“I’m not going to bother him,” Lindsey promised. “I just want to watch him do his job. I’m betting he does it shirtless ... and gets all sweaty.”
Hannah had to press her lips together and look away to keep from laughing. Lindsey’s crush on Cooper was hardly a secret and the girl wasn’t afraid to express herself ... usually at Cooper’s expense.
“Why would he be shirtless?” Boone demanded.
“Because he’s the type of dude who looks good without a shirt,” Lindsey replied, not missing a beat. “I also watch a lot of television, and if it’s taught me anything, it’s that dudes who look good without shirts never wear them ... no matter what they’re doing.”
“That doesn’t apply to professionals,” Boone countered.
“Sonny is a gangster on General Hospital and he fights his enemies without a shirt all the time.”
Boone blinked several times and then shook his head. “Did you just use soap opera logic on me?”
Lindsey was suddenly defensive. “What? It’s a thing.”
“It’s not a thing.”
“It totally is.”
“I can’t even.” Boone pinched the bridge of his nose and stared at the sky as Lindsey smirked. It was obvious she enjoyed messing with her father, and because Hannah enjoyed watching it, she refused to take sides. Instead, she focused her attention on Angel.
“Hi.” The girl’s smile was shy as she rubbed her hands together and surveyed faces. “Um ... this is a really weird place.”
Hannah didn’t take the comment personally. From Angel’s perspective — especially if she’d never heard of Casper Creek — it was most definitely a weird place. “My grandmother left it to me in her will a few months ago. I had never heard of it before. When I arrived, I thought it was a really weird place, too.”
“It’s an awesome place,” Lindsey countered as she moved closer to Angel. She had an overbearing personality — something she seemed to be aware of — but she was cognizant enough to make sure she didn’t bury Angel under a mountain of attitude. “I’ll show you around.”
“Okay.” Angel nodded in agreement. “Although ... are we allowed to walk around?” She directed the question to Boone, not Hannah, which told the amused witch that the teenager was already looking at Boone as a parental figure.
“You’re allowed to walk around within reason,” Boone answered. “Hannah is going to tell you which places are off limits, and you’re going to listen.”
“Of course,” Angel said automatically.
“I wasn’t actually worried about you,” Boone said on a grin. “I said that for Lindsey’s benefit because she very rarely respects the privacy of others.”
“I respect privacy,” Lindsey shot back. “Besides, it’s not as if I want to go through Hannah’s stuff.” She was silent a beat and then appeared to reconsider. “Although, Cooper spends the night with you a lot, right?” She didn’t wait for Hannah to respond and instead barreled forward. “Can we see your apartment? I never saw it when Miss Abigail was living up there. I always wanted to, though.”
“Oh, well ....” Hannah felt put on the spot. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lindsey as much as she preferred keeping her inner sanctum private.
Boone swept in before Hannah had to make up her mind. “You don’t need to see her apartment. Don’t be a pest.”
“How is that being a pest?” Lindsey challenged.
“You just want to go up there and sniff Cooper’s shirt or something, and it’s not going to happen.” Boone was firm. “That’s Hannah’s apartment. You guys have the run of the place, so you don’t need to go up there. As for Cooper’s clothing, I’ll be searching you when it’s time to leave and if you come home with an extra flannel shirt, I’m going to arrest you. You’ve been warned.”
Hannah choked on a laugh and half managed to cover it with a cough. The sound of footsteps on the gravel drew her attention and she was relieved to see Cooper heading in their direction. Thankfully for him — actually, probably for everybody present — he was wearing a shirt. The fact that he was also wearing a smile had Lindsey melting.
“Hello, ladies.” He grinned at the teenagers in turn, charm on full display. “I hear you’re going to be hanging out with us all day.”
“We definitely are,” Lindsey agreed, gracing Angel with a rather obvious elbow to the stomach. “We want to learn everything there is to know about Casper Creek ... starting with the security.”
Cooper was taken aback. “You want to learn about the security at Casper Creek? That doesn’t sound very fun.”
“On the contrary.” Lindsey’s smile was serene. “I’ve always had an interest in security matters.”
Boone made an exasperated face. “Since when?”
“Since my daddy is a police officer. You told me you didn’t want me following in your footsteps because it wasn’t safe. That’s when I started thinking about security.”
She was good, Hannah mused. Lindsey knew exactly how to play her father. Of course, since he lived with her, Boone knew better than to believe anything she said.
“Stop shining me on,” he ordered in a stern voice. “I want you two to behave yourselves. With that in mind, if anybody here orders you to do something, you’re to do it. Hannah, Cooper, and Tyler are all the boss of you.”
“I’ll be good,” Angel promised in a low voice.
Boone nodded in agreement. “I know you will. I wasn’t actually worried about you.” His eyes danced to Lindsey. “As for you ... if I hear about you misbehaving, not only will you be grounded, but you’re going to have to do your volunteering at the jail next week.”
Lindsey’s mouth dropped open. “You know I hate the jail. It’s full of criminals.”
“That’s why it makes an effective threat.” Boone was stern. “Be good. I want you to have fun but ... Hannah, Cooper, and Tyler are in charge. What they say goes. If I get a negative report back, you’re going to be in big trouble.”
Lindsey was suddenly sullen. “I have no intention of being bad. I don’t see why you
