Marcus’ fingers slowly uncurled from around her arm, and Tessa pulled far enough back that he couldn’t reach her. “And I’m not your messenger, so you’ll have to go talk to him yourself.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Marcus said, acting as though he just recognized her. “You’re the gal he’s hooked up with this time.”
Tessa tried not to let the “this time” in his statement bother her. She failed. It’d been an emotional day, she was curious. “What do you mean ‘this time’?”
Marcus glanced away, his eyes searching the room before landing on hers once more. Tessa kept her mouth shut, waiting for him to answer when she wanted to grab him by the shirt collar and insist he tell her everything.
“It’s just time Cooper go back home. He’s done this before, but this is the longest I’ve seen him stay away.”
A sour taste filled Tessa’s mouth and her stomach felt as though it might revolt. She gripped the edge of the bar, trying to convince herself that this guy was a liar, and she shouldn’t listen to anything he had to say.
Marcus sipped his drink, and after setting it back on the bar, he looked at her with a serious expression on his face. “Oh, sorry, sweetheart, I guess he hasn’t informed you that this is a phase he goes through every now and again. Takes him some time to cool off, but he always comes back where he belongs. Sometimes I just need to give him a little push.”
“What do you mean a phase?” Tessa asked, just for the hell of it. She’d already heard more than she needed to. A smart woman would’ve told this guy to fuck off, but something had Tessa rooted in place. A need to know more? To get someone else’s opinion, maybe? Heaven knew she’d already gotten herself in over her head with Cooper.
“Oh, you know,” Marcus began, acting as though she should already know what he was talking about. “Last year he ended up in Arkansas. Some backwoods town he took up residence in. Stayed there for a couple of weeks with some filly he picked up in a bar.”
Tessa actually felt her heart drop from her chest to her stomach. She didn’t want to believe this guy, didn’t want to take him at his word. Not after all she’d learned about him, but he sounded so confident, she was having a hard time.
Wanting to appear busy, Tessa grabbed a towel from beneath the bar and began wiping down the top slowly, staying close to where Marcus was sitting. Her gaze darted between the guy in the expensive suit and the cowboy who was now heading down the steps at the side of the stage. Cooper didn’t look happy.
“It’s about damn time,” Marcus said with enthusiasm. “You sounded good up there.”
Tessa watched as the men shook hands, Cooper’s eyes darting back and forth between Marcus and her as though he were trying to figure out whether they’d had a conversation or not. Was he feeling guilty? Did he not think she’d learn that he did this frequently? After all, the topic of their conversation from the day before did get derailed every time she had asked about it.
She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Really, really sick. Thankfully a customer walked up asking for a beer and Tessa moved out of earshot to handle the request. Before she could finish, Cooper and Marcus were heading out through the front doors, obviously wanting to talk in private.
Well, she was more than willing to let them chat it up if they wanted to.
“Hey, Eric,” she called out after she made change and the customer was on his way back to the table he’d been sitting at.
“What’s up?” Eric’s deep voice startled her, sounding much closer than she expected him to be.
“I’m not feeling well,” she explained hurriedly, her eyes darting toward the front doors. “You think you can handle things tonight? Jack’s here and so is Izzy.”
When Eric didn’t respond immediately, she glanced up to meet his eyes. “You know I can, Tessa. But I don’t think –”
Interrupting him before he could finish, Tessa mumbled her thanks, grabbed her keys that she kept under the bar and fled to the back door. Never looking back.
A few minutes later she was driving out of the overflowing parking lot, not bothering to look around to see if Cooper was out there. She didn’t want to see him. Not now. Hell, maybe not ever.
When she was halfway home, Tessa glanced down to realize she had her hand over her heart. It was aching. Physically hurting in her chest, but she knew it wasn’t a heart attack. No, this pain was self-inflicted. All because she had been stupid enough to get caught up in Cooper’s life. She should’ve known better.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Once she was home, Tessa continued to fight the urge to have a breakdown. He wasn’t worth her tears. She knew that. And no matter how much she’d started to like him, she had worked diligently to keep some emotional distance between them. Even if he had seemingly tried to bridge that gap a time or two, Tessa had forced herself to stay back.
She was grateful for that.
That and her two huskies.
“Hey there. Did you miss me? Huh?” she asked Harmony and Havoc when they met her at the front door.
She wished they could talk, but since they couldn’t, she settled for taking solace in the way their entire bodies wagged with their happiness. Making her way into the house, she went straight for the dog food, knowing that’s the first thing they expected even though she was several hours early. Just as she was pouring the last scoop in Harmony’s bowl, a knock on the door nearly sent her into hysterics.
Whirling around, she found Izzy standing on her front porch, staring at her through the screen door.
Damn that Eric. Why’d he have to be such a loyal friend?
“Eric send you?” she asked her friend as she motioned for her to come inside.
“Of course he did. And I came running.”
Izzy was usually a big help when the bar was busy, but she knew Eric wouldn’t hesitate to send her to make sure Tessa was all right.
“Want some wine?” Tessa offered.
“Nope. I brought something stronger,” Izzy answered, revealing a bottle of Tito’s vodka.
“Thank heavens,” Tessa exhaled on a sigh. Even if the bottle had come from her bar, she wasn’t going to ask questions.
“Come on, let’s go back outside.”
Izzy knew her all too well. Tessa didn’t do well being cooped up inside, no matter the time of day or the season. She’d much rather be sitting on the front porch, enjoying the weather. She never actually thought about why that was, but for as long as she could remember – even as a child – Tessa had always escaped outdoors.
She remembered back to when her mother was an emotional wreck because of Tessa’s good-for-nothing father. Even years after the man had abandoned them, Sheila spent hours sobbing in the house. Rather than listen to her mother cry her eyes out, Tessa had found her solace outside. And if Adam ever came looking for her, he knew she’d be somewhere close, but always outside rather than in.
Izzy planted her butt on the porch swing and patted the cushion beside her. Tessa knew better than to argue, so she ventured over to her friend and plopped down beside her.
“Want to tell me what happened?” Izzy asked as she uncorked the bottle of vodka.
“Not really, no,” she muttered, knowing Izzy didn’t care one way or another whether Tessa actually wanted to talk. She’d be chatting it up before too long. Vodka was one thing that always loosened Tessa’s lips.
“Tough.” Izzy took a swig of vodka and handed it over.
This was going to be one of those nights. She could feel it.
Half an hour later, or hell, maybe it was just ten minutes, Tessa was feeling good. Better than good actually. The smile on her lips wasn’t forced, nor was the numbness in her limbs.
“How serious is this thing with you and Cooper?” Izzy finally asked, and surprisingly, the vodka refused to allow Tessa to get defensive.
“I thought it was serious, but I learned he’s…” Ok, so maybe she wasn’t as loose lipped as she thought she was.
“He’s what?” Izzy asked, the
words coming out as heswatt.
“Nothing. He’s just not what I thought he was,” Tessa slurred before grabbing the bottle of vodka again.
“So does that mean y’all aren’t together anymore?”
Tessa wasn’t sure what it meant. She’d listened to Marcus and part of her brain had latched on to every word. The other part told her she needed to give Cooper a chance to explain himself. She considered that part vulnerable and stupid, so she refused to listen to it.
She was done with vulnerable and stupid. Done. Done. Done. “Izzy,” Tessa began as tears formed in her eyes. “Why me? Why… I should mind my own business.”
“What are you talking about?” Izzy asked, her full attention now focused on Tessa making her feel like she had to say something.
“Trust. It’s too hard to trust anyone. The only person I should’ve ever trusted was Richie.” Nothing short of the truth. Richie had loved her, protected her. He had never hurt her.
“Remember that time when you and Richie broke up and you found him talking to Annie Metcalfe?”
Glaring over at Izzy, Tessa’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious right now?”
Izzy stared back at her like she’d lost her mind. “You didn’t trust him either, did you?”
Shit. No. Not after that. But they were just dating, and they were teenagers, and it didn’t matter anyway. Her brain was getting carried away, the alcohol buzzing and making the memories fuzzy. Was that what it was? Were her memories of Richie just that fuzzy that she only thought he was perfect.
“He wasn’t, Tessa. You and I both know he wasn’t perfect. No one is.”
Oh, crap. Had she said the words out loud?
“You’ve got to give Cooper a chance to explain,” Izzy said, her cool hand on Tessa’s arm a reassuring gesture.
“I gave him a chance, Iz,” Tessa admitted a few minutes later. “He broke my heart, but I gave him a chance.”
Izzy’s arms flew around Tessa, and she let her friend hug her for long minutes. The pain was there, but the vodka had at least dulled it. Tessa knew it was only temporary, but for now, she’d take it.
There would be more time later to let the crushing weight of another broken heart consume her.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Cooper pulled his hat off of his head and thrust his fingers through his hair. He’d been standing in the parking lot with Marcus for the last half hour arguing with him. Not that it was doing a damn bit of good. If Marcus was anything, he was stubborn.
Then again, so was Cooper.
“I’m not going back,” Cooper restated, unsure why Marcus couldn’t just grasp the concept.
“Unacceptable,” Marcus barked. “I’m tired of playing these fucking games with you, man. You’re coming back to Nashville because we’ve got obligations. You can’t just run away.”
“Bullshit,” Cooper growled, forcing his hat back on his head and closing the gap between him and his manager. “I can do whatever the fuck I want to do. I know what my obligations are, and I fully intend to take care of them.”
“How?” Marcus exclaimed. “How the fuck do you plan to do that all the way out here in bumfuck nowhere?”
Cooper abruptly turned away. He had to calm down because the repercussions if he didn’t certainly were not worth it. He was seconds away from planting his fist in Marcus’ too perfect face.
Obviously his manager understood he needed to give him a minute because he let him be. Finally, when Cooper turned back to face him, he noticed the cocky smirk on Marcus’ face which was almost enough to send his fist flying.
“You don’t have anything keeping you here,” Marcus told him, the taunting smile on his face didn’t disappear.
“I’ve got more here than I do in Nashville,” Cooper told him. He had everything keeping him there. Namely Tessa. And the farm. After the last few days, Cooper wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to go back to where he came from. Not if it meant he would risk losing Tessa for good. He couldn’t even picture it in his mind.
“I do know that,” Marcus said snidely. “You know that little girl in there that you’ve been making it with?”
Cooper’s hands immediately balled into fists, but he forced them to remain at his sides. “Don’t do it, Marcus. Don’t you dare disrespect her like that,” he growled.
“That’s all moot, my friend,” Marcus said with a bigger grin. “Ten bucks said she hightailed it out of there after she found out that this is a consistent thing for you.”
Cooper’s heart pounded against his ribs. Once, twice. The roaring in his ears deafened him as he stared back at the asshole manager he should’ve fired years ago. “You didn’t.”
“I did,” Marcus confirmed. “It’s a phase, Coop. You know it. I know it. Now she knows it. It’s time to get back to reality.”
Cooper’s vision was hazy, a red film shading the world in front of him. “This is my reality,” he ground out.
“Is that what you said last year? You remember the time, don’t you, Coop? Does Arkansas ring a bell?”
Cooper turned away, pacing the parking lot and hoping like hell he could rein in his temper before he pounded Marcus into the gravel.
“That wasn’t the same thing, and you fucking know it,” Cooper declared, not bothering to look Marcus in the eyes.
God, he needed to get inside to see Tessa. He needed to talk to her. To explain. What happened in Arkansas wasn’t the same as this. In fact, it was completely the opposite. Not that she would believe him.
“Ahhh, but see the details are irrelevant,” Marcus told him. “What’s important is that you get back to Nashville, and we’ll move on like this never happened. You’ve got an album to make, and you can’t do that from here.”
Cooper stopped pacing. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Marcus. “You’re fired,” he stated with every ounce of pent up frustration that boiled in his gut.
Marcus’ eyes widened, but for the first time since he showed up, the man didn’t have a comeback.
Grabbing his phone off of his belt, Cooper didn’t wait for Marcus to respond. It was over. He should’ve fired him years ago. And now that he had, the weight of the world seemed to lift off of his shoulders. He dialed the familiar number, listened as it rang twice.
“Hey, boy.” David Krenshaw’s powerful voice reverberated through the phone.
“Dad,” he greeted his father. “Remember the last time we talked? When I said I might be looking for a new manager?” Cooper didn’t wait for his father to answer before he continued, “You still interested?”
“You son of a bitch,” Marcus’ words echoed through the parking lot. “You’re gonna regret this!”
Cooper didn’t react to Marcus’ rant, knew it wouldn’t make a difference if he did. Marcus Evergreen was a vindictive son of a bitch and yes, firing him was bound to have some repercussions, but at this point, Cooper would much rather deal with those than to deal with the man himself.
Focusing his attention on the conversation with his father, Cooper filled him in on what was going on. Both his mother and father knew exactly where he was. They both knew what he was doing even, and they’d been supportive ever since he called them when he had been on the road to Texas, not even knowing then what he was set out to do. In fact, Cooper had talked to them every day since.
After Cooper gave his father the specifics of his location, they hung up. At least his best interests would be taken care of at this point. Now, he just had to figure out how to fix what Marcus had already broken. And then he had to prepare himself for the aftermath that was sure to come.
“Where is she?” Cooper asked a seriously pissed off Eric a few minutes later. He had come inside the bar to find her gone. To confirm his suspicions, he had made a beeline for the back door. When he didn’t find her truck, he knew she’d run away.
Damn that Marcus.
“You need to leave her alone,” Eric ground out, his eyes spitting fire.
Cooper sighed heavily. He didn’t want to
do this right now. He appreciated the defensive friend routine, but he needed to talk to Tessa before she had time to come up with a million scenarios that weren’t even close to the truth.
“I just need to talk to her,” Cooper explained, trying to keep his composure. He was already pissed off, the last thing he needed was to go rounds with someone he would like to consider a friend.
“Give her a break.” Eric’s tone was almost pleading. “She’s been down this road before and I don’t want to see her go through it again.”
Down what road? Cooper doubted Eric had a clue what actually went on, but he wasn’t going to hang around and try to explain either.
“I’m out,” Cooper declared as he retrieved his truck keys from his pocket and headed back in the direction he came in. More than likely, Eric was going to warn Tessa that he was coming, but he didn’t have much of a choice. If she wasn’t at her house when he got there, he didn’t have any problems waiting for her until she showed up.
Ten minutes later he was pulling into Tessa’s driveway. Her truck was there. And so was she because he could see her sitting on the front porch. With Izzy.
Great. Not exactly what he wanted to have to deal with tonight. If Eric was defensive, he could only imagine what her best friend was going to be like.
Taking his time and trying to collect his thoughts, Cooper slowly got out of the truck. Not that it mattered because the second his feet hit the ground, Izzy was standing directly in front of him. He ground his back teeth together, reluctant to say anything until he got the chance to talk to Tessa first.
“You need to talk to her,” Izzy said, sounding surprisingly calm. “I don’t know what happened, and don’t ask me why, but I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”
Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) Page 22