“That there’s a point,” Boone agreed. “Them being here might have nothing to do with what happened to Angel, though. I think we need to break things down again and look at it from every angle. We might be missing something.”
“Then that’s the plan for tonight,” Cooper said. “We’ll break everything down, look at it with fresh eyes, and come up with a new plan tomorrow. That’s honestly all we can do.”
16
Sixteen
Hannah and Cooper took a long bath together to shake off the chill from the storm. Since she didn’t want to sleep with her hair wet, Cooper had a moment to sit with Jinx in the bedroom as he waited for her to dry her hair in the bathroom.
“You scared your mother,” he supplied.
Jinx, curled up in his fluffy bed, only bothered to open one eye.
“She loves you more than anything. You know that, right?” Cooper thought he would feel weird having an entire conversation with a dog. It turned out he was wrong.
Jinx didn’t bother blinking.
“I know you think I’m trying to steal her from you, but I’m not. We both love you.”
Jinx offered up a tiny tail thump, which had Cooper smiling.
“You can’t run off like that again, though. She could’ve been hurt. Heck, you could’ve been hurt. What would’ve happened if Astra decided to take you?” And that, he realized, was one of his greatest fears. Despite her bravado, Hannah would do whatever was necessary to protect the dog. And rightly so, he told himself. The dog was flesh and bone. He had a soul and he loved Hannah with his whole heart. He would die for her, and her for him. “You just need to stick close to her, even when you’re afraid.”
He reached over and stroked the dog’s head, blowing out a sigh. “You’re a good boy. She needs you to be safe, though, and I need her to be safe. We have to come to a compromise.”
Jinx rolled over on his back and showed Cooper his belly, which had the security chief laughing.
“Oh, is this a negotiation?” He rubbed the dog’s stomach, enjoying the way that Jinx’s butt twitched as he enjoyed the vigorous stroking. “Okay, I promise to rub your belly every single day, for as long as you want, if you don’t do that again.”
Jinx’s tongue lolled out of his mouth.
“I also promise to love her forever, and protect both of you, if you’ll just give me a chance. I know she’s your mom and you loved her first, but I’m not going anywhere ... even if you crap on every pair of shoes I own.”
Jinx continued wiggling his butt to encourage Cooper’s enthusiastic rubbing.
“I want the three of us to be a family. Not only will I promise to make sure you guys get special time alone together each day, but I’ll spend time with you, too.”
Jinx stopped wiggling and stared at him.
“Or not if you would prefer otherwise.”
Jinx continued to stare a moment and then rolled so he was on his feet. Cooper wasn’t certain what was going to happen until the dog leaned closer to him and licked his cheek. It wasn’t an exuberant kiss like the ones he reserved for Hannah, but it was full of warmth ... and a lot of saliva.
“Does that mean we’ve come to an understanding?”
Jinx wagged his tail, allowing Cooper to pull him close for a hug.
From the doorway, Hannah found she was choked up at the scene. She cleared her throat to get their attention and smiled. “Are you guys bonding without me?”
“Never,” Cooper replied, fondling Jinx’s ears. “We were just coming to a meeting of the minds.”
“Oh, really?”
He nodded as he got to his feet. “We’re both going to love you and even try liking one another.”
“I thought you already liked him.”
Cooper leaned forward and offered up a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m not the problem. Just FYI.”
She laughed in delight and gave him a one-armed hug, her free hand landing on Jinx’s head so she could pet him at the same time. “I’m glad you guys have decided to bury the hatchet.”
“Me, too.” Cooper planted a small kiss at the corner of her mouth. “In fact, I’m feeling so magnanimous, I’m thinking the three of us should sleep in the bed tonight.”
Hannah couldn’t hide her surprise. “I thought you hated it when he slept with us.”
“I don’t hate it. He just takes up half the bed, which leaves you and me to have to sleep on top of each other on the other side. Believe it or not, I’m fine with that tonight. Given what happened, I think we’ll all sleep better together.”
“Jinx gets hot sometimes,” she warned. “He might not last the entire night. He likes his own bed.”
“Well, he can start on the bed with us.”
“I think that sounds like a great idea.” She gave him another squeeze before releasing him and patting the bed. “What do you say, boy? Do you want to cuddle with us tonight?”
Jinx looked excited at the prospect and immediately jumped onto the bed. He was already settled, his head on the pillow, when Hannah and Cooper crawled in on the other side.
“Look at this,” Hannah noted as she got comfortable between the dog and Cooper. “I’m protected on both sides.”
“Fancy that.”
She smirked. “I know what you’re doing. You just want to make sure I’m completely covered in case somebody — like maybe an evil witch — breaks in. You don’t have anything to worry about, though. I’ve got everything under control. I’m not afraid of them.”
“Good. I don’t ever want you to be afraid.” Cooper hit the switch
