Laura didn’t wait for her brother. She raced down the hallway turning into the dining room before Thomas had taken more than a few steps.
Hannah smiled. “Does she always have that much energy?”
“That’s nothing,” Brett said. “Wait until you meet her sisters.”
Claire left their basket of food on the hall table while she took off her jacket. “Something smells lovely.”
Brett hung Claire’s jacket on the coat stand and helped Hannah with hers. “It’s Mrs. Bennett’s roast turkey. It’s the best I’ve ever tasted.”
By the time he’d finished introducing them to Dave and Thomas’ families, Hannah felt a lot better. Cathy, Thomas’ mom, was lovely, and her children were bubbly and bright. Dave’s mom and brothers were quiet and reserved. They’d been through so much that Hannah’s heart went out to them.
“Happy Christmas, Hannah,” Pat said as he gave her a hug. “It hasn’t been the relaxed start to the day that we wanted, but thank you for having lunch with us.”
“You can’t help what happened.”
Pat nodded. “Ida loved the album you made of her paintings.”
“I’m glad. A friend helped with the layout.”
“You both did a great job.” Pat pointed across the room. “While Claire’s speaking to Dave’s mom, why don’t we say hello to Mary-Beth?”
Hannah followed Pat across the room.
Mary-Beth was sitting beside the Christmas tree, watching the toy train zoom around the tracks.
“Are you having fun?” she asked Mary-Beth.
“Hi, Hannah. We are.” She smiled at a young boy kneeling on the floor. “This is Jeremiah, one of Dave’s brothers.”
The shy smile on the young boy’s face was sweet.
“Hi. I’m Hannah. Do you like the train?”
“It’s great. Mr. McConachie’s son used to play with the train when he was my age.”
Pat ruffled Jeremiah’s hair. “What else did we used to do?”
“Eat cookies.”
“Would you like to visit Mrs. Bennett with me? She might have some of her special Christmas cookies in the kitchen.”
Jeremiah didn’t need to be asked twice. He wrapped his small hand around Pat’s and walked out of the living room.
Mary-Beth sighed. “I wish all of life’s problems could be solved with cookies.”
“So do I. Were the police here for very long?”
“Just long enough to take Dave’s computer away. They’ll try to see where the email came from but, apart from that, there’s not a lot they can do.” Mary-Beth patted the seat beside her. “Come and sit with me. I want to hear all about the arts residency in Vancouver. Brett said it’s a wonderful opportunity.”
“He did?”
Mary-Beth nodded. “He also said you’d be gone for twelve months.”
“I’d fly back to Bozeman for the summer vacation but, other than that, I’d be based in Vancouver.”
“How does your sister feel about you living so far away?”
Hannah glanced at Claire. “She wants me to do the residency. It won’t be easy finding someone to help run our business, but we’ve got plenty of time to find the right person.”
