Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (3 page)

Suddenly,
a shrill, ear-splitting whistle sounded and to Cooper’s surprise, the rumble of
voices died instantly. The two idiots stopped throwing punches, but neither of
them moved far.

“Get
your asses out of here,” the giant of a man said, his tone frighteningly calm
as he moved closer to the two men who were now sweating, bleeding and breathing
like they’d just run a marathon… in quick sand.

It
took Cooper a minute to realize he was still holding the girl, her petite body
pressed tightly against his as they stood on the sidelines staring back at the
cowboy who managed to halt the fight with a whistle.

“Jack,”
the woman said breathlessly, successfully wrenching out of Cooper’s arms and
moving away.

Before
she walked away, she turned to look at him, her pale green eyes meeting his as
a blinding smile tilted the corners of her full pink lips. Cooper tipped his
hat slightly at the same time he felt something strange and exciting stir up
inside of him, rendering him speechless as he smiled back.

“Damn,”
he groaned, turning away from the crowd and moving back to the stage. The least
he could do was provide some entertainment and hopefully, by the end of the
night, he’d have a chance to talk to the angel in blue jeans.

When
they first walked out of the building, Tessa had fallen into step with her
brothers at the same time two women began yelling obscenities from directly
behind them. As much as she wanted to say something, she kept her mouth closed.
No matter what she told them, the ladies weren’t likely to listen to reason
anyway. Luckily, it only took Adam one piercing glare in their direction before
they stopped their yapping.

Escorting
the two hot-headed men over to Shane, one of their cousins who worked at the
bar most frequently, Adam and Jack left them with instructions to ensure the
men got home safely – and that meant they weren’t going to get behind the wheel
of their own vehicles.

“You’ve
got seriously good timing, you know that?” Adam asked Jack as they made their
way back inside.

That
he did. It seemed one of her brothers, usually Jack, was always having to come
along and break up one fight or another. For the most part, they occurred at
least once, sometimes twice on a Friday or Saturday night. Especially when they
booked the more popular talent. Although, Tessa was pretty sure they had never
had anyone bigger than Cooper Krenshaw on their stage.

As
Tessa made her way back to the bar, she looked up to see him on the stage, his
guitar in hand while he successfully distracted the crowd. A sudden flush of
heat traveled from the base of her skull right down her spine when her eyes met
his from across the room. Not five minutes before, she’d somehow landed
practically in his lap, and her body had immediately taken stock of the feel of
his hard body against her.

Something
she hadn’t felt in… Well, since Richie.

While
Cooper had been off with Adam during his break, Tessa received an earful about
the country music phenom from a group of women standing around the bar,
attempting to capture Eric’s attention since the superstar was nowhere in
sight. Not that Tessa would trust anything she heard, but then again, since
most of the chatter was about how nice his ass appeared in the Wrangler’s he
wore, she could pretty much check that out herself.

Not
that she would.

Ok,
so she did.

And
they were right.

“Is
that Cooper Krenshaw?” Jack asked Adam as her brothers stood along the back
corner of the bar where the sound system control panel was discreetly hidden.

“The
one and only,” Adam answered easily, sounding entirely too proud of himself.

Tessa
watched her baby brother as he moved behind the bar, grabbing a bottle of
Southern Comfort from the shelf. Jack was the youngest of the three, and
although they all had the same mother, she and Adam had a different father. For
whatever reason, she found that she was closer to Jack than she was to Adam.
Tessa was only a year younger than Adam, but she was three years older than
Jack and, needless to say, she’d been an overprotective older sister. It wasn’t
until Jack hit his twenties that he had taken over the protective role.

Tessa
listened to her brothers as she tried to help out with the drinks, all the
while her mind drifted back to the brief interlude she’d just shared with the
famous country music star. Her body still tingled from where Cooper had touched
her. It was the first time in a damn long time that her body actually craved
the attention of another human being.

Considering
she’d spent the better part of the first year and a half after Richie died
grieving rather than living, Tessa hadn’t had much time for intimate
relationships, nor had she wanted any. After one failed attempt at another
relationship about a year ago, it hadn’t been until recently that Tessa even
realized when the opposite sex was around her. At least not in any way that
mattered.

In
Cooper’s case, there was something in his touch, albeit brief, that felt
familiar yet exciting at the same time. And oh, holy moly, he smelled so good.
She would admit that she might’ve leaned against him a tad longer than was
necessary just so she could sniff him.

Working
to try and forget all that happened a few minutes ago, Tessa got wrapped up in
passing out drinks while listening to that provocative voice that filtered
through her bar. Thankfully, by tomorrow, all thoughts of Cooper Krenshaw would
be a thing of the past and she could get on with her life.

No
need to start dreaming about anything more now.

Especially
about things even farther out of her reach.

♥
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Morning
for Tessa didn’t begin until roughly noon on most days, but that was because
she tried to get the required eight hours of sleep and going to bed at four
o’clock in the morning meant the day was halfway over by the time she crawled
out of bed.

She
was a creature of habit, so it didn’t matter what time she woke up, the first
thing she did each and every day was make coffee and sit on the front porch
while Havoc and Harmony, her beloved Siberian Huskies that she had rescued from
the animal shelter just over a year ago, frolicked in the yard in front of the
house. Ever since she brought them home to live with her, they preferred to be
outside as opposed to inside. Just like her.

So,
this morning wasn’t much different than any other morning, with the exception
of the dream that Tessa could not seem to stop thinking about. It continued to
stream through her mind as she listened to the birds chirp and her dogs rumble
and growl as they played in the grass just a few feet away from the steps she
was perched on.

For
the life of her, Tessa couldn’t get Cooper Krenshaw out of her head.
Remembering the way it felt when the tall, dark haired cowboy had wrapped his
arms around her, keeping her from stumbling right on her ass the night before was
becoming annoying in its own right. Not only that, but that strange, bubbling
sensation in her tummy when she pictured him in her mind wasn’t doing her any
favors either.

The
man was sexy, she’d have to give him that much. His face was a mishmash of rugged,
chiseled features that, when blended together, made one of the most handsome
faces she’d ever seen. A strong, angular jaw with that scruffy stubble that was
just a smidge darker along his jawline. His perfect white teeth were framed by
lips that looked like they were made to kiss.

But
what had captured her almost instantly were his eyes. Light brown and so
bright, they were almost gold. And he wasn’t perfect which probably made him
all the more appealing. His nose was slightly crooked but just barely noticeable
unless of course one was staring at him the way she had been. And Tessa
could’ve stared at him for hours.

It
wasn’t hard to imagine why he was a country music sensation either. That voice.

Oh,
and did she mention he was tall. So very tall. At least compared to her.

Tessa
didn’t inherit her height from her mother or father the way her brothers had.
She was roughly five-foot-four while both of her brothers towered over her. The
same could be said for the dark haired stranger from the night before. Cooper
was taller than she imagined him being, not that she had actually imagined him
at all. From his perch on the stage, he hadn’t appeared unusually tall, but if
she had to guess, the attractive cowboy was at least a couple of inches over
six feet. However, it was possible that her brain was only making him seem
larger than life because of the way her body had responded to the innocent hold
he had on her the night before. Yep, that had to be it.

Since
the moment she walked through her front door in the wee hours of the morning,
Tessa had battled the urge to Google him just to see what kind of dirt she
could dig up on the man. Thankfully, she’d thought better of it. It wasn’t like
she was ever going to see him again.

He
was a passing fancy, every woman’s fantasy and probably a fly by night lover at
that. Who knew what he had done when he left her bar a few hours before dawn.
Although he hadn’t been with anyone when he finally called it a night just a
few minutes after closing time, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a flock of women
who had offered to make sure he was tucked in safe and sound when his head
finally did hit the pillow.

Tessa
tried to shake off the thought of the good looking cowboy. Finding a man wasn’t
on her priority list. And yes, that list was actually long.

Not
that the list was going according to plan, but she refused to deviate from it.
For so long, it was all she had. After Richie had died, she went back, added
more to the list and made up her mind that the only thing that mattered was accomplishing
the dream she’d had since she was younger. And if she had any intention of
getting to that goal, she didn’t have room for one night stands, especially
with overnight sensations the likes of Cooper Krenshaw.

Tessa’s
cell phone rang from somewhere inside the house and knowing that her little
brother Jack would be checking on her as he did every day, she hopped up from
the steps and hurried inside. Havoc and Harmony were by her side instantly,
pushing their large, wet noses into the house before she could stumble in after
them.

The
phone stopped ringing mere seconds before she reached it, but Tessa looked to
see who it was anyway. Adam.
Odd.
She rarely heard from him so early in
the day, especially after the kind of eventful evening they had the night
before.

Her
brother was known to sleep away most of the day, but that was usually thanks to
his extracurricular activities that typically took up most of his early morning
hours. Unlike Tessa, Adam didn’t avoid the opposite sex. Nor did he have a
problem with the love ’em and leave ‘em code of ethics that he had apparently
inherited from their absent father.

Before
she could dial her brother back, her phone chirped, signaling an incoming
voicemail. As she attempted to fill the dogs’ food bowls, Tessa juggled the
phone in one hand and tried to fend off her eager animals at the same time.

“Cool
it, Havoc. I’m working on it,” she informed the ninety pound Husky insistent on
nudging her with his powerful body. It was well past their lunchtime, which
meant he was overly ornery at the moment.

“Hey,
sis. I hope you’re awake. I’m on my way over. If you know what’s good for you,
you’ll have coffee ready when I get there.”

Tessa
smiled as she dropped her phone onto the counter, putting the final scoop of
kibble into Harmony’s bowl as she did. She couldn’t imagine what could possibly
bring Adam over at this time of day. He should’ve been passed out for at least
another couple of hours.

Although
he sounded fairly reasonable in his message, Tessa rushed to the kitchen and
put on a fresh pot of coffee just in case. Adam could be awfully demanding when
he wanted to be, and, considering he wasn’t a frequent visitor to her humble abode,
Tessa wanted to be prepared for the worst.

Ten
minutes later, she heard the sound of tires crunching on gravel out front. With
a fresh cup of coffee for herself and one for Adam, she moved toward the front
door just in time to see none other than Cooper Krenshaw climbing out of the
passenger side of Adam’s pickup.

“What
the hell?” she muttered to herself as she watched the handsome cowboy move
easily up her driveway just a few steps behind Adam.

Harmony
and Havoc realized they had company about that time and went barreling through
the screen door, their tails wagging with excitement. Neither of them barked
like she anticipated, but then again, they were familiar with her brother.

It
wasn’t Adam she was worried about though. If they knew what was best for them,
they would keep their distance from the cowboy that was now leaning over to pat
them both on the head.

Again…
What the hell?

∞
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

“That’s
Havoc, and that’s Harmony,” Adam stated as two oversized dogs rushed out the
front door and right up to his legs as Cooper followed Adam up the path to the
house.

The
way their hind ends wagged furiously, Cooper didn’t think he had anything to
worry about, but he moved with caution anyway. They were some big animals.

Two
seconds later, he was trying to balance on his haunches while the dogs licked
at him furiously, both eager for him to put his hands on them. Cooper obliged
them as he looked up at the old farmhouse in front of him.

He
still didn’t know why he was here, – wherever
here
was – but after Adam
had shown up at his motel room out of the blue, banging on the door and rousing
him from an intensely erotic dream, Cooper figured he had nothing better to do.

After
a quick breakfast at the congested café in town, and a brief, rather
uninformative conversation with Adam, Cooper wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d
felt as though he were being interrogated while he forced eggs and bacon down
his throat, answering question after question from his buddy.

Do
you plan to stay in Devil’s Bend? Will you continue to tour? Are you looking
for something else to do? Would you be interested in helping out at the bar?
What do you think of managing musical talent?