It was the answer she was looking for and still ... . “I don’t exactly have a lot of marketable skills. I didn’t even finish my degree, even though I was ridiculously close. I’m a moron.”
“Hey!” He extended a warning finger, turning stern. “You’re talking about my favorite person in the world, and you’re not saying nice things. You’re not a moron. You might’ve made a moronic choice back in the day, but you’re the smartest person I know.”
Hannah made a face, amused despite herself. “I think you’re just saying that but I’ll take it. The truth is, I made the absolute worst possible decision when I quit school ... and I did it for a man who didn’t even care about me. I’m a freaking cautionary tale and I hate myself for it.”
Cooper frowned. He didn’t like hearing stories about her ex-fiancé. The guy sounded like a real turd and he abhorred the idea of Hannah being emotionally mistreated. Now wasn’t the time to let her wallow, though. “We’ll figure it out. All I know is that I’m absolutely not going to lose you. I mean ... unless you don’t want to keep me. Then I guess I’m not going to have much choice in the matter.”
Hannah’s frown was pronounced. “Of course I want to keep you. What a ridiculous thing to say. You’re the thing I want most in this world.” Jinx picked that moment to yip, as if he understood what she said and was offended. “Well, you and Jinx,” she corrected quickly. “I want both of you.”
He smiled at her reaction and, although he was unlikely to admit it to anyone but her, went warm all over at the words. They were exactly what he wanted to hear. “Then we’ll figure it out together, okay? I don’t want you freaking out about this. We don’t even know what we’re dealing with at this point.”
Hannah searched his gaze for hints he was trying to placate her and then blew out a sigh. All she found was sincerity shining back. “I’m sorry. I just ... I really like my life for the first time in a long time. I don’t want to lose it.”
“You’re not going to. We’re going to figure it out. I promise.” He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss at the same moment her stomach ruthlessly growled, making him laugh. “Right after we get some food into you. I think we’re both hungry.”
“I’m starving,” Hannah admitted, turning to the bags on the table. “What did you get?”
“Meatloaf and mashed potatoes.”
She laughed. “Comfort food.”
“Yeah. I figured we could both use it. After that, we’ll climb into bed and do some brainstorming, huh? Maybe there’s an answer out there we haven’t yet thought of.”
The situation was serious, but Hannah couldn’t hide her amusement. “Is that what we’re calling it now? Brainstorming, I mean.”
“Actually, I thought we would do some actual brainstorming on what we’re dealing with,” Cooper argued. “I mean ... your grandmother left a bunch of research books.” He gestured toward the old tomes, which were carefully organized on a bevy of shelves.
“Oh.” Realization dawned on Hannah. “You actually want to brainstorm.”
“At least for an hour or so. Then we can do other things. I just ... want to see if we can find information about the man you saw. I can’t help but think that would benefit us a great deal over the long haul if we could.”
Hannah happened to agree. “Food first and then brainstorming.”
“And then we’ll get back to that other thing your gutter mind is so desperate for,” he added, enjoying the way her cheeks pinked up.
“Oh, I’m never going to live this down, am I? You’re going to remind me of this until we’re old and gray.”
He grinned. He liked the growing “old and gray” part. “Pretty much.”
“I guess I can live with it.”
“Me, too. We’ll live with it together.”
HANNAH WOKE WRAPPED IN COOPER’S arms. He’d spooned up behind her right before they drifted off, and they woke in the exact position. Neither of them had moved, and that filled her with great comfort ... even though they’d found nothing in the books to propel them further on their mystery.
“Morning.” Cooper stretched his legs as he pressed a kiss to the sensitive spot behind her ear. He loved waking with her. She was ridiculously warm and snuggly in the morning, and while he never thought he would be the type of guy who would care about such things, his favorite part of the day was waking up with her because of that very reason.
“Morning.” Hannah stretched her arms over her head and rolled so she was facing him. She smiled as she took in his morning stubble and tousled hair. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a log. I think that’s supposed to be my line, though.” He ran his index finger down her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine.”
He frowned.
“I slept hard,” she reassured him when she realized what she’d said. “I was out really quickly.”
“But it wasn’t a good sleep,” he surmised.
She hesitated. “It wasn’t a bad sleep. I just had a few dreams.”
He frowned. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. There was very little he could do about dreams, though. “Well ... that sucks.” He gave her a kiss and debated what to do next. “You know the town can’t open today, right? I already sent out word last night. Technically it’s still a crime scene.”
“I figured. Do you have plans for your day?”
He knew what she was trying to ask without actually saying the words. She didn’t want to come across as needy, but she was afraid to be alone in the town. Only she and Tyler lived there full time, and if there was some sort of monster running around — even if he had a human face — she wouldn’t want to be alone.
“I do have plans
