Hannah hesitated and then shrugged. “I don’t like that you have a point.”
He chuckled. “We’re going to find her. I promise. We won’t stop until we do. Until we find a direction to look, though, I need you to calm down. You’re acting like a crazy person.”
“Because I’m the one who will be responsible for killing her if something happens.”
“No, you will not.” Cooper was determined as he shifted her, making sure she had no choice but to look directly into his eyes. “I know you’re upset. After everything that’s happened ... Becky especially ... you’ve been dealing with so much. You’re not to blame for this, though.”
The mere mention of the woman’s name had Hannah’s eyes filling with tears. “Casper Creek won’t survive another calamity. Abigail built this place up over decades, and if it falls, I’ll have taken it out in a matter of months.”
“Baby, no.” He pulled her tight, hugging her to his chest. “I’m so sorry this is happening. It’s not your fault, though. You can’t blame yourself.”
“There’s no one else to blame.”
He stroked the back of her hair, rocking her, until a noise at the door caused him to look up. Jackie stood in the opening, obviously confused, and looked as if she wished she could be anywhere else. “I can head out,” she offered lamely.
Cooper shook his head. “We need you.” He pulled back and stared into Hannah’s eyes. “We’re going to work together and figure this out. It would be best for all concerned if you don’t melt down.”
“I wasn’t melting down,” Hannah protested, swiping at her eyes as she shifted from Cooper’s lap. “I was researching.”
“You were throwing books.” Cooper shot her a rueful smile and then focused on Jackie. “We need information.” He filled her in on their meeting with Astra, leaving nothing out. When he was finished, Jackie looked legitimately confused.
“She said to look at the history of Casper Creek?”
Cooper nodded. “Do you know what she was talking about?”
“History-wise, no. There is a legend, though, and it might match up to Hannah’s dream.” Jackie looked thoughtful as she sank down on the couch, her eyes focused on nothing as her mind worked through a problem. “I wonder if that’s what she’s talking about.”
“What’s the legend?” Hannah prodded. “She said history, but if you think it’s the legend, that’s good enough for me.”
“It’s a really old legend,” Jackie warned. “It’s one of those Paul Bunyan kind of legends.”
“So, you’re saying it can’t be true,” Hannah pressed.
“I always assumed it was one of those stories Abigail liked to whip out at a party simply because she enjoyed it. Where is Abigail, by the way? She would be better at telling the story.”
“I called for her when I came up here,” Hannah replied. “Apparently she’s still messing with her ghostly abilities because she didn’t show up.”
“She will when she can,” Cooper reassured her. “Until then, try to nutshell it for us, Jackie. If we know what we’re looking for, we might better be able to track it down in these books.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jackie agreed, her gaze momentarily landing on the book stack. “Um, as for the legend, it went something like this ... and I’m definitely nutshelling it. There was a warlock who married a witch and had two daughters. His wife died in an earthquake that was so bad a fissure opened in the ground and swallowed her whole. Anguished, he tried to go in after her, but his twin daughters were eight and called out to stop him. He had no choice but to stay behind, because as much as he loved his wife, he loved his daughters more.
“They lived on the land, in a farm right on this very spot,” she continued. “They had a house ... and a barn ... and multiple crops. As the girls grew, their personalities began to shine, and the father realized he had a problem.
“One of his daughters — and, I’m sorry, I can’t remember the names — was a witch of pure white light. She wanted to make the world a better place and was always ready with a helping hand. The other daughter was a dark witch. She was lazy and wanted to use magic to further her agenda without breaking a sweat.”
“This sounds like a fable,” Cooper noted.
“Basically, it is,” Jackie agreed. “The lazy daughter lounged around all day and used magic to get what she wanted. The giving daughter went out into the town and helped those in need. This happened for years, and a schism opened between them, until ultimately the dark daughter’s jealousy of her sister turned into murder.
“The story goes that the dark daughter was jealous because the light daughter was clearly the father’s favorite,” she continued. “She became bitter and caused horrible things to happen to the townspeople. The other daughter figured out what she was doing and confronted her. It culminated in a terrible fight, with the dark daughter threatening to wipe the entire town off the map and the light daughter sacrificing herself to protect the people ... and in the process she ensured both their deaths.”
Hannah tugged on her bottom lip as she absorbed the story. “That sounds like what I heard in my dream. I mean ... they didn’t get into specifics or anything. I’m pretty sure that’s who I heard talking, though.”
“So, what?” Cooper asked. “Does this mean the legend was real?”
Jackie held out her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know. There are a lot of twists and turns in the story I can’t quite remember. What I told you was the basic framework. Abigail will know better.”
“She’s not here right now, though.” Hannah shifted her eyes to the bookshelves. “The story has to be in here somewhere. You’ve given us a good start, though. Now we know what we’re looking for.”
“I’m glad to help.” Jackie stood and headed toward the door,
