Sympathy washed over him. “I know. Your dad is fine, though. I promise. Just ... put your head down. It will be over before you know it.”
6
Six
The storm was fast, just as Cooper predicted, but he was a nervous wreck for the duration. Lindsey sat on the floor behind the bar, as he instructed, and buried her face between her knees. She didn’t make a sound, but Cooper recognized she was barely holding it together. He reassured her on a constant loop, even as he worried incessantly about Hannah and Tyler.
The second the wind stopped howling he was on his feet. “Wait here.”
Lindsey finally lifted her face, as if registering his voice for the first time. “You can’t leave me.”
“I’m not leaving you. I’ll still be in town. I have to check on the others, though.”
“What if the storm comes back?”
“It won’t.”
Lindsey jutted out her chin, defiant. “You don’t know it won’t come back. You’re not a weatherman.”
Cooper had to force himself to refrain from snapping at her. “I’m not. I have a job to do, though. You’re safe in here.”
Lindsey shook her head and scrambled to her feet. “I don’t want to be left alone.”
Because, in his heart, Cooper understood that, he merely nodded. “Fine. You can come with me. Don’t get in the way, though.”
Lindsey grumbled something under her breath that he couldn’t quite make out but didn’t otherwise complain. He had to tug hard on the pocket storm doors to get them to open, but when he did, he was gratified to find the town looked largely okay. Other than a few errant shingles that had landed on Main Street, which were easy enough to fix, there didn’t appear to be any broken windows or sagging fence posts.
He started for the post office first, his heart making a terrific leap when he heard the door open. Jinx was the first out, yipping excitedly as he raced toward Cooper. The security guru smirked when he saw the dog and dropped to his knees to pet him. “You were trying to warn her, huh? That’s why you were acting so funny.”
The dog made a snorting sound and bucked his head, as if nodding in agreement. Cooper gave him another stroke and then stood, blowing out a sigh when he saw Hannah and Tyler emerge. “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah.” Tyler’s grin was lopsided. “Remind me not to take shelter in the post office again, though. The building is tiny and Jinx apparently has no self-control when frightened.”
Cooper furrowed his brow as he brushed Hannah’s hair away from her face. She looked a little pale but otherwise none the worse for wear. “I don’t know what that means.”
“Jinx took a big dump in the middle of the post office,” Hannah replied. “I’m going to have to clean it up before we do anything else.”
Cooper snickered. “Oh, well ... things could be worse.”
“Oh, yeah? You spend twenty-five minutes in a room the size of a closet with a huge pile of dog crap,” Tyler suggested. “We’ll talk once you’ve done that.”
“I’ll take a pass.”
“We need to check on Angel,” Hannah said, her eyes going to the barn. None of the animals were outside, which didn’t necessarily mean anything but was eerie enough to have her heart rate picking up a notch. “I can’t believe she was alone for that storm.”
“Let’s check the barn,” Cooper agreed, linking his fingers with Hannah’s and starting down the street.
“How are you?” Tyler asked Lindsey as the girl fell into step with him.
“I’m fine.” Her smile was fast and quirky. “Cooper was a little worked up, but I was completely together. He did take his shirt off for me, though, so that made the time go by faster.”
Cooper was horrified. “I didn’t take my shirt off for you.” Worriedly, he focused on Hannah. “She’s making that up.”
Hannah’s chuckle was dry. “Relax. I wasn’t worried about it. I know how she is.”
“Oh, yeah? How am I?” Lindsey’s tone promised trouble if she didn’t get the responses she was looking for.
“Theatrical,” Hannah replied, sliding through the fence that led to the barn. “You like to put on a good show. Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She cocked her head, listening for the telltale sound of the animals. It was eerily quiet in the barn, though. “Angel?”
There was no answer, so she tried again. Cooper and Tyler exchanged worried looks and increased their speed. “Stay here,” Cooper ordered.
“Like hell,” Hannah muttered, pushing past him so she would be the first in the barn.
Tyler checked the stalls as they passed, counting animals in his head. “The horses are all here. Where are the goats?”
“There are three over here,” Cooper replied.
“There are two over here,” Lindsey called out as she checked another stall.
“That leaves two,” Tyler muttered.
“What about the chickens?” Lindsey queried. “I don’t see any of them.”
“They’re probably in the coop out back,” Tyler said. “They know when to take cover. I just need to find those goats.”
“No, we need to find Angel,” Hannah argued, her eyes wide as she turned to survey every corner of the oversized building. “She’s not here.”
“Calm down,” Tyler chided, heading for the ladder that led to his loft apartment. “She probably headed up here because it’s more comfortable.” He climbed the ladder, shooting Hannah a reassuring smile, and then disappeared from view.
“I don’t like this,” Hannah muttered as she moved back to the stalls, determined to check each one herself. “I don’t think she would go up there. Not with the wind howling like it was.”
“Kids don’t always use the best judgment,” Cooper reminded her. “She might not have thought in a rational manner when the storm was hitting hard.”
Hannah wanted to believe him, but she knew better. Something was very wrong here. By the time Tyler appeared again at the top of the ladder, she already knew what he was going to say.
“She’s not up here.” He was grim.
“Maybe she decided to
