“So what’s good here?” he asked, never bothering to open his menu. He’d already resigned himself to a cheeseburger. He was just making conversation.
“Depends on what you like,” she said, not looking up at him.
“You,” he whispered, and Tessa’s eyes shot up to meet his.
“What?”
“I like you, Tessa.”
The pretty blush that infused her cheeks made Cooper’s heart thump wildly, but oddly enough, the feeling wasn’t sexual. The woman stole his breath in so many ways, and when she lit up like that, he couldn’t help but want to wrap her in his arms and never let her go.
“Well, I’d suggest you go with the cheeseburger and fries, but whatever,” she said with a strangled laugh.
He continued to watch her until the waitress returned. This time the woman actually glanced at them, and Cooper noticed the instant she recognized him. Hoping she wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, Cooper took control of the situation, “What are you gonna have?” he asked Tessa directly.
“I’ll have the cheeseburger and fries. Oh, and a chocolate milk shake.”
“I’ll have the same, only make my milk shake a sweet tea.”
“You’re Cooper Krenshaw,” the woman said, her mouth hanging open. She never even bothered to write down their order, just continued to stare at him.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a grin. “Do you need our order again?”
“No. No, I got it. Two cheeseburgers and fries. One chocolate milk shake and a sweet tea.”
Glancing down at her name tag and then back up at her face, Cooper grinned as he said, “Thanks, Rose.”
“Sure,” she mumbled, turning away briefly and then back to stare at him. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Hey, Rose, is Ron in the back?” Tessa asked, effectively redirecting the woman’s attention.
“Yeah, he’s here,” Rose said with a huge grin. “Hey, Tessa. Sorry, I swear I wasn’t trying to be rude.” The waitress’s apology sounded genuine.
“No problem,” Tessa replied sweetly.
When Rose trotted off, Cooper looked at Tessa. “Who is Ron?”
Tessa’s brilliant smile had him answering with one of his own as they stared at each other.
“Ron owns this place. I know. I know. You thought Charlie did.” Tessa laughed. “Charlie is actually Ron’s son and no, he doesn’t work here.”
When Tessa glanced in Rose’s direction, Cooper frowned. “Sorry about that, by the way.”
“I get it. You’re famous. I figure half the people in here are fans of yours, even if they don’t necessarily know what you look like. How do you handle that everywhere you go?”
“It doesn’t happen as often as you’d think,” he explained. “In Nashville, it’s a regular occurrence to see someone out and about. For the most part, I just try to keep a low profile.”
“Has it happened much since you’ve been here? In Devil’s Bend, I mean?”
“Not really. I’ve been stopped a few times when I’m in town, but I think for the most part, people are giving me my space. It’s nice to be where I’m treated like a regular guy.” Cocking his head in the direction Rose disappeared, Cooper grinned. “And even Rose’s reaction was tame compared to some I’ve encountered.”
“Does it bother you when people approach you like that?”
Cooper had to ponder the question for a minute. In truth, it didn’t bother him at all. He felt like a normal person, so when someone recognized him and wanted to say hello, he mostly just went with it. Only when it encroached on his time did he get bothered by it, which honestly wasn’t often. “It’s still flattering,” he admitted.
“If that’s the case, what made you run from Nashville?”
The wording of Tessa’s question hit him like a brick to the back of the head, surprising and painful at the same time, and her interest in his answer made him curious.
“I’m not running from Nashville,” he said through gritted teeth. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “Sorry. I guess I’m just having a hard time seeing it the way everyone else is, that’s all.”
“How do you think they see it?”
“I get it,” he told her. “I left suddenly, and I’m hiding out. Or at least they think I’m hiding out. But I’m not, Tessa. Right now, right here, is where I want to be. As much as I like the limelight, as grateful as I am for the opportunity to do what I love, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“So you’re saying it’s hard work to do what you love?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Did you ever think it wouldn’t be?”
Cooper couldn’t help but wonder what was spurring all of Tessa’s questions. He suddenly felt like he was under a microscope and she was digging for something specific. He never was one to circumvent the difficult questions, so he opted to go for the truth. “I always expected to work for what I wanted. I didn’t expect to get so far away from what I started out doing. That’s what I miss.”
“Playing in the small town bars?”
Cooper chuckled. “That’s part of it, but not all. I miss the fans, I miss getting in touch with what they want. I’ve spent the last few years letting other people make all of my decisions for me. I want to regain some of the control, I guess.”
Rose interrupted their conversation when she brought their drinks, but she didn’t linger and for that Cooper was grateful. “So, what else you got for me?”
“What brought you to Devil’s Bend?”
He had expected that question before now, but he actually hadn’t given it much thought. “I’m not sure what brought me to Texas,” he explained. “But as soon as I found myself here, I called Adam. He’s the reason I came to Devil’s Bend.”
“But you came to Texas on your own?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Are you originally from here?”
“I’m from a small town in Tennessee,” he admitted. “I grew up there, but came to Texas my freshman year of college at UT.”
“That’s how you met my brother.” It wasn’t a question, but Cooper nodded his affirmation anyway.
As much as he liked the idea of Tessa getting to know him better, Cooper couldn’t help but wonder whether she was actually trying to deflect from herself tonight. Not that he blamed her after their impromptu conversation over breakfast the other morning hadn’t gone so well.
Little did she know, but he was almost at his quota of personal information for the night. At least until she offered up some of the same answers for herself.
After all, it was only fair.
Chapter Sixteen
Tessa was on a roll and as long as Cooper was willing to answer her questions, she didn’t feel the need to stop asking them. That was until he pinned her with that look. The one that told her she wasn’t going to like the spin he was about to put on this entire conversation.
Yes, she knew early on that if she bombarded him with questions that he’d eventually get to take a turn. That was why she hadn’t let a single second pass before she asked another. Hell, part of the time she barely had time to process his answer before she was looking for something else to ask.
Apparently she wasn’t fast enough.
“I think it’s my turn.”
Darn it.
“Your turn for what?” Her rule of thumb: always play dumb, it helped to confuse them.
Thankfully, Rose chose that moment to arrive with their food, her gaze still glued to Cooper as she set their food on the table and went through the motions of making sure they didn’t need anything else. Tessa was pretty sure she could’ve asked for anything at all, and Rose would’ve agreed to go get it for her. Instead, she chose to keep quiet, quickly tossing French fries in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer any questions if Cooper decided to throw a few her way.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.
“So, I know you grew up in Devil’s Bend,” Cooper commented, grabbing t
he ketchup and pouring some onto his plate.
“Yep,” she mumbled, her mouth full.
“You’ve never lived anywhere else?”
“Nope.” See, this wasn’t so bad. She could do this if he kept asking closed ended questions.
“What about college?”
“What about it?” Tessa could see the irritation in his eyes, but she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want this conversation to turn on her. She remembered all too well what happened the last time they tried this. As much as she liked being in Cooper’s company, she certainly didn’t want to give him a glimpse into her life. If she did, she risked getting too close to him.
“Where’d you go?”
Paying attention to the food on her plate, Tessa swallowed hard. “I didn’t.”
“Why?”
There were many reasons, but none she cared to share with him. Not that he was going to be pleased with her deflection, but Tessa honestly didn’t want to go into this.
“Tessa,” Cooper said quietly, pulling her attention to him.
His sparkling brown eyes were so full of interest, Tessa felt like a jerk for trying to avoid him. No, it probably wasn’t fair that she’d asked him a barrage of personal questions, but didn’t want to sit on the other side of the interrogation table so to speak.
“Do we have to talk about me?” she asked, just as quietly.
“I want to know you.”
God, why did he have to sound so sincere?
Swallowing hard, Tessa pushed her food around on her plate. She recalled Izzy’s statement from earlier: Give this guy a chance.
“Richie and I fell in love in high school,” she began, which wasn’t necessarily true, but close. Tessa wasn’t going to tell Cooper that she’d been a wild child, one that had ventured long past smart ideas and into extremely reckless territory and that was actually how she met Richie.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so he went to college while I stayed back here and worked. At the time, Jack’s dad had just had his second heart attack, and Adam had already started his first year at UT. And because he wasn’t always here, I felt obligated to stay here with Jack. Not to mention, I didn’t have the money to go. Neither did my mother.”
“What about your father? Where was he?”
“Who knows. The guy was unreliable. He left when I was two and he wasn’t much on being a father after that. I think I probably saw him ten times my entire life even though he lived just a couple of miles away.”
Tessa hated talking about her father. No matter how she tried to spin the story, she never could rationalize his behavior. He didn’t have anything to do with either of his kids, nor did he help out her mother much financially. It wasn’t until he left The Rusty Nail to her and Adam when he died that Tessa even felt as though he’d acknowledged he had kids.
At first, she was defiant, not wanting anything from the man. Except Richie managed to calm her down – something he’d gotten used to doing – and after they talked about it, Tessa decided she would take over the bar. And she was still grateful to him for that because, at this point, it was the only thing she had.
“What about your parents? Where do they live?” Tessa asked, hoping Cooper would take the hint before he started asking about her mother again. She wasn’t sure she had it in her to talk about Sheila tonight.
“They live in Tennessee. Probably two of my biggest fans,” Cooper said quietly.
Obviously her sad story was weighing on him. She truly didn’t want this date to go that direction like the first one had, so she smiled and decided to dig further. “I’m sure they’re proud of you.”
Cooper’s smile actually reached his eyes, and the golden brown orbs lit up with pride. “They are. My dad’s not a big fan of Marcus though.”
“Well, I could never imagine why,” Tessa remarked, grinning. “I have to say, I’m not his biggest fan either. When do you think he’ll show up to drag you back kicking and screaming?”
Cooper’s face hardened, his mouth a thin line, an immediate response not forthcoming. Tessa knew she’d opened her mouth and inserted her whole boot. Grabbing her milk shake, she made herself appear interested in the other patrons in the restaurant, hoping he wouldn’t be too angry at her.
“I’m not going back, Tessa,” Cooper said sternly, drawing her eyes back to his face. She couldn’t come up with anything to say, so she just watched him. “I want to be here, even if you don’t believe that yet.”
Did she believe it? Had he given her any reason not to? Tessa wasn’t sure. The only thing she knew for sure was that she enjoyed his company, liked talking to him, and did want to get to know him better. Even if that street went both ways.
Nodding her head in understanding, Tessa pushed her half eaten burger away. “Richie and I had only been married for a little over a year when he died. I was so hurt and so angry at him for leaving me. That’s all I could think about for the longest time. My grief consumed me. I had never been so thankful for The Rusty Nail and my brothers until then.”
Cooper’s eyes stayed locked with hers, but he didn’t say a word, so Tessa continued. “I spent the next two years focusing only on managing the bar. Adam finished two years of college before he came back home. He was supposed to go to the police academy with Richie, but he stayed home to help with Jack’s deteriorating father.”
Tessa expected to see pity in Cooper’s eyes. Her story wasn’t an exciting one and yes, she’d had her fair share of grief. More than her fair share actually. But she didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for her. But that’s not what she saw when she looked at Cooper.
“You’re a strong woman, Tessa.”
Most of the time she didn’t feel strong.
“So, what do you do in your spare time?” Cooper questioned.
Tessa let the relief flood her. She could talk about this. “If it’s outside, you’ll probably find me there. When I’m not at the bar, that is,” she answered simply. “The dogs and I spend a lot of time out and about. I volunteer as a youth counselor at our church.” The last part was something she didn’t necessarily care to elaborate on, more specifically what had gotten her into that particular area.
“And for the last couple of years, I spent a lot of time with Mr. Deluth, just hanging out with him, helping with his garden when he wanted help. Or simply just talking to him.”
“And that’s how you and he came to an agreement on the land?”
“Sort of. I’ve never purposely kept my dream a secret.” Tessa left off the ‘except from Adam’ part. “I want to help people, and I love working with kids. I was just a kid when I first fell in love with horses, and I never actually grew out of it. I’ve volunteered at the high school’s Ag barn a few times to help them out. Both the horses and the kids have brought me such joy, I guess I figured I could have the best of both worlds.”
Cooper pushed his plate away and stared back at her, his forearms resting on the table in front of him. Tessa could feel his full attention focused on her, and she fought the urge to squirm in her seat. She continued, “Jerry and I were talking one day and I told him what I wanted to do. We’d been on the back porch, staring out at the rickety old barn that was falling in on itself. That’s when he mentioned his property would be perfect for what I wanted. I explained to him that I didn’t have that kind of money, so we worked out a deal. I’m not sure I ever would’ve had enough for the down payment, but I was trying hard.”
“And then I waltzed in and stole it out from under you.” Cooper’s tone had turned bitter, surprising Tessa. She sat up straight as her eyes roamed over the hard lines of his face, too startled to continue.
“Goddammit, Tessa,” he growled, his voice low. “How the hell did you let me do that?”
All of a sudden, the sweet, laidback country boy was nowhere in sight and Cooper Krenshaw was more than a little pissed off. Tessa sat motionless, watching as he grabbed his hat – which he took off when they came inside – from the seat beside him and the
n stood. She couldn’t bring herself to move as she watched him walk over to Rose, handing her some money before he walked right out of the restaurant.
Shit. He was her ride.
Figuring she had no choice but to follow, Tessa stood quickly, waved at Rose as she passed and then followed him out into the parking lot. To her surprise, Cooper was standing by his truck, his hands braced on the bedside.
“Hey.” She kept her voice low, unaffected. She was confused, and probably annoyed that he’d walked out on her, but she was more interested in what happened. Why was he acting like that?
“Tessa, I had no idea,” he whispered as he turned to face her. She could see the anguish on his face, and her heart broke a little.
Tessa knew that was only a partial truth. He had known. Maybe not how much she wanted the land, but he had definitely known. But for some reason, she didn’t hold it against him. “Don’t,” she told him. “Please don’t feel sorry for me, Cooper.”
“Sorry?” He laughed without mirth. “Darlin’, I don’t feel sorry for you. I feel like a selfish bastard. I walked in here and stole that land right out from under you.”
She couldn’t deny the truth, but for some reason, she wanted to comfort him. Although she’d been torn between hating him for stealing her dream, there were other emotions that had been more prevalent recently.
Tessa moved in closer, planting her palms flat on his chest. His heart was pounding wildly, his golden eyes shadowed by the black Stetson on his head. It was her turn to grip his chin and make him look at her. When their eyes met, Tessa swallowed hard. “As much as I hate it, everything happens for a reason, Cooper. Considering we’re both going after the same dream, I can’t say I’m sad that you were able to buy the land. At least something good is going to come of it. Much sooner than I ever could’ve made it happen.”
“Tessa…” Cooper’s voice sounded strangled, his eyes weary. “I can’t help but think that if I’d never shown up here…”
Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) Page 15