Cooper was instantly alert beside her, his face lined with concern. “Hannah?”
“I’m on fire!” She slapped at the blanket, as if trying to extinguish a blaze only she could see.
“You’re not on fire, baby,” Cooper reassured her, capturing her chin so she had no choice but to look directly into his eyes. The room was still dark, but the moon allowed her to make out the lines of his strong jaw. “You’re safe. It was just a dream.”
She stared at him a moment, her chest heaving, and then threw her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“Shh.” He kissed her neck. “It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for.”
“No, it was ... just a dream.”
“Just a dream,” he agreed, running his hands up and down her bare back. Normally he loved the feeling of her smooth skin. Now, though, she trembled in his arms and he tugged the covers tighter around her to ward off the cold that seemed to be wracking her bones. “You’re okay.”
“Yeah.” Hannah blew out a sigh. “I’m okay. I’m so sorry.”
“Baby, don’t.” He pulled back far enough to stare into her eyes. “Don’t ever apologize for something like this, something you can’t control. It’s okay. We’re okay.”
“It was just a weird dream.”
He wanted to ask her about it, get her to explain the dream so he could help her vanquish the dregs of it, but now didn’t seem to be the time. “Come here.” He pulled her back down to the mattress and pressed her body flush against his, making sure to tuck the covers in tightly around her back. “You need rest.”
Hannah wasn’t certain she could fall asleep again. He was right about her needing sleep, though.
“I don’t ever want to burn ... or drown ... or die really.”
He chuckled lightly. “I don’t want those things either. How about we live forever, just like this?”
“I think I can live with that.”
And then, despite her worries, she drifted off again. This time the battling witches weren’t waiting.
THE NEXT TIME HANNAH OPENED HER eyes, Cooper was already awake and watching her. A smile bubbled up immediately, and then she saw the concern in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” She propped herself on her elbows and glanced around. “Has something happened?”
“I was going to ask you that.” He gently brushed her hair away from her face. “No more bad dreams I hope.”
That’s when the memory of the first dream hit her. “Oh, right.”
“I’m sorry.” He combed his fingers through her hair. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. You forgot.”
“I didn’t forget. I just ... I don’t know. I guess I was slow to remember.”
“I still shouldn’t have brought it up.”
She waved off his concern. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry. It was just a dream.”
“About what?”
“It was weird. There were two witches fighting in the middle of the street, throwing magic at each other. I’m pretty sure it was at the intersection where the accident happened but there was no light to confirm that. There was an explosion of sorts at the end.”
“Is that when you thought you were on fire?”
She involuntarily shuddered. “Yeah. It was coming right at me.”
“Well, that sounds like a crappy dream.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Did you recognize either of the witches?”
“No, and I’m not sure the dream meant anything. I think it was just an extrapolation from what happened last night. The witches were a manifestation of the magic — I even saw the lightning crackling across the sky — and the explosion stemmed from the cars crashing into each other.”
“And the fire?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. My mind is a freaky place to be, though.” She offered him a rueful smile as she ran her finger down his cheek. “You don’t have to worry about me. It was just a dream. It’s no big deal.”
He wasn’t convinced, but it was obvious she wanted to move past it so he let it go. “Boone texted. He should be here in about thirty minutes with breakfast. He needs to get our statements.”
“Then I guess that means I should get in the shower.”
He grinned. “Do you want company?”
“Always. Then we need to collect Jinx from Tyler. He’s probably going crazy about now.”
“I’m pretty sure that can be arranged.”
BOONE LOOKED TIRED AS HE LET himself into the saloon, perking up significantly when he caught sight of Jinx, who was eating his breakfast behind the bar.
“Who’s a good boy?”
Jinx wagged his tail, but nothing could tear him away from his food.
“He’ll be all over you and the bag the second he’s done with his first round,” Hannah reassured the sheriff, her hair still damp from the shower. She’d opted to let it air dry rather than take the time to fuss with it. “Don’t worry. You haven’t been supplanted in his heart.”
“I certainly hope not.” Boone winked at her and dropped the box of food he carried on the table. He was a usual at the diner located just outside Casper Creek so they always packed things up for him in a manner that made the food easy to carry. “So, another victim from the crash died last night.”
Hannah jerked up her head. “Who?”
“Jerome Macalister. We believe he was driving the vehicle that ran the red light, the one who started the entire thing.”
Cooper shook his head. “That’s not fair. The light turned green in all four directions at the same time. We saw it.”
Boone furrowed his brow. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Cooper bobbed his head. “That’s the one thing that registered right before it happened. I remember thinking that an accident would happen ... and then it happened. Although, I didn’t think it would be as bad as it was.”
“No, it was definitely bad,” Boone agreed. “Eight cars were involved. Six of those cars are totaled. Twenty-one people were involved in the crash and six of them are still hospitalized.”
“That’s on top of the two deaths, right?”
“Yeah.”
Hannah let loose a heavy sigh as
