Hannah nodded. “I don’t know what to do.”
Brett’s heart sank. If Hannah went to Vancouver, the twelve-month program might as well be a lifetime. Neither of them would be the same when she came back.Ifshe came back. She might decide to move somewhere else, follow more of the dreams she’d pushed to one side for everyone else.
He looked through the window at the pitch-black night. “You need to do what’s right for you.”
She rubbed her hand across her forehead. “That’s the problem. I don’t know what’s right for me. I like you, Brett. More than like you. It’s just that I’ve always wanted to be a full-time artist. If I stay here, I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to help Claire. We borrowed money from the bank to start our business. The residency was the only way I could help pay our bills and keep painting.”
“Is there a program closer to Bozeman?”
“None with the same opportunities.”
Brett looked down at Pat’s desk. He could have told Hannah that, before he met her, he never thought he’d fall in love. After watching his parents’ lives fall apart, the only person he had loved was his sister. Then Pat, Ida, and Stevie had become part of his life. He’d grown to love them, to rely on them for more than he thought he needed. Meeting Hannah had opened his heart to even more possibilities. She made him want to believe that there was something more waiting for him. That something good could happen in his life.
But if he told her how he felt, she might stay in Bozeman and never live her dream. He wanted the very best for her and, right now, the very best might not include him.
Hannah looked around the office. “We should find the decorations. Pat will be wondering where we are.”
Brett studied the stubborn tilt of her jaw, the wariness in her gaze. “It’s all right, Hannah. Whatever you decide to do will be okay.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t promise you anything. I don’t know how to make this work for everyone.”
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “It doesn’t have to work for everyone. Your decision needs to work for you.”
She nodded and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” She stepped away and wiped her eyes.
With a heavy heart, he walked across the room and opened a cupboard. “You take this box of decorations. I’ll take the other one.” He handed her the smallest of the two boxes.
She looked inside the plastic crate. “There are Christmas toys in here. They’re old.”
Brett left his box on Pat’s desk and walked over to Hannah. The toy train she was holding was one of Stevie’s favorite Christmas decorations. “When Stevie was young, Pat would lay the tracks around the tree. They’d watch the train winding through boxes and any other obstacles they could find. Pat still sets everything up each Christmas.”
“Because it reminds him of his son?”
“I think so. They had a lot of happy times together.”
Hannah gently ran her hand along the metal carriage. “How old were you when you first met Stevie?”
“Fifteen. He was so much like Pat it was scary.” Brett smiled as he remembered the trouble they’d gotten into. “Pat and Ida must have thought Stevie would be a stabilizing influence on me, but it didn’t work out that way. He used to get into trouble and blame me.”
“Did you mind?”
He shook his head. “No. I would have done anything for him. Stevie was like the older brother I always wished I’d had. We had a lot of fun together, especially at Christmas. Pat would take us onto the ranch to find the perfect tree. It was a family tradition.”
“Was that what you were doing this morning?”
“Only for about an hour. It’s the first time Thomas and Dave have found their own Christmas tree.”
Hannah returned the train to the box. “That must have felt good.”
“It did, but it would have been better with Pat. But between his arthritis and not being able to walk through the deep snow, it wouldn’t have been a good idea.”
“Has he said anything about living in the retirement village?”
“Not yet. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he suddenly packs his bags and moves in with Ida.” Brett looked at Hannah and sighed. “We’re as bad as each other.”
“In what way?”
“We both talk in circles instead of dealing with what’s on our minds.”
Hannah picked up the box of decorations. “It’s not my mind that I’m worried about. It’s my heart. I’ll take these into the living room. Does Pat need anything else?”
“No. This is it.”
She nodded and left the office.
Brett held the handles of his box. By tomorrow afternoon, Hannah would have left the ranch. And he’d just blown his last chance to tell her he loved her.
