“What’s wrong?” he asked Izzy as soon as she jumped out of her truck, making her way toward him like her ass was on fire.
She was out of breath when they met in the middle, and he grabbed her arms, holding her upright as he stared into her eyes. “What the hell’s the matter?”
Panic was filling him, and she hadn’t spoken yet.
“It’s – It’s… Tessa,” she huffed, trying to draw in deep breaths. “I need you to… Just come… with me, ok?”
Cooper grabbed her arm, all but dragging her along with him. Once they were back at her truck, he reached into his own and grabbed the extra t-shirt he’d left in there the day before. Pulling it on over his head, he made his way to the driver’s door, effectively forcing Izzy to scoot over because there was no way he was riding shotgun. She’d be able to explain as he drove.
“Talk to me, Izzy. Where am I going?”
“To The Rusty Nail!” she squealed. “Just drive!”
Cooper glared at Izzy momentarily but then refocused his efforts on the road. His heart was pounding like a bass drum on steroids, and his hands, which were currently gripping the steering wheel, were white knuckled and shaking. He wanted to press her to talk, but he was more interested in getting to Tessa. Even if he had no idea what he was walking into.
After taking several turns on two wheels, Cooper hit the straightaway that would lead directly to town. When the truck hit sixty, the piece of shit started to shake, so he had to let off the gas. Izzy really needed to get a new truck.
“Holy fuck,” Cooper growled when the parking lot for The Rusty Nail came into view. There didn’t appear to be a single empty space throughout the entire lot. The satellites were up and aiming skyward, antennas were like sky scrapers hovering high above the mayhem.
Glancing over at Izzy, he saw that her eyes were just as wide as they had been earlier. “What’s going on, Izzy?”
When she turned to look at him, her gaze went from worried to burning mad in an instant. “She’s being hounded. Your fucking manager gave an exclusive to the press this morning announcing that you two have severed ties. I hope you’re happy, but her entire life story is front page news.”
Ex-manager, he thought to himself. Cooper sighed heavily, then put the truck in Park, leaving it on the side of the road because there was nowhere else to put it.
“But that’s not the worst of it, Cooper,” Izzy said, her hand landing on his forearm.
His head jerked toward her as he waited for her to continue.
“You can’t see the sign out front, but as of this morning, The Rusty Nail is for sale.”
“What?”
“I didn’t stutter, big guy. She’s put the bar up for sale, and she’s moving.”
Cooper knew his mouth was hanging open, but for the life of him, he couldn’t get any words out.
Izzy leaned over, her eyes narrowed to slits. “You better make this right, Cooper. I will never forgive you if my best friend leaves. Until you, she’s never run from anything in her life, and you and I both know she hasn’t had it easy. She’s spent her entire life chasing her dreams, not running from them.”
Cooper knew exactly what Izzy meant. He’d spent his life doing the same thing. Chasing dreams seemed to be the only thing he knew how to do.
Forcing himself out of the truck, Cooper walked around to stand in front as he glanced through the crowd. So many reporters that he recognized, most of them national news, but he did see some local station vans.
Shit.
This was not going to be fun. He had hoped for just a little more time.
Pulling his hat lower on his head, Cooper tucked his hands in his pockets and started through the cluster with his face pointed down toward the ground. Considering he was filthy from working outside all day, he hoped no one would recognize him. At least not until he got to Tessa.
“Is it true that Cooper Krenshaw got another woman pregnant and then disappeared on her?” The reporter didn’t sound familiar, but there were so many people trying to talk, he wasn’t sure he’d recognize them anyway. The question, however, wasn’t anything new. He was used to the lies and the made up stories.
When there wasn’t an answer, he considered that a good thing. At least Tessa wasn’t giving in to them.
“Is it true, Ms. Donovan, that your husband was killed in the line of duty?”
Oh, fuck. It was one thing for them to question her about him, but something else entirely for them to target her personally.
“It’s true.” Tessa’s voice sounded weak and uncertain.
“And is it also true that, since his death, you’ve been known to hook up with various country music singers that play in your bar?”
What. The. Fuck.
“No, that isn’t true,” Tessa answered quickly.
“Do you have a relationship with Cooper Krenshaw?” A male voice sounded from somewhere in the back.
“Is it true that Mr. Krenshaw stole your property from you? That he came in and decided to take over your plans to build a horse ranch?”
“No, that is absolutely not true,” Tessa said adamantly, and Cooper stopped in his tracks to look at her. He hadn’t yet made it through the masses, but her response to the question had brought him up short.
“Cooper… I mean, Mr. Krenshaw moved to Devil’s Bend with the intention of doing something exceptionally special. Mr. Krenshaw and his manager are working to build an equestrian center that will be used to work with the disabled, both children and adults. This was Mr. Krenshaw’s dream, and the town of Devil’s Bend is blessed that he chose this as his place to start his venture.”
Cooper’s heart swelled. The way she defended his reputation, knowing full well that what the reporter asked was nothing short of the truth, didn’t surprise him. Tessa Donovan never sought the limelight. As a matter of fact, she always seemed to be the one in the shadows.
“But it is true that you were purchasing the land that he came in and bought?”
“Mr. Krenshaw had the funds necessary to complete the sale long before I would have. And it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because hearing of his intention for the property, I would’ve bowed out gracefully anyhow.”
“This wasn’t just my dream,” Cooper said loudly, his voice carrying over the group, several people whirling on him, microphones being tossed in his direction almost instantly. “I might’ve been the one to buy the land, but once I met Tessa, I knew that I couldn’t do this without her. In fact, this was her dream. She’s the one who has rounded up volunteers to help build the center and to implement the programs.”
Cooper was moving closer to Tessa, but she was backing away, her head shaking back and forth as though telling him to be quiet. He was done being quiet. A solid week had passed since he had talked to her. Here she was defending him when she should be cursing his name for the way he waltzed into her life, taking over all of her good intentions.
“Cooper! Cooper! Can you tell us more about Tabitha Johnson? There was a rumor that you are the child’s father. Is that true?”
Cooper fought to keep his face expressionless as he stared at Tessa. He’d told her the story, but he could still see the hurt in her eyes.
Feeling as though he needed to defend himself, Cooper was just about to answer, when a gruff voice sounded from behind him.
“It’s not true.”
Cooper turned abruptly to see his father standing just a few feet away. The relief that flooded him was almost enough to steal the air from his lungs. He’d been waiting for this, stalling for time and here his father was. Which meant…
“Thank you all for coming out today, folks. I’m not sure why you’re here, but now that you are, I’d be happy to answer any questions that I can. In case you don’t know who I am, my name is David Krenshaw. I am Cooper’s manager.”
“What happened to Marcus Evergreen?” one woman called from the group.
“Mr. Evergreen and Mr. Krenshaw decided to part ways. It is my understanding that Mr. Everg
reen has decided to pursue other artists, and I’m sure he’d be more than happy to answer any questions you have. I, however, cannot speak for him.”
Cooper slipped into the bar as soon as his father had gained the attention of the horde of reporters. He fully expected to see Tessa because he’d lost sight of her when his father had caught his attention. Unfortunately, the bar was empty, with the exception of Izzy and Eric.
“Where is she?” he asked in a rush, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light of the bar.
“Where is who?” Eric asked, turning to face him.
“Tessa. She was just outside. Where’d she go?”
“She didn’t come this way,” Izzy said, concern lacing every word.
Cooper turned back and reemerged in the crowd, trying to see over them. That was when he saw her sneaking around to the back of the building. Without worrying about who saw him, Cooper took off at a flat out run, his boots skidding on the gravel as he turned the corner. He caught up with her just as she was getting into her truck.
“Tessa, don’t,” Cooper commanded, but she appeared to be ignoring him. He caught the edge of the door seconds before she would’ve slammed it closed. “We need to talk.”
“No, Mr. Krenshaw, we don’t,” Tessa stated with remarkably little emotion in her voice.
Gripping her chin between his thumb and his forefinger, he turned her to face him, aware that he was being the aggressor, but unable to stop himself. “We are gonna talk.”
“There isn’t anything more to say. I did my best out there. They’ve been hounding me for a week, so I’m not sure why you care now.”
“A week?”
“Yeah. I guess you’ve managed to keep yourself pretty isolated out there all by yourself. They’re camping out on the street in front of my house. Hell, I can’t even let my dogs out front anymore.”
Shit. How the hell hadn’t he known about that? Her friends had said… whatever Tessa wanted him to hear. Fuck.
“I think they know more about me and my life than I do. But that’s ok. This town clearly isn’t big enough for both of us, so I’m going to do you a favor.”
“Move over,” Cooper demanded, pushing himself into the truck, forcing her to have to scoot to the center of the bench seat or he was going to sit on her. This was not the time or place to have this conversation.
“What the hell are you doing?” she squeaked, trying to keep from moving, but luckily she wasn’t much of a match for him.
“I’m getting in. Now give me the damn keys.” Holding out his hand, he waited for her to hand them over. He didn’t have to wait long before she was slamming them down into his palm.
Ouch. “Thank you.”
It was time they hash this out, and he knew exactly the place to take her to do that.
Chapter Thirty Four
Tessa was somewhat tempted to fling herself out of the passenger door to avoid having to talk to Cooper. Only she wasn’t interested in doing any more damage to her body than she’d had done to her in the last week. But she certainly did not want to talk to Cooper, so the idea was almost too tempting to pass up.
Somehow she had managed to move on with her life. The last seven days hadn’t been a party, but waking up each day and going to sleep each night was getting easier. Life was at least back to normal. Even if normal had a new definition. The reporters who had taken up residence in front of her house didn’t add a whole lot of charm to the place, but she hadn’t been able to do anything about them.
She was hoping they would get the hint because of the lack of information they were receiving. Not only was she not talking, but the rest of the town had gone radio silent as well. That was one thing Tessa loved about her small town. They rallied together and as soon as word got out that they were harassing her and Cooper, people everywhere stopped talking.
It would seem they had another spur in their behinds these last couple of days though because they weren’t budging, even when Tessa didn’t comment. She hadn’t intended to say anything that morning either, but when she’d gone to put the For Sale sign in front of the bar, she’d obviously been followed. Before she knew what was happening, they were descending like bees, buzzing all around her until she couldn’t go anywhere.
Then the questions started. She hated the questions, especially those that were about her personally. She had managed to give answers to a few about Cooper, retelling the stories she’d heard David Krenshaw tell, but adding her own perspective. At first, she hoped that would get them to forget about her personal life.
The worst were when they talked about Richie. Which they did often. Dredging up her pain had apparently turned into a hobby for these people and Tessa wasn’t sure how much she could handle. Which was why she was leaving Devil’s Bend.
Tessa bounced on the truck seat, her attention drawn to where they were. That was when she noticed Cooper was driving down the dirt path that had been rutted out between his house and the pond just a couple of hundred yards from where the foundation for the new barn and stable had been laid.
She took a minute to admire the area. It was going to be a beauty, much bigger than she had expected it to be. Even the area for the outdoor arena had been sectioned off and soon enough the electrical for the flood lights would have to be run. Dropping her head, Tessa studied her hands as she clasped them tightly in her lap. She hated that she wouldn’t get to see the finished product, but getting away was her only option at this point.
When the truck came to a stop, Tessa turned to Cooper instantly. “Talk. Then let me go home.” She tacked on a please at the very end in her attempt to be polite.
“Get out,” he ordered as he did the same, leaving her staring after him.
Looking at the ignition, she realized he took the keys, so her chances at a sneaky getaway were thwarted. Damn him.
Taking as much time as she could, Tessa climbed out of her truck, shutting the door easily and taking deep breaths. As much as she wanted to be angry at Cooper, all of that had dissipated, leaving nothing but a big empty void in the center of her chest. The same void that she’d felt after Richie died. And truthfully, Tessa didn’t know which was worse, not being able to ever tell Richie how much she loved him because he was no longer on the earth, or not being able to tell Cooper how much she loved him even though he was just a few miles away.
Technically, now he was only a few steps away, but the last thing she was going to do was to tell him her feelings hadn’t yet changed. She wanted them too, kept hoping each morning when she woke up that she’d forget all about him and move on with her life. Up till now, she’d had no such luck.
The creak of the tailgate as it lowered drew her gaze and she watched as Cooper sat on the edge, his feet hanging down. Unsure what she was supposed to do, she opted to mimic his stance when she climbed up onto the tailgate, but she maintained at least a foot of space between them. To her surprise, Cooper didn’t look at her.
“Do you remember when you first brought me out here?” he asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
She nodded rather than answering. He didn’t seem to require an answer though.
“Do you remember why you brought me here?”
Tessa stared out at the calm water. “Because I wanted you to see what made this place so special,” she admitted, her legs swinging as her heart constricted in her chest and her throat started to clog.
She was not going to get emotional. There’d been more than enough time for that in the last week. She could not let Cooper see her break down.
“And I understood what you were showing me,” he began, his voice strong yet gentle. “But it isn’t the breeze or the stars, or even the moon that makes this place special for me.”
Tessa swallowed hard, his voice sliding over her like velvet.
“You are what makes this place special to me.”
Tessa’s head snapped his way. She didn’t miss his use of present tense. He wasn’t talking about how he felt in the past. He was…
&nb
sp; “That was a long time ago,” she muttered, watching him closely.
“No, it wasn’t,” he answered, pushing himself back to his feet.
When Cooper moved around to stand in front of her, Tessa’s hands began to shake and tears formed in her eyes. She had dreamed about what it would be like to be this close to him again. When he tilted her chin up, she met his eyes, trying to blink the tears back.
“You accused me one time of running,” he whispered. “And maybe that was the truth. But it didn’t make sense to me until I talked to Izzy earlier.”
Tessa swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes locked on his, the turbulence of his emotions evident in his shimmering brown gaze.
“She told me that you’ve spent your life chasing your dreams. And I knew just what she was saying. I’ve done the same thing. Only now, I know where I belong.”
Tessa glanced away, unsure where he was going with this, but it wasn’t where she thought it was. “And I’m still on that path,” she assured him. “If I keep chasing, I’ll catch them one day.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Tessa. This is where you’re supposed to be.” Cooper’s finger curled under her chin, forcing her to look at him again.
“You’re right, Devil’s Bend is my home. I never thought I’d leave –”
“Not Devil’s Bend, Tessa,” Cooper stated, his voice louder, sharper. “Here. Right here. With me.”
Tessa closed her eyes. Opened them. Although Cooper’s face was blurred through her tears, she knew he was real, but for some reason, she felt like she was stuck in a dream. Her anger started bubbling in her belly, moving outward until her whole body was consumed by it and the tears were dried up from the blazing heat that had engulfed her.
“For one week, Cooper. One solid week I haven’t heard from you. Not a word. And you want to sit here and tell me that I’m supposed to be with you? Where the hell were you when I was crying my eyes out? I never heard you tell me you were sorry, or that you didn’t mean to accuse me of trying to draw attention to you when I was doing nothing more than defending you.”
Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) Page 30