Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) (18 page)

By
the time Thursday night rolled around, Tessa was grateful to be back at the
bar. She had spent a lot of time with Cooper during the day. After their
rendezvous in the bed of his truck, she had asked him to take her home. He had,
but rather than dropping her off and kissing her goodnight, he came in for a
while, saying he wasn’t ready to let her go. His sweetness was nearly her
undoing. To her surprise, Cooper went home rather than stay the night.

She
wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or disappointed about the last part. Or
both.

Either
way, she woke up that morning to her phone ringing. When she answered, Cooper
had advised her that she had half an hour to get ready because he was coming to
pick her up. After a quick breakfast at a fast food restaurant just outside of
town, he had taken her back to his place, and they spent most of the day
supervising the movers as they unloaded a huge moving trailer. Luckily, the
movers did most of the work, but after sitting idly by for about an hour, Tessa
was no longer able to sit still, so she pitched in.

Helping
him to get situated in his house by relocating boxes to the appropriate place
was not the only way in which she was introduced to a day in the life of Cooper
Krenshaw. Tessa also had the pleasure of seeing what it meant to be stalked by
paparazzi.

Apparently,
word was now out, and the fact that an eighteen wheeler was delivering Cooper’s
personal items to Texas was big news in the country music world. And thus had
brought about reporters who would do just about anything to get what Cooper
referred to as a money shot.

Tessa
was immediately turned off by the fact that someone would want to sit outside
Cooper’s house and watch him through a telephoto lens just to see what they
could capture on film. Needless to say, they’d had to stay inside in order to
avoid the reporters, and after a while, Tessa began to feel claustrophobic.

Aside
from that weirdness, their interaction throughout the entire ordeal was
comfortable and easy, almost as though they had been spending the day together
for quite some time. And true to form, Tessa found she was overthinking the
whole relationship, starting at the beginning and trying to nail down where in
the world she’d gotten off track. After all of the ways her brain had picked
through the events of the last weeks, she still had no idea.

But
now that she was back at work, she was hoping to figure out a way to put some
space between them. Only because she feared she was getting too close too fast.
And surprisingly, for the first time, she was more interested in not running Cooper
off than she was worried about these feelings he was dredging up inside of her.

The
sound of the microphone feedback had Tessa turning toward the stage. A smile
snuck up on her as she watched Cooper move toward the front of the stage,
grinning down at the handful of people already on the dance floor. She tried
not to keep her eyes glued to him as he started to sing, but admittedly, that
was easier said than done. She was enraptured by the man. It was no wonder
there were people who’d pay decent money to watch him perform.

It
wasn’t until a customer caught her attention that she turned away. “What can I
get ya?” she asked the well-dressed man who’d found a seat at the bar.

“Crown
and Coke if you don’t mind,” the man said matter-of-factly, his southern drawl
distinct and obviously not from Texas.

“Sure
thing,” she answered politely as she moved to grab the Crown from the shelf and
a clean glass. As she poured, she discreetly scoped him out, taking in his
perfectly cut blonde hair, his clean-shaven jaw. He didn’t have on a hat and
the suit he sported looked totally out of place in her dimly lit bar.

Once
the drink was made, she pushed the glass his way and gave him the price.

“Put
it on Coop’s tab.” The brusque manner in which he replied sounded oddly familiar.
When he turned his back on her again, she studied him, unable to come up with
where she might know him from.

“Excuse
me, what?” she asked, glancing over at Eric who had just made his way behind
the bar.

“You
heard me, sweetheart. Just put it on Coop’s tab.”

“And
you would be?” she asked, unable to conceal the irritation in her voice.

“Oh,
sorry. I just figured you’d recognize me,” the man said with an air of conceit,
turning back to face her as though seeing his entire face would ring a bell.

Nope.
Nothin’.

“Sweetheart,
the name’s Marcus Evergreen.”

Sweetheart?

Tessa
was more than familiar with being called all sorts of endearing terms, after
all, she was the main one responsible for providing her customers with alcohol
on a nightly basis, but something about the way this guy addressed her made her
feel slimy.

Oh,
hell.

Did
he just say…?

Marcus
the Manager.

Oh,
Lord. The strange empty feeling in her stomach had nothing to do with the fact
that she hadn’t had dinner, and everything to do with why Manager Marcus was
sitting in her bar.

Tipping
her head at Marcus, as though she actually wanted to greet him, Tessa quickly
shot a glance at Eric. Not necessary it would seem because Eric was already
easing his way out from behind the bar. If she were lucky, he was about to let
Cooper know he had company.

“So,
what brings you here,
Marcus Evergreen
?” she asked, pretending the name
didn’t actually ring a bell. The man seemed a little full of himself, no need
to give him the satisfaction just yet.

“You
don’t remember me?” he asked, a questioning look in his dark brown eyes.

“Sorry,
should I?” She offered him a shrug.

With
a huff, Marcus set his half empty glass on the bar and focused his smarmy grin
at her. “I’m here to take the talent back where he belongs.”

“The
talent?” Tessa didn’t particularly care for the way Marcus referred to Cooper.
After all, he had a name. And he was so much more than just mere ‘talent’.

“Yes
ma’am,” Marcus answered with a tilt of his head toward the stage. “It’s time
Cooper go back where he belongs. He’s had his fun.”

“Sorry,
I’m not sure I understand.” Tessa knew she was laying it on thick, but she
figured she would take the opportunity to get to know what this guy’s agenda
was while she had the chance.

“Marcus.”
The low rumble of Cooper’s voice had Tessa turning to face him. She hadn’t even
realized he wasn’t singing anymore.

“There
he is,” Marcus greeted Cooper as though they were best buds who were being
reunited once again.

The
hard lines etched across Cooper’s forehead said he wasn’t nearly as happy to
see Marcus though.

“Why
are you here?” Cooper asked, nodding his head at Tessa as though dismissing
her.

Nuh-uh
. She wasn’t
going to miss this for the world. After all, as far as she was concerned, she
now had a stake in this. Cooper was managing the entertainment at
The Rusty
Nail
. Without him, she would have to do the job herself, and there just
wasn’t enough time in the day for her to do anything more than what she already
had on her plate.

Sounded
reasonable.

“I
figured you’d be happy to see me,” Marcus added with that smirk that Tessa was
beginning to realize was more devious than pleasant.

“Why
would you figure that?”

Tessa
felt like she was watching a volleyball match, her head bouncing back and forth
as the two men spoke. Cooper was on the defensive, and Marcus was either too
obtuse to realize he wasn’t welcome, or he just didn’t care. Tessa had a
feeling it was the latter.

“Oh,
I don’t know. I thought you’d prefer I am the one to find you rather than the
press.”

Too
late for that
,
Tessa thought to herself.

“I
really didn’t care either way,” Cooper said firmly.

Tessa
pretended to be busy while she poured a beer and then handed it over to Cooper.

“Perfect,”
Marcus rumbled smoothly. “Have a seat. Let’s have a drink. It’s been a while.
We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

Tessa
noticed the way Marcus’ eyes darted in her direction and as soon as they did,
Cooper growled but managed to collapse onto one of the bar stools near the bar.

“I’m
not going back.” Cooper’s voice was low and eerily calm, but Tessa felt the
anger radiating off of him.

His
reaction to his manager wasn’t what she was expecting. She understood that
Marcus was fighting Cooper about going back to Nashville, but the response
didn’t fit the situation. Clearly there was something she was missing.

“Tessa,”
Cooper turned to look at her. “Do you mind?”

“Well,”
she said in a huff, feeling as though Cooper had just slapped her square in the
face.

Feeling
like a sulking child, she stomped toward the opposite end of the bar, hating
how she was acting. Forcing a fake smile, Tessa walked right up to another
group and insinuated herself right in the middle. It was either that or go
pout.

No
matter what, she was damn sure not going to let Cooper see her pout.

∞ ∞ ∞
∞ ∞

Cooper
ignored the way Tessa stomped off, mainly because he was more concerned with
why Marcus had just shown up in Devil’s Bend. Completely unexpected.

Ok,
so maybe not entirely unexpected. After all, Cooper did disappear right off the
grid, and until now, he hadn’t come face to face with anyone that knew him. But
for Marcus to get his arrogant ass on an airplane and fly to Texas, well, that
meant he was up to something.

“You
shouldn’t have come here,” Cooper told him, turning to face the bar. He gripped
his beer, more worried about keeping his hands busy so that he didn’t strangle
the man sitting beside him than his thirst.

“Well,
I figured someone had to do it. You’ve pushed your limit this time.”

A
grainy, red haze clouded Cooper’s vision as soon as the words left Marcus’
mouth. He was always hearing that, listening to Marcus act as though he were
some unruly kid who needed to be reined in.

“Whoa,
buddy. You need to just relax.” Marcus’ hand gripped his shoulder firmly, and
that’s when Cooper realized he was growling, his anger apparently trying to
escape so that his head didn’t explode.

Shrugging
Marcus’ hand from his shoulder, he took a drink of his beer, hoping to clear
his head before he lost it right there in Tessa’s bar. Hell, he’d already
pissed her off, no need to make matters worse.

Cooper
knew Marcus wouldn’t be able to hold out for long before he would start to
talk, so he kept his mouth shut. He had nothing to say, so it really wasn’t a
hardship. As far as he was concerned, Marcus’ trip was wasted, and if he were
smart, he’d hop right back on a plane home as soon as possible.

“So,
where’re you staying? We can head on over, get your things and then head on
back to Nashville tonight. All of this forgotten.”

Cooper
tipped an eyebrow, looking sideways at Marcus. Well, at least that confirmed
his suspicion. The man didn’t listen to a single thing he told him. Ever. Not
to mention he was a liar. If the paparazzi had found him, then Marcus knew
exactly what was going on in Cooper’s life. So, for him to pretend he didn’t
know Cooper had officially moved, seriously pissed him off.

“I’m
quite content right here,” Cooper mumbled, hoping he sounded more disinterested
than pissed off.

“Look,
man,” Marcus began as he leaned in close. “I’ve lined up someone that you can
talk to. They’ll be real discreet, and we can get you some help.”

“Some
help?” Cooper asked incredulously, knocking his beer hard enough that it
sloshed out of the glass mug and onto the bar top. Forcing himself to his feet,
he peered down at Marcus.

Marcus
looked around, his eyes scanning the area around Cooper quickly. “Man, keep it
down. You don’t want these people knowing your business, do you?”

“These
people
are
my business,” Cooper retorted. “I’m not sure what the hell
you do when I talk, but listening clearly ain’t it.”

“Come
on, Coop. You’re gonna have to stop doing this,” Marcus said quietly, and
Cooper’s back straightened.

He
seriously wasn’t bringing that up, was he?

Fuck
.

Not
wanting Tessa to get an earful of conversation that he knew she wouldn’t
understand, Cooper nodded his head and motioned for Marcus to follow him.
They’d take this outside. At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about
everyone knowing his business.

Once
they were outside, Cooper moved around to the side of the building, avoiding
the few people who were wandering in from the parking lot. Being a Thursday,
the bar wasn’t as packed as the weekend, but he knew they would keep coming
right up until around eleven.