Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (25 page)

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.”

Staring
down at the tiny woman, Cooper battled the urge to glance over at Tessa.

“You
don’t know all that she’s been through, but I can assure you that it’s more
than she ever should have. I don’t know what she is to you, but… Just make this
right, Cooper.”

The
plea in Izzy’s voice clutched at Cooper’s heart. He nodded his head in
understanding, unable to find any words. He waited as she turned to go back
toward her house, but before he moved even one step, Izzy was turning back to
him.

“Oh!
And she’s drunk. So, um… good luck with that!”

Why
did it sound like Izzy was laughing at him?

Cooper
didn’t make any sudden movements. He took his time getting to the porch,
petting the dogs when they came out to greet him. Surprisingly, Tessa was still
sitting on the porch swing, but she had yet to look his way.

Drunk,
huh? This was going to be interesting.

As
he approached the porch, he said hello but was met with silence. So she was
going to be stubborn as well? Why would that surprise him? Figuring he’d let
her be the first to say something, he moved up the stairs and then propped
himself up against one of the cedar posts that held up the roof over the porch.
He never took his eyes off of Tessa, unless glancing down to see the half empty
bottle of vodka sitting on the ground by her feet counted.

“Did
you have a good conversation with Marcus?” she asked after several long minutes
of silence.

“I
don’t think you could describe it as good, but yeah, I talked to him,” he
answered honestly.

“So
when are you leaving town?” she asked, her words coming out slurred. She might
appear to be stone cold sober, but she was certainly intoxicated. That was
likely the reason she hadn’t stood up yet. He’d bet money that her world would
tip sideways once she did.

He
waited until she looked at him before he answered. “I’m not going anywhere,
Tessa.” It was the truth. As far as he was concerned, Devil’s Bend was his new
home and he had no intention of leaving.

He
was going to wait for his father to call him back next week to figure out the
logistics, but he’d been adamant that this was where he wanted to be. Then
again, if Tessa tossed him to the curb, Cooper might have to rethink that
decision. As sure as he looked at her now, he knew that he probably wouldn’t be
able to spend the rest of his life in the same town as she was if he couldn’t
have her all to himself.

“Well,
you should. Probably a nice woman waiting for you in the next town you sneak
off to.”

Cooper
didn’t say anything. That’s the story Marcus had told her and right now, with
her being drunk, he knew it wasn’t going to go well if he told her the truth.
Which he fully intended to do. Tomorrow. When she woke up beside him.

“I’ve
got some things to explain to you, Tessa,” he began and held up his hand when
she started to interrupt. “And I fully intend to explain, but not tonight. Not
like this.”

“So
why’d you come here then?” she asked, her words running together more.

When
she reached for the bottle of vodka, Cooper intervened, stopping her. She’d had
more than enough. “This isn’t going to help, and you know it,” he told her,
holding her hand in his as he leaned over her.

Without
waiting for permission, which he knew he wouldn’t get anyway, Cooper settled
onto the swing beside her, pulling her against him. When she started to fight
him, he held her tighter. “Don’t,” he commanded softly. “Just sit here with
me.”

The
alcohol’s effect was probably the only thing that kept her there, but Cooper
considered it a win. He’d have hell to pay tomorrow, but for now, he was going
to hold her. That’s all he wanted to do anyway.

♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Ok,
so the morning after a vodka binge could not be categorized as a good time. Not
that the night before was anything to write home about either.

Unwilling
to open her eyes, Tessa snuggled into her blankets, wishing like hell she’d
thought to take aspirin before she went to sleep. But then again, she might
have. She was so lit, she didn’t even remember coming inside. The last
conscious memory was of Cooper showing up at her house, but she was pretty sure
she sent him on his way.

When
nature called a few minutes later, Tessa knew her morning was about to go from
bad to worse. Why shouldn’t it? That seemed to be a pattern for things these
days.

She
had to get out of bed which meant the room was going to spin, and she was
probably going to get to scrutinize her last cleaning job up close when she
made friends with the toilet.

Forcing
her feet over the side of the bed, she felt the mattress shift, and she knew
then and there that it was worse than she thought. Once she was vertical, she
grabbed onto her dresser and made her way down the hall to the bathroom.
Someone must’ve been looking out for her because she didn’t get sick like she
thought. After doing her business, Tessa splashed cold water on her face as she
stared at herself in the mirror.

“You
look like hell, woman,” she mumbled to the reflection, noticing the dark
circles under her eyes and her crazy hair. “That’ll teach you not to fall for a
man. It never gets you anywhere. You should know by now that karma has it out
for you.”

When
a throat cleared from the doorway, Tessa nearly fell flat on her face into the
sink. She whirled around to see Cooper standing in the doorway of her bathroom
looking impossibly sexy. He was shirtless, his jeans unbuttoned but zipped and
his feet bare.

She
had to blink twice before her brain accepted that what she was seeing was not
just a figment of her imagination. Her mouth felt like she’d been sucking on
cotton, but somehow she managed to force the words out. “Why are you here?”

Cooper
didn’t say a word and that was when Tessa remembered what she’d just said. Out
loud. To herself. Shit.

He’d
heard her talking to herself. Glancing down at the floor, she contemplated what
would happen if the tile would open up and swallow her. At least she wouldn’t
have to face him this morning. It seemed that the alcohol had diluted her
anger, and now she was left with confusion.

She
stared at the man standing in her bathroom door, watched as he walked over to
her shower and turned on the water. Well, it was nice of him to make himself at
home. Shouldn’t he be leaving? And why was she having this conversation inside
her head, rather than with him?

Before
she could ask him directly, she felt his warm hand on hers as he pulled her
closer. And just like that, all of her memories from the night before flooded
back: her conversation with Marcus, hearing that Cooper was a serial runner who
shacked up with various women from time to time when he felt like his world was
overwhelming him too much… Crap.

“Don’t,”
Cooper demanded, his voice hard and firm.

Tessa’s
eyes flew up to meet his at the same time her fight or flight instinct kicked
in, and she was geared up to fight him with everything that she had.

“Don’t
you dare tell me –” She didn’t get the sentence finished before Cooper had
pulled her into the narrow bathtub with him, both of them fully dressed. Ok,
not fully, Tessa realized as she glanced down, remembering that she didn’t have
on her jeans. She was confident she’d been wearing them the night before. If
not, she was definitely going to have to lay off the vodka in the future.

Cooper
disconnected the handheld sprayer from the wall and aimed it at her head,
soaking her hair and making her sputter water. “What the hell are you doing?”

And
then his mouth was on hers, his hard body pressed against her front while the
cold tile met her back. Despite her brain’s insistence that she push him away,
her hands had other ideas. She found herself pulling him closer, the warmth of
the water running over her skin while she attempted to devour him.

It
was the alcohol. That’s the only explanation she could come up with. The
alcohol was obscuring her judgment, and she was temporarily out of her mind.

When
Cooper pulled his mouth from hers, she looked up into his eyes, the usual
golden brown was darker, more intense than she’d ever seen it.

“So
you fell for me?” he whispered.

It
took a minute for the question to register, and that’s when the starch returned
to her limbs, effectively allowing her to push him away from her. There wasn’t
much space in the shower, but at least she managed to gain a few inches of
distance between them. Not that it mattered, she still felt the heat of his
body emanating from him.

“I
did not!” she snarled.

“That’s
not what I heard.”

“Well,
you’re delusional, cowboy.” Tessa tried to turn away from him, but his hard
hands brought her up short.

“Listen
to me, Tessa,” Cooper stated firmly, his grip firm on her upper arms, forcing
her to stand facing him. “We’re going to take a shower, as innocent as you’d
like it to be. And then we’re going to go into your kitchen, have coffee and
breakfast, and I’m going to explain some things to you.

“No,
wait, I’m not finished,” Cooper growled when she was about to interrupt. “After
I explain everything to you, then I’ll let you make the decision. If, at that
point, you want me to leave, I will. Not willingly, but I’ll go.”

Tessa
felt the tears sting her eyes. Or maybe it was the shower water. No, damn it.
Definitely tears. She remembered everything Marcus had told her and the idea of
Cooper using her temporarily was enough to make her heart hurt. Again.

“Understand?”
he asked, and Tessa forced herself to nod. “Good, now come here.”

Tessa
allowed him to pull her closer as he removed her t-shirt and bra, then her
panties. She felt numb, almost like she was outside of the shower looking in at
the two people there. Not bothering to move when he managed to force his jeans
down his legs, Tessa held her breath when he stood back up.

Damn
him for being so fucking gorgeous. She didn’t want him to be. She didn’t want
him to be anything. She wanted to hate him and send him on his way, but she
couldn’t. Her brain had misfired somewhere along the way, and it wasn’t
listening to reason.

Now
that he was standing naked in front of her, she really, really needed it to
listen to reason.

Shit.

Why
did that damned persistent trouble always insist on following her?

∞
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Getting
Tessa naked in the shower might’ve been a lousy idea.

Especially
considering Cooper genuinely wanted the opportunity to talk to her. Right now,
he was having a hard time keeping his hands off of her. The water was sluicing
over her golden skin, and he was so captivated by the sight, he couldn’t focus
on anything else. Including the raging hard on he knew was on prominent display
now that he was just as naked as she was.

Blindly
grabbing the shampoo bottle off of the shelf, Cooper kept his eyes trained on
her breasts as the water cascaded over the pebbled tips. He wanted to put his
lips there, to taste her, to feel her body writhe beneath the onslaught of his
mouth. Filling his palm with soap, he moved forward, fully intending to wash
her hair for her, but she quickly put her hand up and took a step back.

“Hold
up, cowboy. You can’t put that in my hair,” she warned, a sudden gleam in her
pale green eyes. Glancing over at the bottle he’d picked up, he noticed he’d
grabbed the dog shampoo.

“Why
the hell do you keep that in your shower?” he asked with a deep laugh as he let
the water rinse the soap away.

She
didn’t answer him, but she did offer up the shampoo bottle, so he took it from
her and tried one more time. This time he filled his palm and then turned her
to face away from him. It was probably the only way he’d be able to focus.
Looking down, he admired the perfect shape of her ass and knew he was mistaken.
He couldn’t suppress the growl that escaped, but he did his best to ignore his
own needs.

Pulling
her back against him, Cooper slid his hands into her hair, lathering up the
soap as he massaged her scalp. He took his time, letting the sweet smell of
strawberries fill the shower. He’d probably never look at strawberries the same
again.

“I
think my hair is clean now,” she mumbled, her voice wavering.

“I’ll
be the judge of that,” he answered, ignoring the demands of his body. He wanted
to bend her over and slowly slide inside of her, let the warmth of her pussy
grip him as he thrust deep and hard.

But
there were two reasons he couldn’t. One: he didn’t have a condom. Two: he’d
surely seal his fate and be forced to leave without having a chance to explain
anything to this woman. And as much as he wanted to feel her sweet body
sheathing his aching cock, he wanted to be able to look forward to it in the future
as well.

He
had to take things slow with her. At least right now.

Retrieving
the shower sprayer from the wall again, he rinsed her hair, letting the soap
run down the front of his body, the water teasing his cock, making him
painfully aware of how much he was denying himself.

He
observed the other bottles on the shelf and grabbed the conditioner,
effectively lathering her hair once more before he picked up the body wash and
the puffy thing hanging from a hook. He probably used more soap than he should
have, but his brain was intensely focused on how he was going to accomplish
this task without coming.

“I
can do that,” Tessa whispered as he began running the sponge over her breasts,
keeping her back against his chest.