“Totally,” Lindsey agreed. “I’m serious, though. Is she evil?”
“She’s not a good person,” Cooper replied. “I don’t believe she’s trustworthy in the slightest. If you have a choice in the matter, it’s best that you don’t trust her.”
“Okay.” Lindsey didn’t seem bothered by the admonishment. “If Astra is evil and you were in love with her, how do you know Hannah isn’t evil? Maybe you have a type or something and don’t even realize it.”
Hannah wasn’t expecting the question so it hit her hard. “Oh, wow.”
Boone’s frown was pronounced. “Why would you say that?”
“It was just a question.”
“Hannah has been nothing but warm and welcoming to you,” Boone insisted. “She’s gone out of her way to talk to you, stand up for you when I complain, and even invited you out here to watch over you.”
“And look what happened. A storm hit and Angel went missing. Maybe that was supposed to be me.”
Boone was horrified. “What is wrong with you?”
“I’m not saying she’s definitely evil,” Lindsey volunteered hurriedly. “I’m just saying that maybe she’s evil and nobody has noticed.”
Hannah had no idea why she was so embarrassed, but her cheeks were on fire. “I think I’m going to head upstairs and eat.” She moved to collect her takeout container and flee.
“You are not.” Boone’s tone was firm. “This is your home and my daughter is the one who is treating you abysmally.”
“I’m not trying to treat her badly,” Lindsey insisted. “I just think it’s possible that Cooper is attracted to a certain type of witch. He might not even realize it.”
Boone opened his mouth, what Cooper assumed was a nasty diatribe on his lips, but the security chief knew it was his job to dispel this part of the conversation. After all, it was Lindsey’s crush on him fueling her theory.
“Hannah is a good person,” he insisted.
“Of course you think that.”
“No.” Cooper barked out the lone word. “Hannah is a very good person. She’s giving, sweet, and altogether loving. She’s gone out of her way for you and I don’t think you’re being very nice.”
Boone nodded in agreement. “Actually, you’re being very cruel, Lindsey. I’m positive it’s because of your little crush on Cooper. Here’s the thing, though, he doesn’t reciprocate your feelings. He looks at you like an annoying little sister.”
“Does that mean I think of you as my dad?” Cooper asked dryly.
Never moving his eyes from Lindsey’s face, Boone jabbed a finger in Cooper’s direction. “Don’t make me take you over my knee, boy.”
Cooper snickered. “I’ll try to keep my attitude in check.”
“That would be great,” Boone enthused. “I can only take one misbehaving teenager right now.” His gaze was serious as he stared at Lindsey, who was starting to squirm. “Cooper might think your crush on him is cute, but you’ve officially stepped over a line. It’s not okay to be cruel to people.”
“I wasn’t trying to be cruel,” Lindsey muttered. “I just ... wondered.”
“No, you’re jealous,” Boone corrected. “Just for the record, even if you were older, Cooper wouldn’t have feelings for you.”
“Why not?”
“Because he and I are too good of friends for him to risk dating my daughter.”
“Oh, so it’s your fault,” Lindsey groused.
“Right now, you’re the only one at fault,” Boone countered. “I think you owe Hannah an apology.”
Lindsey was morose when she locked gazes with Hannah. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” she started.
“It’s fine,” Hannah said hurriedly. “There’s nothing to get worked up about.”
“She owes you an apology,” Boone insisted. “Make her give it to you. I’m trying to instill a sense of right and wrong in her. She needs to know what she did was wrong.”
Hannah hesitated and then nodded. “Fine. You can finish your apology, Lindsey.”
“I really am sorry,” she insisted. “I don’t have anything against you. I just ... Cooper was supposed to be mine. I wasn’t all that worried when Astra was around because I knew they weren’t meant to be together. I’m afraid you guys are meant to be together, though. That means there’s no chance he’ll wait around long enough for me to be old enough.”
“There’s no chance of that anyway,” Boone warned.
“You don’t know,” Lindsey shot back. “You might be stricken mute or something and blink one too many times. He might think that’s code for it being okay to date me. Weirder things have happened.”
Despite the serious nature of the conversation, the adults around the table broke into chuckles.
“She’s a spitfire,” Cooper noted.
“She is,” Boone agreed. “She drives me nuts, though.”
“She can’t help herself. I’m so hot I drive her insane.”
“Yes, that must be it,” Boone deadpanned.
The mood at the table had lightened, but the atmosphere outside was growing increasingly dark. That’s the thing Hannah noticed when she flicked a glance toward the front window. “It looks as if it’s going to storm.”
Cooper followed her gaze, frowning when he got a gander at the window. “Is it a regular storm or a dust storm?”
At mention of dust storm, Lindsey stiffened in her chair and turned a pair of frightened eyes toward her father. “Is it a monster?”
“Of course not,” Boone replied automatically.
As if on cue, a huge bolt of lightning stretched across the sky, followed immediately by a tremendous rumble of thunder. The noise was so deafening that Jinx, who had been passed out under the table, jerked awake. The dog was so confused, his senses flying into overdrive, that he did the exact wrong thing and bolted for the door.
Hannah realized what was happening too late to stop it. “Jinx!” She knocked over her chair as she stood, but it was already too late. The dog was gone. “Jinx!”
The only response was another roll of thunder, and this time she could feel the ground vibrating under her feet because it was so close.
Another storm was upon them.
14
Fourteen
Hannah raced through the door, paying little heed to the storm. The second she emerged from the protective overhang she was hit with a wall of rain that
