnight.”
“I’ll give you a hand to clean your brushes. What do I need to do?”
Hannah stood and picked up one of the brushes she’d already cleaned. “I’ll be okay. You wake up a lot earlier than I do.”
