Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (6 page)

“I’ll
see you inside,” she told him, abruptly turning to the door and hoping like
hell he wouldn’t move closer. As strong as she was, for some reason, Tessa
wasn’t able to resist this man when he was close because her damn hormones went
on strike.

“Hey,”
he called out before her hand made it to the doorknob.

Squeezing
her eyes shut, Tessa inhaled slowly. Held it. This was not going to go well,
she could feel it.

Before
she could turn around, she felt the heat of Cooper at her back. When his strong
hands came down on her shoulders, she fought the urge to melt into him, to soak
up some of his strength at a time when she so desperately needed it. Against
her will, she turned around slowly, and nearly lost the tears she fought to
hold back when he pulled her flush against him and held her close.

His
arms were strong and warm, his heartbeat a soothing anchor in the turmoil that
had become her life. And damn it all to hell, he smelled fantastic. Pressing
her cheek against his chest, she gave in to him momentarily. She could’ve tried
to come up with excuses as to why she was willingly letting Cooper hold her,
but she knew they’d all be a lie. She wanted him to. That was the simple truth.

She
had no idea how much time had passed, but the next thing she knew, Cooper was
pulling back slightly, his hands cupping her face as he tilted her head back.
He stared down into her eyes for what felt like an interminably long time, and
she held her breath, aching for this man to give her something more. Something
that she needed but wasn’t willing to ask for.

“I
want to kiss you,” he whispered.

Tessa’s
heart pounded painfully against her chest. She didn’t turn away, but she didn’t
give him permission either. The smart thing for her to do would be to turn and
walk away. Hell, maybe even run. He was a man who had walked into her life and
uprooted it in ways she never imagined. This attraction she had for him was
only part of it.

“If
I kiss you, Tessa, I won’t be able to stop,” he warned, but she found her gaze
straying to his lips.

Please,
please, please let him kiss me.

Oh,
hell. What was she saying? She didn’t want… Before she could finish the
thought, Cooper’s velvet soft lips were on hers, and her breath escaped her in
a rush.

He
was gentle, yet firm, his big, warm hands tilting her head slowly as he seemed
to be monitoring her reaction. Her body relaxed instantly, and she knew he felt
it too because as soon as a sigh escaped her, his hands moved down lower,
pulling her body against his. When his tongue slid slowly over her lips, Tessa
found herself opening for his kiss.

And
the fireworks that exploded behind her closed eyelids nearly knocked her off of
her feet, a blinding collision of colors melding together. Kissing him was like
coming home for the first time in years. The comfort and familiarity was there,
although this man was no more than a stranger to her. But something in him had
connected with something in her.

The
low rumble that echoed in his chest only added fuel to the fire, and Tessa
found her arms were sliding up over his chest to wrap around his neck and pull
him closer. His Stetson was nearly knocked off when she latched her fingers
into the silky hair at the nape of his neck.

As
far as kisses went, this one was the equivalent of an unpredicted hurricane,
sweeping over her and knocking her sideways, leveling everything she held near
and dear.

Sweet
mercy, the guy could kiss.

Minutes
passed before either of them attempted to come up for air, and by the time they
did, Tessa was practically trying to climb his body. She was both embarrassed
and shocked at her behavior, but when she tried to pull away from him, Cooper’s
arms locked around her.

“Don’t
run from me, please,” he whispered, his voice so rich and sultry, she let the
tone settle her nerves.

Momentarily.

Their
eyes met, and Tessa fought the urge to cry again. What the hell was wrong with
her? She wasn’t supposed to be kissing this man. He’d never be able to give her
what she needed – no one could – and she had no desire to give in long enough
to find out for herself.

“I
can’t do this,” she said firmly, forcing him to release her. “Please. I just
can’t.”

Without
looking back, Tessa fled back inside her bar, sneaking into the relative safety
of the bathroom. It was the only place she would possibly find solitude for
long enough to get herself under control. And she desperately needed to.

By
the time the night was over, Tessa had managed to successfully evade Cooper at
every turn. She had to admit, when he went up on stage and surprised the customers
with a thirty minute set, she had been enthralled. Again, this man had a voice
that captivated her. Not that she would let him know that.

The
few times she’d caught him looking her way, Tessa managed to pretend she didn’t
see him. She was just having one problem with that. She did see him.
Everywhere. Even when he wasn’t near her, she saw him. That kiss had rocked her
world, and she feared she would never be able to forget it, no matter how hard
she tried.

“Can
I walk you out?” Cooper’s deep, panty melting drawl oozed over her as she wiped
down the last of the glasses and put them in their place beneath the bar.

“I’ll
be here for a while. Thanks though.” That was a monumental lie, but there was
no way she wanted him to walk her out.

In
fact, she wanted to pretend she didn’t know him. She hadn’t had this kind of
reaction to any one man in a very long time, and she continued to remind
herself that she shouldn’t be having a reaction to him. It had to be because he
was famous. Maybe she was star struck.

No.
No, that definitely wasn’t it. Tessa didn’t get star struck. She had learned,
no matter how big or how small their stardom reached, their egos exceeded that
tenfold. If there was a possibility of her ever settling down again, it
undoubtedly wouldn’t be with the likes of Cooper Krenshaw.

“I’ll
wait.”

Tessa
flinched from the sound of his voice. He was much closer than he had been, and
she hadn’t realized he snuck up on her.

“How
much longer you got? Can I help?”

Good
Lord. Could the guy just take a hint? Why did he have to be the perfect
gentleman?

“I’m
not going to sleep with you.” Tessa slapped her hand over her mouth as she
turned to look at him, her eyes wide with horror because her thoughts had just
tumbled right out of her mouth.

His
chuckle reverberated through every molecule in her body and Tessa found she
liked that too.

“Well,
I’m sorry to hear that. It’s a good thing I wasn’t asking, or you might’ve
bruised my ego a little bit.”

She
couldn’t help but smile at his reaction to her verbal blunder.

“I’d
still like to walk you out. I promise, it doesn’t require either of us to get
horizontal.”

His
words produced a vivid image in her mind, and it had nothing to do with them
being horizontal and everything to do with her plastered against the wall while
this big, sexy cowboy was pressed between her thighs.

Damn.
It was definitely time to go home. Alone.

Figuring
she wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of it, Tessa finished up the
last glass and then removed her apron, tossing it beneath the bar. At least
she’d have tomorrow off, which meant she would be able to officially get Cooper
out of her system.

“Come
in, Tessa,” Luanne Deluth said in a curiously fake accent when Tessa arrived at
her house on Sunday afternoon.

It
was a fact that Luanne was born and raised in Devil’s Bend, however, somewhere
along the way, she’d adopted some variation of a northern accent. She sounded awkward
and confused because she was dropping her
R
s as well as mixing in a few
y’all
s.
Tessa wasn’t sure how her husband even understood what she was trying to say.

Ignoring
the need to tell her to remember her roots, Tessa simply walked into the house,
letting the screen door slam behind her as though it were an accident. It had
taken some pleading, but Luanne finally relented and agreed to meet with her.
If that weren’t a sign that something was going on, Tessa didn’t know what was.

“Thanks,”
she said matching the saccharine sweetness in Luanne’s tone although she
honestly wanted to grab the woman by the hair and ask her what the hell was
going on.

It
wasn’t a secret that Tessa and Luanne didn’t get along well. They had grown up
together, graduated in the same class, but for whatever reason, as of their
freshman year of high school, their friendship had turned to loathing. For
various reasons, Tessa had always made a point to stay out of Luanne’s way.

“Have
a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No,
thanks,” Tessa replied, lowering herself onto the pretentious little couch in
the awkwardly designed living room. She had to admit, the place looked like it
was straight out of a magazine and equally as homey too. She had to wonder
whether Luanne had removed plastic covers from the furniture before Tessa’s
arrival. Probably not. Knowing Luanne, she would’ve left them on because she
wouldn’t want Tessa to touch her things.

“What
can I help you with?” Luanne asked, primly lowering herself into an ugly side
chair and crossing her legs like a debutante on display. Damn, this woman was
absolutely nothing like her father, nor was she anything remotely close to how
Tessa remembered her either. They hadn’t spoken to each other in years, not
since Luanne married Jacob Matthew Rosenbough
the Third
about five years
prior.

“I
wanted to talk to you about your dad’s farm,” Tessa stated, figuring she might
as well get right down to business. No sense beating around the bush when Tessa
would much prefer getting the hell out of dodge as soon as possible.

“In
case you haven’t noticed, the farm belongs to me now.”

Oh
she noticed all right. Biting her tongue to keep from being sarcastic, Tessa
forced a smile. “I’m sorry, I meant
your
farm.”

Luanne
nodded, her perfectly coifed hair never budging an inch. She must’ve used
plaster to keep that thing in place.

Shaking
her head to regain her focus, grateful that her own hair actually moved, Tessa
continued. “I was wondering whether you received my last payment.”

After
some research, Tessa found out that her last two checks hadn’t been cashed,
which meant, either Luanne didn’t receive them, or she purposely didn’t cash
them for whatever reason. Based on the fact that Cooper Krenshaw believed he
was about to become the new owner of the Deluth land, she had to assume the
latter was the case.

“What
in heaven’s name are you talking about?” Luanne asked, her real accent coming
out in spades. That was an easy tell. When the woman was lying, she obviously
had a hard time keeping up the rich, socialite front. That and the way Luanne’s
jaw ticked, a clear sign the woman was hiding something.

Figuring
it wasn’t in her best interest to get defensive, she decided to explain the
situation. “Your father and I had an agreement,” Tessa began. “I’ve been paying
him every month for the last several years until I could come up with the
entire down payment on his land. At that point, I was going to take possession
of the house and continue paying him the agreed upon price.”

Luanne
cocked an eyebrow, but Tessa could tell that the confused look was for her
benefit. “I’m sorry, Tessa. I don’t know about any agreement that my father
made. He wasn’t very good about keeping records,” she said snidely, “and when
he passed away everything was willed to me.”

Tessa
clamped her jaw shut, breathing in through her nose and trying to rein in her
temper. This was not going to go well if she lost it. Instead of arguing, she
waited for Luanne to continue.

“And
besides the fact that my father was much too generous with you over the years,
I’ve actually sold the land to a really nice man who was willing to pay a much
more reasonable price,” Luanne smiled greedily. “I’m sure you’ve met him.”

Wait.
More reasonable than what? If Luanne didn’t know about the agreement, how would
she know what was considered
more
reasonable?

To
Tessa’s surprise, Luanne didn’t actually elaborate on whom she sold the land
to. Because Cooper was famous, she figured Luanne would be all about bragging
around town. But Tessa didn’t need Luanne to give her the details, she already
knew.

“I’m
confused,” Tessa said, pretending Luanne hadn’t out and out lied about the
agreement between Tessa and Luanne’s father that she initially claimed she
didn’t know about. “I’ve got an agreement.”

“And
that agreement is null and void now that my father passed away. If I’d had my
way, he never would’ve made a deal with you in the first place.”

Well,
the truth was out at least. Not that it made her feel any better. Tessa
clenched her hands at her side, but she didn’t move. “So, where’s my money?”

“Oh,
honey, don’t you worry your pretty little head. I don’t need your money. You’ll
get back every penny.”

So
Luanne did know about the money. Did the woman not realize she was revealing
her lie? Or maybe she did it so often that she didn’t even notice.

But
despite Luanne’s lies and her deceit, Tessa didn’t want her money back. She
wanted the land. She had plans for that land, and she was almost in a position
to make her dreams come true. What was she supposed to do now?

“Since
I was able to sell the land for almost twice as much as what my father was
going to sell it to you, I think it’s safe to say your offer no longer holds my
interest. Unless, of course, you’d like to make another offer. But, keep in
mind, the person who is purchasing is willing to pay cash. Up front.”

Tessa
felt defeated. It wouldn’t matter at this point what she did or said. She
couldn’t even afford a lawyer to fight Luanne. If Cooper was willing to pay
twice what Tessa had agreed to, she would never be able to afford it. Not to
mention, she hadn’t even been able to come up with the down payment in cash,
much less the full asking price.

Realizing
she was beating a dead horse, and she was only going to get herself worked up,
Tessa decided enough was enough. Her temper was hovering on the brink of
explosive, and the last thing she wanted was for Luanne to see how defeated she
felt.

Standing
from her seat, Tessa headed toward the door without saying another word. It was
that, or she was going to scratch the woman’s eyeballs out. Her emotions were
churning like a violent, straight-line wind, and any minute, it was going to
start swirling, taking out everything in her path.

Fifteen
minutes later, Tessa was pulling into Charlie’s Restaurant. After leaving
Luanne’s, she called Jack and asked him to meet her. She wasn’t sure why she
needed to talk to her younger brother, but she knew, if anyone could, he’d be
able to put this entire situation in perspective. She couldn’t call Adam
because he had no idea that she had even been trying to buy the land, and she
didn’t want to put him in the middle. Since Cooper was his friend and the man
who was buying the Deluth farm, she felt as though he might not understand.

“Hey,
Sis,” Jack greeted as he approached the table she was sitting at. “Uh-oh, what
the hell happened?”

Tessa
loved her baby brother. He was actually more protective of her than Adam, and that
was saying something. She watched as he eased down into the booth across from
her, his muscular body folding into the seat awkwardly. There was a reason he’d
garnered the nickname “Tiny” in high school. Of course, she didn’t dare call
him that because Jack had always hated that name, but at six-foot-six-inches,
he wasn’t necessarily small.

“Did
you know that Luanne was selling her father’s land to Cooper Krenshaw?” she
asked, forgoing any pleasantries.

Jack’s
eyebrows shot downward as he stared back at her. “What? I thought you were
buying the land?”

Tessa
had told Jack about the situation a couple of years before when she wanted to
rent the house she was currently living in, which happened to belong to Jack.
He’d grown up in the house, and when his father met their mother, they’d bought
a bigger place just on the other side of town. After Jack graduated from high
school, his father had given him the house, but for reasons Jack wasn’t willing
to talk about, he never moved back there.

So
when Tessa had needed a place to stay, she felt compelled to explain why she
wasn’t looking to buy a house at the time and since they’d all been so worried
about her because of Richie’s death, she had told Jack everything.

“Well,
it looks like that isn’t the case,” she whispered, fighting the urge to cry.

“What
about the money you paid him?” Jack asked, his voice lethally low.

“Oh,
Luanne assured me I’d get it back. Said she was getting twice as much as Mr.
Deluth was willing to sell it to me for.”

Tessa
had been close to Jerry Deluth, helping him out for years when he needed it.
After all, he had been the reason her entire life took a radical shift in
course when she was a teenager, so she felt as though she owed him. Because
they’d spent so much time together, Tessa figured he’d been inclined to make
her such a good deal. Now that he had passed on, she knew there was nothing she
could do about it.

“Have
you talked to Cooper? Does he know?”

Tessa
hesitated, staring over at her brother. “No, I don’t want him to know.”

“Why
the hell not? Maybe he’ll back out and you can still get it,” Jack argued.

“First
of all, Cooper plans to open an equestrian center.”

“Are
you fucking serious? Did Adam tell him about your plans?”

“Not
that I can tell, no. After talking to Luanne, I didn’t get that she did either,
but I don’t know for sure.”

“Don’t
you find it strange, Tess?”

Yes,
she did. She thought it was more than a little coincidental that Cooper
descended on their small town with the same end goal as her. She didn’t answer,
she just shrugged.

“Hey,
Tess. Jack. What can I get you two?” Miranda Wynter asked when she approached
the table.

Tessa
forced a smile, hoping her friend wouldn’t notice that something was wrong.
Miranda spent her days waitressing at Charlie’s and on Thursday and Monday, and
sometimes extremely busy weekend nights, she helped out at the bar. It went
without saying that the two of them were close, and Miranda would likely
bombard her with questions if she thought Tessa needed someone to talk to.

“You
hungry?” Tessa asked, turning to Jack.

“Was
that rhetorical?” he laughed and then turned his signature grin at Miranda.
“Have you ever known me not to be hungry?”

Miranda
laughed, her eyes lingering on Jack for a surprisingly long time. Forgetting
all of her worries momentarily, Tessa stared up at her friend. The woman she’d
known since grade school looked like… She looked like she was crushing on
Tessa’s younger brother.

Oh,
hell.

Jack
didn’t seem to notice because he glanced between the two of them, gifting
Miranda with the million kilowatt smile before saying, “I’ll take a
cheeseburger and onion rings if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll
have the same,” Tessa added. “And two sweet teas.”

“Sure
thing,” Miranda grinned as she jotted the information down on a well-worn
notepad. “Be back in a minute.”

“So,
you’re not gonna tell this guy that he’s stealing your land?” Jack asked when
Miranda walked away.

“I
think she likes you,” Tessa whispered, ignoring Jack’s question.

True
to form, Jack peered around the room, looking hopeful, but when his eyes met
hers again, he just looked confused. “Who?”

“Miranda.”

There
was a dark cloud that appeared in Jack’s midnight blue eyes, but he quickly
shifted it away. “I seriously doubt that.”

Tessa
tilted her head, studying her brother for a minute. She didn’t think he would
hide anything from her, but she had to wonder. Knowing that if she pressed him
for details he would just shut down, so she dropped the subject.

“Why
don’t you want to talk to Cooper?” Jack asked again, reminding Tessa why they were
there in the first place.

“Technically
that land wasn’t mine. Yet. And I’m not sure what the point would be. It’s not
like he wouldn’t buy it anyway.”