Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (35 page)

A
tear leaked down Tessa’s cheek, and he paused.

“Get
on with it, cowboy,” Tessa whispered, making him laugh.

“We’re
two souls after the same thing. We’re dream chasers, and I think it’s high time
we stop chasing those dreams and realize we’ve found what we’re looking for,”
he said, his throat tightening. Taking one step back, Cooper lowered himself to
one knee.

Releasing
Tessa’s hands, he retrieved the ring that had been burning a hole in his front
pocket. “I love you, Tessa Donovan. More than I ever thought I could love
anyone. You’re my heart, my soul… my everything. I want to spend the rest of my
days making you happy.” Cooper had to swallow hard. “Will you marry me, Tessa?”

Cooper
held his breath as he stared up at Tessa, his heart stuttering in his chest as
he waited for her answer. Her tears flowed steadily now, and he couldn’t stop
the fear from clogging his throat. He wanted her to be his wife, to spend the
rest of her days beside him, loving him. And letting him love her.

“Yes,”
she whispered. “I’ll marry you, cowboy. Yes.”

Cooper
barely heard the words, but his heart didn’t have any problem understanding
what she said. Now his hands were shaking but he managed to slide the
engagement ring over Tessa’s finger, his eyes never leaving hers. Pushing up to
his full height, he couldn’t stop the tear that escaped, nor did he try to.

“I
love you, Tessa.”

“I’ll
never get tired of hearing you say that, cowboy.”

When
Tessa flung herself into his arms, Cooper grabbed her up and held her close,
his mouth finding hers. The group that was gathered behind them started to
clap, several piercing whistles got the dogs excited, and then a booming
“Yeehaw!” sounded, causing Cooper to look over at Dalton.

The
man was holding the For Sale sign that Tessa had put up at
The Rusty Nail
.
He grinned and then spun the sign around. On the other side was a handmade sign
that read:

Dream
Chasers

Equestrian
Center

“It’s
perfect,” Tessa said on a sob. “Absolutely perfect.”

“Yes,
you are,” Cooper told her, squeezing her tightly. “You certainly are.”

Tessa
was a bundle of nerves and Izzy’s excitement wasn’t helping much. Her best
friend was all but bouncing around the tiny room, a grin on her face as she
continued to work on Tessa’s hair. Getting all “prettied up”, as Izzy referred
to it, was proving to be a time consuming ordeal.

“Are
you almost finished?” Tessa asked.

“Yes!”
Izzy squealed. “There! All done.”

Tessa
turned her head back and forth, studying the woman in the mirror, admiring the
up-do that Izzy had spent the last forty-five minutes working on. Had Izzy not
been so jittery, it would’ve probably only taken twenty.

“It’s
beautiful, Izzy,” she said admiringly.

“No,
you are,” her best friend said on a sigh. “God, Tessa. I’m so excited for you.”

Tessa
could tell. If she hadn’t been a nervous wreck, she would’ve been jumping up
and down with her friend.

After
all, she was getting married.

Today.

In
fact, the church was quickly filling up, and Tessa knew they didn’t have much
longer before the ceremony started. As much as she wanted to hide out in the
bridal suite for another, oh, say, two days, she knew she needed to get this
over with.

Not
the wedding per se. She was beside herself with joy at marrying Cooper. It’d
been six months since he proposed and they had been counting down to this day
together. They’d kept the wedding simple and made a list of everything that had
to be taken care of. With Izzy as her Matron of Honor and Dalton as Cooper’s
Best Man, everything had taken shape without much effort on their part.

In
fact, getting to this point had been relatively easy. Not much stress involved
when they spent most of their time enjoying one another. They’d had the
opportunity to talk things through and decided exactly how they saw their
future. The one thing they agreed on… whatever they did, they wanted it to be
together. Just the two of them.

Which
meant Tessa had to let go of some of the ghosts from her past. So, last week,
Cooper had taken her to visit Richie’s grave, which had been harder than she
thought it would be. Thankfully, Cooper had held her tightly both at the
gravesite and then later that night when she fell apart again. He had offered a
comforting shoulder and let her say what needed to be said. She hadn’t been to
Richie’s grave since the funeral, and she hated herself for that, but now that
she had, she felt as though they both might be at peace. As much as they could
be anyway.

Tessa
would never stop loving Richie and Cooper seemed to understand that. But, Tessa
knew she would never stop loving Cooper either. In a matter of minutes, he was
going to become her husband and she was finally ready to take this next step.
She had officially evicted the negativity from her life, and she’d learned to
hope as much as she dreamed.

And
all of her dreams were coming true. It hadn’t been long after Cooper proposed
that she had moved in with him. Days, in fact. She had been blessedly surprised
that her need for independence hadn’t been another obstacle they had to
overcome. Cooper gave her as much space as she needed and Tessa found on those
few nights he was gone for something music related, she missed him terribly.

They
seemed to have found exactly where they were supposed to be. The equestrian
center, which they had justly named Dream Chasers, had become as much Cooper’s
passion as Tessa’s. Although he was the one who put the dream within reach
because he had the resources required to build it, they’d both turned it into
what it was today. Then, of course, there was the farm. Thanks to the high
school kids lining up to volunteer, it was thriving. And yes, Tessa got her
petting zoo.

So,
their days were long, and their nights were longer, but Tessa wouldn’t have it
any other way.

It
was true, chasing dreams were something she’d been doing for as long as she
could remember. Now that she’d lassoed them and pulled them in, she couldn’t
wait to get on with the rest of her life. And to know that she would be sharing
that with the one man who shared her dreams as well… Well, that was more than
she ever could’ve asked for.

It
would seem that everything did happen for a reason, and although the pain endured
along the way could be enough to knock you down, Tessa knew it was all about
getting back up and moving forward. Now, as she stood facing the door that
would lead her into the church, Tessa was going to do just that.

Two
hours later, Tessa was standing beneath one of the enormous white tents that
had been set up next to the barn, with Izzy, Miranda, and Katie. The four of
them were watching as a group of guys got a little crazy on the makeshift dance
floor thanks to Cooper and Dalton singing one of those fast country beats they
used to rile up an audience.

The
wedding photographer was moving in and out of the fray, risking his life as far
as Tessa was concerned. The day had been perfect. The wedding beautiful, but
the reception… it was unexpected.

The
barn wasn’t big enough to hold everyone, so tents had been erected close by;
one containing food and drinks, another the dance floor, and another still that
contained more tables than Tessa could count.

Considering
how intimate the wedding had been, Tessa had no idea Izzy and Dalton had
conspired with their families to throw a huge reception. And technically, huge
was an understatement. Tessa’s entire family was there, including her mother,
her stepfather, both brothers, all of her cousins from her mother’s side who
lived in or around Devil’s Bend.

And,
as if that weren’t enough, there were even some she hadn’t seen in, well,
forever. Despite the fact that Tessa’s father hadn’t been a part of her life,
his sister Lorrie had always made a point to keep in touch with Sheila over the
years. The Walker’s lived in Coyote Ridge, a small town about half an hour
away, and Tessa had no idea how Izzy or her mother convinced them to come, but
most of them were there. Admittedly, the cousins she spent time with regularly
were intimidating enough, but Lorrie’s seven sons took intimidating to a whole
other level.

Cooper’s
parents were there, along with some of his friends. Yes, that’s how he referred
to some of the biggest names in country music – friends. Needless to say,
invitations had to be guarded once word got out, but thanks to her cousin
Shane, they didn’t have to worry about security.

So
far there hadn’t been any altercations, everyone was having fun, and as far as
Tessa was concerned, that’s what mattered most.

“Hold
up, y’all.” Dalton’s voice sounded over the speakers, and Tessa turned to look
at the stage set up on the far side of the tent. “It’s time for the bride and
groom to share their first dance.”

Tessa’s
breath lodged in her chest as she caught sight of Cooper moving her way, the
seductive grin on his face making her skin tingle. The man was eye catching in
a pair of boots and jeans, but sporting a tuxedo, he was mouthwatering.

And
he was hers.

Without
a word, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor, his golden brown eyes
trapping hers, mesmerizing her with all of the love she saw reflected there.

“I’m
sure y’all have heard this one on the radio recently. This is Cooper’s chart
topping single that was just released, ‘Angel in Blue Jeans’. He wrote this one
for his beautiful bride and he’s allowed me the honor of singing it here
tonight.”

Tessa’s
eyes filled with tears as she let Cooper pull her into his arms. She could
still remember the first time she heard the song when he sang it at
The
Rusty Nail
, not realizing then that he’d written it for her. Since then, he
had released the song as the first single from his next album and to their
delight, he had topped the country music charts with it.

“You
doing all right, Mrs. Krenshaw?” Cooper whispered against her ear as he held
her close, his head tilted down toward her.

“Never
better, Mr. Krenshaw,” she answered, squeezing his hand tightly. “It’s still a
little surreal.”

“Well,
you better get used to it, darlin’. This is only the beginning.”

Tessa
glanced up, met his eyes as she smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that,
cowboy.”

“Good,”
he said as he leaned down and kissed her gently. “Because I’m going to start
proving it tonight.”

Tessa
laughed. “I certainly hope so.” Glancing around briefly, she met his eyes
again. “Think we can sneak out early?”

∞
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Cooper
would’ve endured the wedding and the reception one hundred times over just to
marry Tessa, but he had to admit that this was what he’d been waiting for.

“Where’re
you at, cowboy?” Tessa’s sweet Texas drawl echoed within the cavernous barn.

Cooper
leaned his head over the edge of the hayloft and smiled down at her. “Up here,
so get your pretty little ass up here with me.”

Tessa
chuckled, and he watched as she shuffled the items in her hands around so that
she could make it up the ladder. Once she was within reach, he helped her by
retrieving the items and setting them to the side. Wine, two glasses, cheese,
crackers. The woman was optimistic, wasn’t she? As far as Cooper was concerned,
there wasn’t going to be time to eat.

“Oh,
wow,” she said on a breath.

That
was exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for. “Do you like it?”

Cooper
glanced over at the bed he’d made over the straw, ensuring that it was soft
enough for his gorgeous bride. He’d had to sneak the items up last week when
she wasn’t expecting it just to surprise her. And apparently that had worked.

He
wasn’t able to bring candles because of the hay, but he did bring strings of
white lights that he hung from the rafters above them. The area was lit with a
soft, golden glow and as Cooper had been stringing them up, he had envisioned
how beautiful his bride would look laid out naked right there so he could
admire her. Tonight, he was going to get to see the real thing.

“When
did you do this?” she asked, crawling over to the bed before lying back and
staring over at him. “It’s lovely.”

He
grinned, unwilling to divulge all of his secrets. He happened to like the idea
of sex in the hay loft, and he planned to confirm just how much before the
night was over.

Unable
to resist putting his hands on her, Cooper crawled his way over until he was
kneeling on all fours above Tessa, smiling down at her. “You’re so beautiful,
Mrs. Krenshaw.”

“Awww,
shucks, cowboy,” Tessa said with a mischievous grin. “You’re not so bad
yourself.”

Cooper
laughed, and Tessa reached up and cupped his face, her hands gentle and soft.
He was wondering how she was going to set the tone for the night. He was all
for making love to his wife on their wedding night, but he knew how much she
enjoyed other aspects of their sex life just as much. Cooper never knew what to
expect, but the way she was caressing his cheek made him think she was looking
for slower tonight.

“But
I think you’re definitely overdressed,” she said, smacking his cheek gently and
making him laugh.

“Is
that right? What about you?”

“Oh,
this old thing?” Tessa asked as she pushed herself to a sitting position,
forcing him to move or be knocked backward. Right in front of his eyes, Tessa
gripped the hem of her frilly dress and lifted it up and over her head.

“Lord
have… Holy hell, woman.” There before him was the naughtiest woman wearing the
skimpiest nightie he’d ever seen. Hell, there was more material in her normal
underwear. Not that he was complaining. The red silk ensemble made his mouth
water.

“Now
what did you have in mind?” he asked, his breath coming in rapid pants. Her
pussy was on full display for him even though he was pretty sure those were
supposed to be considered panties.

“I
was thinking we could set a precedence for our marriage.”

Darting
his eyes from between her silky smooth thighs and up to her face, Cooper tried
to pay attention to what she was saying. “What does that mean?”

“It
means I’d like you to show me just what I do to you, cowboy.”

“Yes,
ma’am,” he groaned as he moved forward, obviously faster than she expected
because she fell back onto the hay as she giggled. Sliding his hand between her
legs, he slipped two fingers deep inside her and matched her mischievous grin
when she moaned.

“You
like when I do that?” he asked, leaning forward to press his lips to hers. “You
like when I fuck you with my fingers?”

“I
like when you fuck me, period.” She laughed. “I still think you’ve got too many
clothes on.”

Cooper
remedied that quickly, undressing and tossing his clothes to the other side of
the loft, not caring where they went or if they’d be there when he was done.
His mind was fully focused on the hottest woman he’d ever laid eyes on and that
skimpy red thing that seemed pointless since it didn’t cover a stitch.

Taking
his position over her once more, he smiled as he lowered his head to her
breast, teasing her gently at first before sucking her firmly into his mouth
and using his teeth to scrape Tessa’s pretty pink nipple.