"Because you don't know him the way I do."
"Want to enlighten me?"
"No. I don't want to talk about my father at all. And you should know better than anyone that parents are not always who they appear to be to the outside world."
She couldn't disagree, since her mother had clearly shown a different side at home than she had out in the community. But she was curious as to what Davis had done to turn his eldest son against him. "I wish—"
Jake cut her off. "Let's change the subject. Let's talk about you. I know you went to school in Denver. What was that like?"
She didn't really want to change the subject, but she could see the determination in his eyes to move the conversation along. "It wasn't the typical college experience," she said.
"Why not?"
"You don't know?"
He gave her a speculative look. "Know what?"
"I took Tyler with me to college. My mom had a relapse the summer after I graduated from high school. I postponed going to the university for two years so I could stay at home and take care of Tyler. I did my general courses at Lansing Community College. But when I was done there, I knew I needed to get us both out of Whisper Lake. I transferred to the University of Colorado, and I got us an off-campus apartment in Denver. Tyler was fifteen then and a sophomore in high school."
"I'm surprised he wanted to leave his friends."
"He didn't really have a choice, and he needed a break from Mom. She was in and out of the house, embarrassing herself and both of us. It was easier for him to go to a school where no one knew he had a crazy, alcoholic mother. We actually had a good time together."
"It must have been hard on you to manage college and take care of your brother."
"In some ways, but it wasn't bad, and it was the best situation for Tyler. We made it work. When he graduated and went off to college at Northwestern, I felt pretty proud of myself for helping to make that happen. Now, he's finishing up law school."
Jake smiled. "Your little brother is going to be a lawyer, and mine is going to be a doctor."
She smiled back. "They're showing us up."
"And we're both proud."
"We are," she agreed. "Remember when we used to play Monopoly with them? Tyler was cutthroat at buying up properties. Paul analyzed every purchase with careful deliberation."
"Whereas you and I were mostly winging it," he said with a laugh. "We always lost to them when we played in teams."
"Because you got distracted."
"By you," he said, meeting her gaze. "Do you know that wherever I go in the world, I smell lavender and I think of you?"
Her cheeks warmed at his words. "I guess I overdid it a little with the lavender; I just love the scent."
"You also loved those vanilla candles."
"I can't believe you remember that."
"I remember a lot of things, Hannah. We were good together."
"For a while," she conceded. "But all good things end."
"That's not true."
"From my experience, it is." She cleared her throat, realizing how personal they were getting. "Anyway…what were we talking about?"
"What did you do after Tyler went to Northwestern."
"I went to nursing school and worked in Denver for several years. I ran into your dad at a medical conference there, and he told me they would be opening a new medical center in Whisper Lake, and he'd love to see me come back. My mom had just finished a stint in rehab and was living a sober life, so I decided to come home. That was three years ago."
"And you're happy?"
"Yes. I love Whisper Lake and it's different now. I'm an adult. I live in a home that is all mine and has no bad memories. I have my friends. I can keep an eye on my mom if needed, although, thankfully, she hasn't needed me. She's been sober for almost four years. I pray that it continues, but who knows what might trigger a relapse? I want to stop feeling like the other shoe is about to drop, but I can't quite get there."
"I can't imagine being in your shoes, but I think you're an amazing woman for taking care of your brother the way you have. You've always put him first. I hope he appreciates you."
"I think he does, but I didn't do it for his appreciation. I took care of him because I loved him, and I'll always be there for him, no matter what."
"I wish I'd known how hard everything got for you after high school," he said, regret in his eyes. "What about the rest of your family? Your aunt? Your grandmother? How did you support your brother? How did you pay for Northwestern?"
"My aunt paid for Tyler's college, and my grandmother left me and Tyler two condos in Aspen that we could rent out and use the rental income to pay our own rent. To be completely honest, I also learned how to withdraw money from my mom's bank account early on. When she went off the rails, I took a chunk of her savings and put it in my account. I only used it for emergencies; I kept most of it. I actually gave it back to her a few months ago. She was shocked. But it was her money."
"Money she should have used to support her kids."
"True. She did have to sell our old house to cover her rehab stints. She managed to hang on to the cabin, though. She actually lived there for a while until she got her act together. Now she has a condo here in town. It's very modest, but she's happy there."
"Are you close now?"
"Not really. However, I feel a duty to take care of her. I just wish…never mind."
"What were you going to say?"
She shrugged. "It will make me sound
