He looked around the yard. Pat and Claire were adding a carrot nose to the snowman they’d been creating. Thomas was talking non-stop with his mom, and Dave’s little brothers were following him across the yard toward Pat. Anyone arriving on the ranch wouldn’t know how stressful it had been earlier in the morning.
“You were right.” He held Hannah’s hand and walked toward the barn. “Spending time outside has been good for everyone.”
“Mrs. Bennett will appreciate the peace and quiet. She was so patient with Laura and her sisters. Decorating a gingerbread house can be messy at the best of times, but she made it funandmessy.”
“Thomas’ sisters are a handful, but it probably reminded her of spending time with her granddaughters.”
Hannah looked at the clear blue sky. “Why didn’t she spend Christmas with her family this year?”
“One of her daughters flew to Canada to have Christmas with her husband’s family. Her other daughter is living in Russia.”
“Wow. That’s not something you hear every day. It must be nice when they’re all together.”
Brett nodded. “Mrs. Bennett’s planning a summer vacation with everyone. What on earth is Mary-Beth doing?”
“I don’t know.”
Brett increased his pace. “She’s found something.”
He ran past the barn, stopping in front of some tall pine trees.
Mary-Beth pointed to the ground. “Someone has lost their wallet. I didn’t want to touch it in case it belongs to the person who sent the email.”
Hannah pulled a bunch of tissues out of her pocket. “Use these.”
Brett knelt on the snow and flicked open the wallet. A Montana driver’s license showed the picture of a man about his age. “We should call the police. I don’t recognize the man’s name or face.”
It wasn’t until he looked up that he realized Thomas’ sisters were staring at him. He didn’t know if their mom had told them anything about this morning, but he didn’t want them to worry.
He forced a smile onto his face. “Before we do that, I’ve got a feeling Mrs. Bennett has dessert waiting for us.”
Mary-Beth stepped away from the wallet and smiled at the girls. “Let’s race back to the kitchen. Are you ready?”
“Yes!” they yelled in unison.
“Let’s go.” And before he could thank her, Mary-Beth was sprinting across the yard.
He took a deep breath. “I’m going to miss her when she leaves.”
Hannah sighed. “She’ll miss you, too.”
He wanted to ask Hannah if she’d miss him when she went to Vancouver, because he knew, without a doubt, that she’d leave. She had too much talent not to go, too much of her life ahead of her to stay in Bozeman.
He slowly picked up the wallet. “The police report number is in Pat’s house. Do you want to come with me?”
Hannah shook her head. “I’ll see what Claire and Pat are doing.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Go and call the police. The sooner they find the person who left their wallet here, the better everyone will be.”
Brett knew she wasn’t okay. She was worried about something and there were plenty of things it could be. “I’ll find you after I’ve called the police.”
She nodded and walked toward her sister.
All he wanted to do was follow her, ask her to stay, and spend the rest of his life making her happy. But that was about as likely as getting a heatwave in the middle of winter.
***
