She laid out the story again, in precise detail. Now that she’d told it once, it was easier for her to get the words out. She was terrified the men would assume she was imagining things, but both appeared appropriately concerned.
“What do you think we’re dealing with?” Boone asked Cooper when she was finished relating the story.
“I honestly don’t know,” Cooper said, grabbing Hannah’s hand and squeezing as he took a seat next to her. “It’s ... troublesome. I wish you would’ve said something to me while he was still there.”
“I didn’t want to distract you. I mean ... with everything going on, I thought that was the wrong move.”
“Okay.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, forcing a smile for her benefit. “He’s gone now, although if he shows up again, I want you to tell me.”
Hannah nodded, but she was troubled by the prospect. “But what if he really is controlling the men? I know you don’t want to hear it — and I don’t want to say it — but you were acting different.”
Cooper’s initial instinct was to argue with the statement, but she was so serious he ultimately nodded. “I felt a little different,” he admitted after a beat. “I don’t know how to describe it but ... I was really angry. I was fine when we first walked out there and yet I was furious within a few seconds, really.”
“When did you first notice it?” Boone asked, turning clinical. He obviously wanted to get his head around what had happened so they could make sure it was a one-time occurrence.
“When Hannah stepped in front of Trent in an effort to protect me.” The smile Cooper shot his girlfriend was weak. “I was frustrated that you would put yourself in that position, but I was angry at the way Trent reacted to you. I was ready to beat the crap out of him if he even looked at you funny.”
“I would say that was an abnormal reaction, but I’m not sure it was,” Boone noted. “You’re the sort of guy who will throw punches to protect the honor of the woman you ... are with.”
“Yes,” Cooper agreed. “I would’ve done that, but we were nowhere near that point yet. He didn’t advance on Hannah. He was going after Rob, and me by extension, but she got in the way. When I asked her to move up to the porch, she essentially removed herself from the situation and all the anger that was building seemed to be between the three of us.”
“What about Tyler?” Boone queried. “He was out there with you. Do you think he was affected?”
“I ... don’t ... know.” Cooper flicked his eyes to Hannah. “He seemed largely the same to me. What do you think?”
Hannah cocked her head, considering. She hadn’t given much thought to Tyler. “He was mostly the same. I mean ... he wasn’t laughing or anything, like he normally would. He seemed concerned, though. He was more like me.”
“I wonder why,” Boone muttered, his face creased in concentration.
“Let’s ask.” Cooper gave Hannah’s hand another kiss and then got to his feet. He called for Tyler to join them over by the door and then immediately returned to his chair. Tyler’s expression was quizzical when he sat at the table.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Boone caught him up quickly, explaining about the dancing man, and then asked how he felt during the altercation.
“Oh, um ... I was confused,” Tyler admitted. “I thought Cooper was acting out of sorts, too. I mean, he’s protective of Hannah and everything, but I seriously thought he was going to rip off that Trent guy’s head when he said something about Hannah’s boobs.”
Boone made a face. “I didn’t realize he got that graphic with the comments.” He made a tsking sound as he switched his gaze to Hannah. “You played that down a bit.”
Her cheeks burned. “It was embarrassing, but I’ve heard worse.”
“Yes, well, you never have to put up with that.” Boone was firm. “I’ve told my daughter, if a man — or boy, because she’s in high school and surrounded by hormonal perverts — ever says something like that to her, she’s supposed to tell me so I can beat the snot out of him. I’m not so sure that Cooper wasn’t right when he decided to go after the guy.”
“Except I could’ve just threatened him and left it at that,” Cooper offered. “I mean ... I wanted to kill him. In that moment, I would’ve been perfectly fine wrapping my hands around his neck and not stopping until he was dead.”
Hannah involuntarily shuddered at the distant look on his face. “You didn’t do that, though.”
Cooper sent her a reassuring smile. “I didn’t. Part of me wonders if that’s because you were there, though. If you really did see someone, I have to believe that what happened was somehow manufactured.”
“But, Tyler, you’re saying you didn’t feel the same rage,” Boone prodded.
“I was angry on Hannah’s behalf,” Tyler countered. “I mean, if it came to it, I would’ve been right there beside Cooper protecting her honor.”
“But you didn’t want to kill anyone,” Boone argued. “That’s what I’m getting at.”
“I definitely didn’t want to kill anyone,” Tyler agreed. “I can’t say I was affected to that degree. To be fair, though, I only showed up at the tail end.”
“I was only there like two minutes before you,” Cooper argued.
“Yeah, but you were in here.” Tyler gestured toward the bar. “They were right outside, and the front doors are basically open on the top and the bottom. If some sort of magic was being wielded against the people on the street, it’s not hard to imagine that you were getting a dose of it before you even went out there.”
“Yeah, but ... I didn’t react until I got out there.” Cooper was determined to be hard on himself.
