"Yes. Kelly was a senior in high school. She had stayed out past curfew and my father went to find her. On the way home, on a very stormy night, he lost control of the car and died. Kelly was not injured. My mom told Kelly it was her fault. My dad never would have gone out that night if Kelly had come home on time."
He felt a little sorry for Kelly, even though he understood that the blame had come from a place of deep grief.
"I didn't blame Kelly," Hannah added. "I knew it was just an accident. But she and my mom could not get along. They were both in a lot of pain. Several months later, Kelly disappeared. I never thought she'd stay gone. I believed she'd return when she had a chance to calm down and grow up. But she never did. When Tyler and I were put into foster care, which happened about four months after Kelly left, the social worker said she looked for Kelly, but she couldn't find her. That's when I started to hate her. She hadn't just abandoned my mom—she'd abandoned all of us. It was selfish, but that's who Kelly was. Her drama, her problems, were always more important than anyone else's. Now, it's happening again. She has gotten herself into something, and I'm supposed to be there for her, even though she's never been there for me."
Hannah's voice was thick with emotion. She was angry and frustrated but also worried. Deep down, he knew she still loved her sister, because Hannah loved with her whole heart. He'd seen the way she'd taken care of her little brother, and even her mom, who often didn't deserve it. And for a while, she'd loved him like that, too. But when the love was gone, when she felt betrayed, there could be no end to her anger.
"Do you think I'm making a mistake?" Hannah asked. "Should I call Adam back?"
He was surprised she even cared what he thought, but if she wanted his opinion, he'd give it. "I think you should hold off on that call. Brett is safe. You're his aunt. See where this goes."
Relief filled her gaze. "I agree." She tilted her head. "I keep thinking about her note, about Brett not being safe if we go to the police. It makes me wonder if Brett's father is in the middle of this trouble. Was he hurting Brett? Did he have custody? Did Kelly take Brett and run to protect him?"
"Those are definitely all scenarios that make sense to me, including the idea that the father might be a cop."
"He could be, but he's not a Whisper Lake police officer. There's no way Kelly has been living in our small town. I just wish I knew where she was before she came here."
"That shouldn't be difficult to find out. There's a trail," he pointed out. "She had a vehicle. It had to be registered to someone. She booked the rental. I assume there was a deposit, a credit card involved. All those clues could lead to her whereabouts."
"And the police could probably find all that out in just a few minutes." She let out a breath of frustration. "I wish she'd left us more information in her note. It's so difficult to know the right move to make, and I still think she took a big risk that I'd be the one to respond to her call. What if I hadn't come right away? What if you hadn't driven up when you did? I could still be stuck on the side of the road. Did Kelly stick around to see if anyone would come, or did she just hope for the best?"
He started at her words. "When I walked over to Trevor's cabin, I saw a car leaving the area. Maybe it was Kelly. Maybe she waited until you arrived."
"That would make me feel better, unless the lights didn't belong to her car. Did you see anyone else?"
"No. There was a light on in the cabin next to Trevor's. Why don't I go knock on their door? Maybe someone saw something."
"That's a good idea." She got to her feet. "I also think we should take Brett to my house. With the storm coming in tonight, I'd rather be back in town."
He was relieved by that decision. "I would agree. I'll give you a ride whenever you're ready to go."
"Okay." She paused, an odd, tense look passing through her eyes.
"What?" he asked curiously. "Do you have something else to say?"
"Thank you," she said through tight lips.
He gave her a wry smile. "That sounded painful."
"I still said it," she retorted.
"Even though it made you want to throw up. You can't stand it when I'm nice to you."
"It's not like it happens all that often."
"It might if you didn't run out of the room every time you saw me."
"I don't do that."
"Yes, you do. Can't you be honest about that?"
"Do you really want to talk about honesty?" she challenged.
He had to admit he'd taken a wrong turn with that question.
Without waiting for his answer, she added, "I don't actually want to talk about anything that has to do with our past."
"You never do."
"And I still don't. There's no point. I need to deal with this situation."
"You always have an excuse."
"Do you really have anything new to say?" she challenged, as she put her hands on her hips. "What happened with us was a lifetime ago. I've moved on, and I'm sure you have, too."
"If you'd moved on, you wouldn't try to avoid me every chance you get."
She shook her head. "I can't do this right now." She turned and walked out of the bedroom.
He wasn't surprised by her quick exit; he was used to seeing her back. When he returned to the living room, Hannah was sitting on the couch next to where Brett was playing on the floor. Her entire demeanor changed when she looked at her nephew. Gone was the anger and the stress. There was nothing but warmth, kindness and love.
He really missed the days when she'd looked at him like that, but their very recent exchange reminded him that that would not be happening again any time soon.
As he watched Brett and Hannah together, he could see a family resemblance, even though Brett had green eyes and blond hair, no trace of Hannah's temperamental red. But there was something about Brett's expressions that reminded him of Hannah.
Hannah gave Brett a smile and said, "I was thinking you might want to come to my house and have a sleepover. What do you think?"
"Is Mommy going to be there?"
"I'm not sure when she'll be back. But I'll take really good care of you."
"Mommy said you would."
Hannah's jaw dropped at that comment. "She did? Did she mention my name? Did she say Hannah?"
"She said you'd be really nice to me and that we both like dogs. You had one named Tiger."
"I—I did," Hannah said, a tremor in her voice now. "What else did your mom say about me?"
"I don't know—stuff. Do you want to play?"
"Maybe for a minute. Then we need to get your things."
"You can be the vet. My puppy is sick," Brett said, handing her his small dog.
As Hannah and Brett began their imaginary game, Jake grabbed his coat and headed out the door. When he stepped onto the porch, he blew out a breath. Hannah got under his skin like no one else. She had so many sides to her personality. She was definitely a rough diamond, beautiful on the outside, but that beauty had been hardened through fire. She'd been through a lot in her life, and she'd come out stronger, but her toughness wasn't the whole story. She also had a tender, soft core and this situation with her sister was probably bringing her a great deal of pain.