Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (21 page)

Tessa’s
eyes opened, the green even more vivid as she smiled. “I hope you don’t.”

Cooper
pulled is fingers from her warm sheath and then dragged her closer. Their heads
were at the wrong end of the bed, but he was too tired to care. Tessa nestled
into his arms, her head resting against his chest, one silky leg thrown over
his thigh and Cooper closed his eyes.

Nope,
he would never get tired of this.

Tessa
woke up the following morning – or rather afternoon – feeling incredibly sated,
but more than a little sore. So, apparently, ordering Cooper around equated to
some highly imaginative sex. Even though she was fairly active, Tessa was going
to have to get some exercise under her belt if she intended to keep up with
him. The man only needed a couple of hours of sleep before he was ready to go
again, and Tessa had been hard pressed to keep up. Although she did her best,
without argument.

“Morning,”
she greeted Cooper sleepily when she walked into her kitchen to find him
sitting at her table drinking coffee and working on his laptop.

As
if seeing him doing something so domestic in her kitchen hadn’t been enough,
when Cooper stood from his chair and made his way over just to kiss her good
morning, Tessa was a hairsbreadth away from melting into a puddle.

God,
she’d missed that kind of interaction. Loving someone was not easy. There were
ups and downs, sure, but to wake up each day, or go to sleep each night in the
arms of the person who would undoubtedly cherish everything about you… nothing
was as heartwarming as the smile on their face.

Not
that she loved Cooper.

She
didn’t.

“How
‘bout coffee?” Cooper asked when he pulled away, leaving her staring after him.
He wore jeans and nothing else, his delicious upper body chiseled and sleekly
muscled. Letting her gaze travel over him, she stopped to check out his bare
feet. Why were bare feet on men so damn sexy?

“Sounds
perfect,” she answered, forcing her feet to move forward. Reaching out to take
the cup, she smiled up at him. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”

A
flash of the same vexation she’d seen on his face yesterday distorted his
features briefly, but Cooper morphed back into his easygoing self almost
immediately. “I’ve got to meet with Marcus later this afternoon.”

They
never did have a chance to talk about the actual conversation Cooper had with
Marcus the day before. Even though he had so rudely dismissed her at the time,
her curiosity hadn’t been diminished, so as she dropped into one of the kitchen
chairs, she figured she’d ask. “How’d it go with him last night?”

Cooper’s
descent into his chair slowed as he stared back at her. From where she sat, he
looked like he was holding his breath, but then time kicked back in and he sat
down, his focus on the coffee cup in front of him.

“Not
as good as I expected,” he said, peering over at his laptop screen. “But that’s
not the worst of it.”

Oh,
crap. She didn’t like the sound of that.

“What’s
wrong?”

Cooper
shook his head as though telling her nothing was wrong, but then his eyes met
hers. “Looks like the press has officially found me.”

For
absolutely no substantiated reason, Tessa glanced around her kitchen as though
she might find some reporters hiding behind the kitchen counter.

“No,
darlin’, they aren’t in here.”

She
knew that, but she looked anyway, and then laughed at the way he regarded her
as though she’d lost her mind.

Wait,
he had specifically said
in
here
. Did that mean they were…?

“No,
I suggest you don’t go outside dressed like that,” Cooper told her, and Tessa
glanced down at her tank top and boxer shorts.

“They’re
out there?”

“’Fraid
so.”

Tessa
wanted to jump up and run to the front door to see if her lawn was littered
with news vans and cameras, but she forced herself to stay seated. They were at
her
house. Not Cooper’s. Which meant they knew
Cooper
was at
her
house.
Crap
.

“Do
you think it has to do with Marcus?”

“Maybe.
Doubtful, but maybe.”

“Well,
what are we supposed to do about it?” Tessa asked hysterically, wondering
whether she was ever going to be able to step outside her front door again.

“We’re
going to go about our business. I’ve got a phone call out this morning. I’m not
expecting Marcus to handle this one, so I’m going to have to take matters into
my own hands.”

Tessa
wasn’t sure how she felt about that. And what was business as usual if their
small town was swarming with reporters? It would probably cause an uproar.
Hell, just Cooper’s appearance in town had brought people out of the woodwork.

“Don’t
worry about it, Tessa,” Cooper said solemnly.

Tessa
nodded just to placate him, sending a quick look his way. There was no way she
wouldn’t worry. She didn’t know how to handle the spotlight, and she knew that
when people started digging, they were going to find things that she didn’t
want them to find. And just like every other time, there wasn’t anything she
could do about it.

“I’m
going to take a shower,” she declared as she pushed up from her chair, nearly
spilling her coffee. She needed a few minutes to think this through. And she
needed to be alone.

Thankfully,
Cooper didn’t follow her to the bathroom, so she locked herself in and hurried
into the shower. Letting the water cascade down her body, the memory of the
night before flashed briefly, but she quickly pushed it away. Not that remembering
how incredible the sex between the two of them was a terrible thing, but Tessa
really needed to get her head on straight.

What
was going to happen when Cooper found out about her past? Was he still going to
want to have anything to do with her? And she knew without a doubt that the
press would easily be able to unearth her demons.

But
they were a long time ago, she told herself. What she did as an unruly teenager
didn’t mean she was that same person. In fact, she had worked for years to lose
that reputation, to ensure that her past didn’t catch up with her. It was one
of the main reasons she worked with troubled kids, wanting to offer them some
help so they didn’t end up in the same situation she had.

She
remembered how easily everything had been brought back up when she broke up
with Chad…

Shit.

Grabbing
the shampoo, Tessa washed her hair and then followed it up with a glob of
conditioner while her memories took hold, transporting her back to a time she
didn’t particularly care to revisit. Her heart never handled reliving the past
very well.

“So,
what are you in for?” A rough, melodic voice sounded from somewhere on the
other side of the stable.

Tessa
glanced around, noticing only a line of stalls, all but two containing a horse.
“Where are you?” she called out, unable to see a human being anywhere in the
near vicinity, and as much as she would like to find out that the horses were
talking to her, she knew better.

“This
side,” the deep voice chuckled, and Tessa followed the sound.

She
had to walk outside and then in through the other door to get on the far side
of the stalls that lined the middle of the huge stable.

“You
gonna tell me what you’re in for? Or are you just gonna stand there?”

Tessa
finally found the guy attached to the voice. He was in one of the empty stalls,
shoveling manure with a big shovel into a backhoe sitting just outside the
door. Exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Although she was trying to buy
herself some time.

“Why
would you ask that?” she questioned, curious as to what he was in for. It was
true, she was there as punishment, but she wondered how he would know that.

“Most
kids in here don’t come for the fun,” he chuckled.

No.
She could clearly see how they wouldn’t find shoveling horse shit a fun way to
pass the day. She sure as hell wouldn’t be doing it if she hadn’t been caught.

“So
I take it you find this fun?”

“I
don’t mind it,” he said, a cute smile slipping her way from underneath the brim
of his straw hat.

“So,
you’re not in trouble?”

“Nope.
Come here every day after school.”

“Why
would you do that?” Tessa glanced around, wondering if she should grab a shovel
and help him. Although, he seemed to be doing a fantastic job all by himself.
He was almost finished.

“FFA,”
he said simply.

Future
Farmers of America.

Tessa
had heard of the organization at her school.

“Oh.”

“But
that doesn’t answer why you’re here,” he said as he turned toward her, carrying
the shovel as he moved closer.

“Hey,
I know you,” she said, recognition dawning. “Richie Donovan, right?”

“Yep.
And you’re little Tessa Dryden. Adam’s baby sister.”

Tessa
didn’t make a snide remark, but she wanted to. She hated being referred to as
Adam’s baby sister. And she definitely didn’t approve of being called little.

“So,
why are you here?”

“Mr.
Deluth didn’t tell you?” Tessa asked curiously.

Considering
Mr. Deluth had caught her red handed when she brought his prize thoroughbred,
Texas Shadow, back into his stall early that morning, she figured half the town
would know what she’d done by now.

“Nope.
Haven’t seen him today,” Richie said as he opened the adjacent stall door and
headed inside, leaving Tessa to stare at him from just outside.

“I
got caught bringing Texas Shadow back this morning.”

Richie’s
head snapped her direction, a deep frown on his face. “You stole Shadow?”

Stole
was such a harsh word, Tessa thought to herself. She would admit she had snuck
into Mr. Deluth’s stable and taken the horse out for a ride, but to say she
stole him would insinuate she had no intention of bringing him back. And she
did bring him back.

“Technically,
I brought him back,” she said defensively.

Richie’s
face was a mask of concern as he stomped toward her, tossing his shovel onto
the hay that lined the perimeter of the stall.

“Where’re
you going?”

“To
check on Shadow,” Richie barked, not looking back at her.

Tessa
felt about two inches tall right then. Was Richie worried about the horse? She
hadn’t hurt him. She’d just taken him out for a ride. Granted, it had been dark
and after the tongue lashing she received from Mr. Deluth, she now understood
how dangerous that had been for both her and the horse.

But
she’d just wanted to ride.

She
had felt like there was a rope around her neck, chaining her in place and she
just needed to get out. Sitting on a horse, her hair flying in the wind, the
power of the animal beneath her, the thud of hooves against solid ground… she
hadn’t found anything that was quite like it.

She’d
gotten so tired of listening to her mother and stepfather argue because her
mother was crying all the time, sometimes never getting out of bed for days at
a time. They did it more often than not, and Tessa was beginning to wonder why
the man even hung around. She was starting to believe maybe that was why her
father had left.

Shaking
off the thought, she jumped into motion, heading out of the stable and back in
the opposite side toward the stall where Texas Shadow was kept. When she got
there, Richie was inside, his hands roaming over the animal, his voice low and
soothing as he talked to him. Tessa made eye contact with the horse and her
heart galloped almost as fast as he’d done last night.

Texas
Shadow was one of the most elegant horses she had ever seen. Tall, broad,
sleek. His lustrous black coat was soft, his mane long and coarse. She’d fallen
in love with the animal the first time she saw him. Granted, she didn’t visit
Mr. Deluth’s farm often because she and Luanne weren’t friends anymore. Hadn’t
been since the beginning of their ninth grade year.

“You’re
lucky he’s not hurt,” Richie said angrily as he stomped past her, nudging her
backward as he did to get her out of the stall.

Tessa
took two steps back, watched as Richie closed and latched the stall door and
waited to see what he would say. When his piercing blue eyes landed on her,
Tessa could see his fury but right there in Mr. Deluth’s barn, she fell in love
with that boy. Just a little bit.

And
a year later, Tessa was head over heels in love with Richie Donovan.

The
shower water had turned cold, so Tessa turned it off before grabbing one of the
towels hanging on the rack. She went to wipe her face, realizing she was
crying, the salty taste of her tears on her lips.

God,
she missed Richie.

He
had been her saving grace. And he’d even stood by her when karma had paid her a
visit several years later, punishing her for all of the things she had done as
a rebellious teenager. The thought brought more tears to her eyes.