“Oh.” Her disappointment was palpable. “Are you going to be with Boone?”
He thought about messing with her, but it seemed cruel under the circumstances. “No, I’m going to be with you. I thought we would go through a few more of those books, maybe luck out and get a visit from Abigail or something. She might be able to help us.”
“Oh.” Pleasure washed over Hannah as she rested her hand on the spot above his heart. “You’re going to stay with me.” It was a statement more than a question.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”
“We have horses here,” she pointed out.
“They’re not wild, though. Tyler picks the gentlest ponies he can find for the town.”
“Fair enough.” She rested her cheek on his chest and enjoyed the way he held her tight. “Sometimes I wish we could stay like this for the rest of our lives. That’s probably not very pragmatic, is it?”
“No, but that’s what Sundays are for.” He pressed a hard kiss against her forehead. “We have actual work to do today, though.” As if on cue, his phone dinged on the nightstand. “And here comes the day calling now,” he muttered as he rolled to collect his phone, keeping one arm around Hannah so she didn’t escape and start the day before he was ready. There was always a chance that the text was meaningless ... although it wasn’t.
“What is it?” Hannah asked, her eyes filling with concern as she watched his expression change.
“Boone,” he replied, swallowing hard. “He’s on his way out here. He says he has news ... and he’s bringing breakfast.”
“What do you think that means?”
“I honestly have no idea.” He forced a smile for her benefit because he was certain she needed it. “Let’s not freak out until there’s something to freak out about,” he suggested. “Right now, we need to hop in the shower. Boone will be here in twenty minutes. After that ... we’ll take it one step at a time.”
She nodded, solemn. “Okay.”
“Please don’t be afraid. I’m going to be with you every step of the way.”
“I’ll do my best.”
In the grand scheme of things, Cooper knew that was the best he could hope for.
COOPER OPENED UP THE SALOON BEFORE Boone arrived. After eating his own breakfast, Jinx tore out of the room and headed for the street. Cooper stood at the doors to watch the dog arrive at the paddock — that was now his favorite place to play all day — and when he was certain Tyler realized the dog was now his responsibility, he returned to the saloon.
Hannah immediately went to the bar area so she could start brewing coffee. Caffeine would probably be a necessity. Cooper joined her there, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her cheek to offer solace. There was literally nothing else he could give her until they knew what they were dealing with.
That’s how Boone found them when he wandered into the building, two large takeout bags gripped in his hands. He took a moment to watch them and then shook his head. “You guys are so sweet you give me a toothache.”
Cooper jolted, surprised that the bigger man had managed to sneak up on them without notice, although he recovered quickly. “You’re quiet when you want to be.”
“I’m not all that quiet,” Boone countered. “You were just lost in your own little world.”
“We were,” Cooper agreed, giving Hannah one more squeeze before releasing her. “You might as well tell us what you found. Hannah isn’t going to eat until she knows what we’re dealing with ... and I’m kind of right there with her. We would rather know than put it off.”
“Well, that’s good, because we have a lot to talk about.” Boone started removing take-out containers.
“It must be bad,” Hannah said, resigned. “You won’t make eye contact.”
“It’s not necessarily bad. It’s weird. Okay, it’s weird and bad ... although probably not in the way you think.”
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense after that little speech,” Cooper said dryly, linking his fingers with Hannah’s as they moved toward the table. “Just tell us. What did the coroner find?”
“It’s what he didn’t find that’s of interest.”
Cooper was confused. “And what didn’t he find?”
“A bullet.”
“What?” Cooper’s mouth dropped open. “He had to. There was no exit wound. We checked the ground once the body was removed. The bullet was still inside.”
“And yet it wasn’t. Do you know what else wasn’t on the body? An entrance wound.”
“But ... you saw the blood.”
“I did,” Boone agreed. “Rob Linus bled. We typed the blood and it definitely belonged to him. There was no entrance wound, though. There was no exit wound. He was just dead ... and do you want to know what the coroner found as a cause of death?”
“I’m actually curious,” Cooper admitted.
“A heart attack.”
“How is that possible?” Hannah queried, dumbfounded. “I mean ... he was in his early thirties. We all heard the gun go off. Where did the blood come from if there was no wound?”
“Those are all good questions ... and they’re going to be answered by someone other than me.” He turned grim. “That’s the bad news. Because what happened was so very weird, the county has requested help from the big guns.”
“Which means the FBI is on the way,” Cooper said grimly.
Boone nodded. “Yeah. We’re in big trouble, kids.”
Hannah was understandably confused. “I don’t understand. Isn’t the fact that a bullet wasn’t used good for us?”
“It is,” Boone agreed. “Unfortunately, the fact that the death is considered unexplainable is not. Whoever the FBI sends, they’re going to be all up in our business. Batten down the hatches, kids, because we’re going to need to hide the magical stuff ... and quick.”
Hannah hadn’t even considered that. “Oh, well ... crap.”
“It’s still good news,” Cooper reassured her. “Well, I mean ... it’s not terrible news.” He frowned. “The news could be worse.”
“Barely,” Boone said. “The FBI agent will be here in two hours, though. You
