Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (4 page)

Those
were just a few of the questions Adam had thrown his way, and he wasn’t sure
whether they were trick questions or not, but apparently Adam seemed satisfied
with his answers. That still didn’t explain why they were here though.

Pushing
back to his full height when Adam summoned the dogs with a whistle, Cooper
looked up on the porch, and that was when he saw her.

The
angel in blue jeans. Only she wasn’t wearing jeans at the moment.
Holy hell.

And
he was pretty sure he liked her with fewer clothes on anyway. With a strained
effort, he tried not to ogle her. And he had to focus to keep his mouth from
hanging open.

He
couldn’t help but watch as Adam embraced the woman in a hug that said they knew
each other. From the looks of it, they were fond of one another based on the
way the woman stared up at him lovingly. Considering he hadn’t talked much with
Adam, aside from the barrage of questions that morning, Cooper’s first
assumption was they were more than mere friends.

“Cooper
meet Tessa. Tessa meet Cooper. Blah, blah, blah. I need more coffee,” Adam
introduced in a rush as Cooper made his way up the front steps.

Tessa,
as Adam referred to her, laughed sweetly, and Cooper couldn’t help but smile.
Removing his hat from his head, he held out his hand to the woman he’d dreamed
about the night before and steeled himself to touch her again. Their hands met,
her small, smooth fingers sliding into the palm of his hand, and Cooper had to
clamp his teeth shut to keep from groaning.

Damn
he liked touching her.

A
sudden strange, possessive instinct surged up in his gut, which was odd
considering where they were. It wasn’t a reaction he expected at all, but he
tried to attribute it to the night before.

“Nice
to meet you, ma’am,” he finally said when he located his voice. Their hands
touched for longer than was probably customary, but Cooper found he didn’t want
to pull away.

“You
too.” Her sweet voice sent another chill racing through his bloodstream, only
this time it forced the blood farther south. As though it were natural, Cooper
kept his cowboy hat resting in front of his now interested cock in the hopes
that she wouldn’t notice.

When
she pulled her hand away, Cooper let her go, but he allowed his eyes to linger
for a while longer.

She
was wearing a thin black tank top and a pair of tiny white shorts that put her
trim, tanned legs on display. If he were acting like the gentleman that his
parents had raised him to be, Cooper would’ve looked away, yet he found himself
glancing down, his gaze slowly traveling upward, until his eyes narrowed in on
the pebbled tips of her nipples that were now clearly visible through the soft,
threadbare cotton of her top.

She
must’ve realized what he was looking at because she quickly recovered, glaring
up at him before crossing one arm over her chest, and holding her coffee cup
with the other. She must’ve realized that Adam wasn’t there to save her, and
her reaction made Cooper chuckle. It wasn’t often that he saw something other
than pure, unadulterated lust written all over a woman’s face, especially the
first time he was introduced to her. What he saw on Tessa’s pretty face
resembled anything but, which ironically, he found he enjoyed immensely.

When
she turned and walked into the house, Cooper followed, very aware of three
things: the woman walking away from him, the intriguing sway of her hips and
her cute little ass, and the man staring back at him from the doorway to what
appeared to be the kitchen.

“I’m
surprised the two of you didn’t meet last night,” Adam said between sips of his
coffee.

“How
do you know we didn’t?” Tessa asked, sounding oddly irritated.

“Coop
said he didn’t meet my sister,” Adam admitted, turning to follow Tessa into the
kitchen.

Sister.

A
sudden, not to mention overwhelming, river of relief flooded Cooper. This
intriguing woman was Adam Dryden’s sister. They looked absolutely nothing
alike.

“So
what brings you by so early in the morning?” Tessa asked Adam, seemingly
oblivious to Cooper standing just a few feet away.

Early?
Morning? Shit, it was after noon already.

“Why
don’t you offer our guest some coffee, Sis?” Adam smirked before walking out of
the room leaving the two of them alone once again.

For
some reason, Cooper was beginning to get the impression that Adam was doing
that on purpose.

Remembering
her manners became more and more difficult as the minutes passed. Ever since
Cooper Krenshaw shook her hand, then blatantly leered at her body, Tessa had
been in some strange state of shock. Then again, the guy was probably used to
getting any woman he wanted, so the come hither look he’d perfected probably
got him pretty far in life.

Too
bad for him, she wasn’t interested.

Damn
it.

She
was
so
interested her body was doing crazy things.

Her
hormones were out of whack, her blood was churning in her veins, and her head
was spinning from the intoxicating scent of the man. And yes, he smelled even
better today than he had last night. That could’ve been because they were
lacking the nauseating mixture of various other perfumes, colognes and the pungent
smell of beer. Or, it could be because Cooper Krenshaw smelled like hot, virile
male.

Either
way, Tessa continued to remind herself that she wasn’t interested. She wasn’t
interested in one night stands. Wasn’t interested in a week long affair. Wasn’t
even interested in a brief romance because ultimately, in the end, Cooper
Krenshaw would be moving on to bigger and better things.

Above
all else, Tessa had no desire to spend time with a man she couldn’t keep, nor
did she have any interest in what came with country music stardom.

And
why the hell did she keep referring to him as Cooper Krenshaw? The man had a
first name, and she was pretty sure he didn’t go by both first and last. Or
maybe he did. Hell, what did she know?

Shit.

At
the moment, she didn’t know anything. Her brain was a tangle of lust and
hormones and she was quickly becoming exceedingly irritated with herself. Sort
of like her frustration with the women in her bar, when they threw themselves
at the nightly entertainment, well known or not.

“Would
you like some coffee?” Tessa finally asked, trying to sound as though it were
an afterthought to offer. She didn’t want this man to drink her coffee. She
didn’t want him to sit on her couch. She didn’t want him to steal her heart
and…

Oh,
what the hell was she thinking?
It’s just coffee.

“Yes,
ma’am,” he said in that dark, rich tone that made her pulse thump rapidly.

“No
need to call me ma’am,” she told him, not bothering to look up as she poured
his coffee. He didn’t answer, but she knew he heard her.

Without
another thought, Tessa handed him the cup and turned to walk away, letting him
know that the cream was in the refrigerator and sugar on the counter should he
need it. The proximity was too much. She needed to get away, preferably outside
where she could smell the sweet, lingering scent of the country and not the
potent scent of Cooper Krenshaw.

Cooper
damn it. His name was Cooper. He was just a normal person like the rest of
them. It didn’t mean a thing that his voice was crooning all over radio
stations worldwide or that his face was well known on the front cover of
magazines. And it didn’t matter that he’d won an award or probably twenty for
his music.

A
few minutes later, the three of them were sitting on the front porch, Adam
perched on the wood railing, Tessa in the lone wicker chair and Cooper on the
porch swing. She much preferred the swing, but the possibility of him sitting
beside her was a risk she hadn’t been willing to take, so her choice of seating
had been calculated for her self-preservation.

Now
that they were all seated, no one was speaking. There was no rushing her
brother, but Tessa sensed he wanted to talk. Not only because he had shown up
at her house at an ungodly hour after a particularly long night but because he
looked as though he had something on his mind. Rather than pelt him with
questions, Tessa chose to focus her attention on Harmony and Havoc who were
once again frolicking in the yard like puppies.

“Coop’s
gonna buy Old Man Deluth’s farm,” Adam said out of the blue and Tessa damn near
spilled her coffee in her lap.

What
the fuck?

“What
do you mean he’s gonna buy it?”

“Just
what I said,” Adam answered, one eyebrow cocking as he looked back at her
before his gaze transferred to Cooper.

That
wasn’t even possible. Cooper could not be buying the Deluth farm because Tessa
was buying it. She’d been paying Old Man… er… Jerry Deluth for several years, a
little at a time until she had enough for the down payment so she could take
over the rest of the payments. It was an agreement they had made a very long
time ago, before...

Before
Jerry passed away two months ago.

Tessa
frowned as she peered at Cooper. She’d still been making the payments like
clockwork.

Surely,
Adam had to be wrong.

First
of all, why would the famous country music star want to live in Devil’s Bend?
For some reason that did not sound like a good idea, and Tessa knew it wasn’t
just because of her intense attraction to the man.

Hold
up… that wasn’t the point. Regardless.

“I
wouldn’t say it’s much of a farm anymore,” Cooper added, grinning at Adam.
“Maybe one day, but right now, it’s more of a shamble of a house and two
hundred forty acres of weeds.”

Tessa
smiled despite herself at the way he enunciated the words, sounding very much
like he was born and raised in the south. And definitely not from Texas. She
wondered if he’d come by his drawl naturally or if it had been developed for
his country music persona.

Realizing
she wasn’t supposed to be smiling, she forced her attention back to Adam. “When
did this happen?”

“Talk
to him,” Adam told her. “He’s the one buying the place.”

“But…”
Wait. No. Tessa was not going to mention the fact that she had a stake in that
place. After all, she’d never told Adam that she was buying it for a reason.
And thankfully her brother Jack had kept her secret as well. She wasn’t looking
for a hand out, and she knew all too well that Adam would’ve tried to jump to
her rescue, especially after Richie died.

There
had to be a mistake, and as soon as she got the chance, she was going to call
Luanne Deluth Rosenbough and talk to her.

“What
do you plan to do with it?” Tessa asked, glancing Cooper’s way briefly. Her
throat felt tight and her eyes stung from unshed tears, but she fought them
back. She refused to get emotional until she had all the facts.

“It
needs some work, and it’ll probably take me some time to build it up, but
ultimately I’d like to turn it into a fully functioning farm. As a side
venture, I’m looking to build an equestrian center. I’ve always wanted to use
horses to work with disabled children and adults.”

Tessa
knew her jaw was hanging open, knew she shouldn’t stare at him as though he’d
just admitted that his dream was the
exact same dream
she’d been chasing
ever since she was a child, but she couldn’t help it.

“Hey,
that’s funny. Tessa wanted to do that when she was a kid,” Adam offered.

She
still
wanted it, but Adam didn’t know that.

So
if Adam hadn’t said anything, then that left… Had Luanne told Cooper what Tessa
was planning to do? Was this some kind of joke? Or payback?

Tessa
had to force her jaw to relax when she realized she was grinding her teeth
together.

“Really?”
Cooper sounded as though he was hearing the news for the first time. Didn’t
mean she wasn’t still suspicious of what his overall objective was. What were
the odds that he came to Devil’s Bend, bought the property she was in the
process of buying and planned to build the exact same thing? Something was off
here.

“So,
what
?” Tessa realized she sounded frustrated. “You bring him all the way
out here to tell me he wants to run a horse farm?”

Adam
frowned down at her, and Tessa bit the inside of her cheek as she turned to
stare out into the yard. Yes, it was somewhat of a sore spot that she spent her
nights slinging beers in a bar, even if she owned said bar while others were
out making their dreams come true. She might not be able to make her dream come
true overnight, but she was working on it.

“No,
I brought Coop out here because I wanted to know what you thought of him
handling the entertainment at
The Rusty Nail
.”

Tessa
stared up at Adam once again, confusion replacing the frustration from moments
ago.

“You
want him to sing in the bar every night?” Turning to face Cooper, she asked
him, “And you’d want to do that? I thought you were a big country star.”

Adam
laughed, pulling her attention back to him. “No, I don’t think Coop would be
interested in becoming a permanent nightly fixture at
The Rusty Nail
.
He, however, would be good for business.”

“What
are you talking about? You handle the entertainment. Why would we need him?”
Tessa stared at her brother, trying to comprehend what he was telling her. Or
rather what he
wasn’t
telling her. She knew there was something, but for
the life of her she couldn’t put it together. The look on his face told her she
wasn’t going to be happy with his news.

“I’m
going into the police academy.” Adam’s calm tone sounded as though he were
trying to soothe her which meant…

And
then his words registered.

Police
academy.

Tessa’s
heart stopped beating in her chest and she felt faint. Somehow, although her
body was hardly cooperating, she managed to put her coffee cup on the railing
beside her because she wasn’t interested in wearing what was left of it.
Staring up at Adam, she couldn’t get a single word out of her mouth.

“Tessa…”
Adam began, sounding as though he were going to start explaining.

“Don’t,”
she demanded harshly. “Don’t. I… I don’t even know what to say.”

Pushing
to her feet, Tessa forced her legs to move, forced herself to go inside before
she lost every ounce of her decorum right there on her front porch in front of
God and everyone.

And
Cooper Krenshaw.

∞
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

So
maybe Cooper wasn’t the smartest man on the planet, but he knew immediately
that what Adam just announced to his sister was not a good thing. As for why,
he had no idea.

“Shit,”
Adam said, pulling his ball cap down low on his head before taking it off
altogether and turning to face the yard.

“I’m
going to take a wild guess on this one, but I don’t think she took that well.”
Cooper’s statement was met with silence, and he allowed it to settle around
them for a few minutes.

Not
only was he uncomfortable being there, Cooper was confused as to
why
he
was there and the answers didn’t appear to be forthcoming. Did Adam think that
bringing him along would lessen the sting of that blow? If he did, it damn sure
didn’t work.

“Richie
died in the line of duty,” Adam explained, although Cooper had no idea who
Richie was. Not knowing what he was supposed to say to that, Cooper kept his
mouth shut.

“Richie
was her husband,” Adam finally explained long seconds later.

Oh,
shit.
Well, that explained it all too well. Adam just informed his sister that he was
going to do the exact thing that got her husband killed?
Shit.

Cooper
wanted to ask Adam why he thought it was a good idea to do this. Or better yet,
why Adam thought it was a nifty idea to bring Cooper along when he announced
his intentions? How in the hell did he get caught in the middle?

“I
need to talk to her,” Adam stated, but he didn’t move from where he stood.

That
would probably be a smart idea
, Cooper thought to himself. It was a
good thing that the filter was back in place because he knew for sure that he
shouldn’t get in the middle of this any more than he already was.

Adam
suddenly turned and faced Cooper, a pained look on his face. Pulling his ball
cap back on, Adam said, “I’ve wanted to do this my whole life. I was actually
going to go into the academy with Richie, but when my stepfather got sick, I
decided not to go.”

Cooper
knew that Adam’s stepfather had been sick several years back, but he wasn’t
aware that his illness had derailed Adam’s future. Nor had he been aware that
Adam had a brother-in-law. He knew Adam had a brother and a sister, both
younger, knew he had grown up in a small town and that he wasn’t close to
either of his parents. Besides the basics of their families, the distance over
these last few years hadn’t kept them as close as they had been during those
two semesters that they’d roomed together in college.

That
was probably mostly Cooper’s fault because when he ventured into the music
industry full time, he’d essentially left most of his friends behind. He and
Adam talked from time to time, at least once every three or four months, but
obviously not enough that Adam felt close enough to share those personal parts
of his life. On top of that, Cooper knew Adam well enough to know the man
didn’t share much of himself with anyone.