Nicole Edwards - Chasing Dreams

The moon had risen high in the sky, the soft glow sliding over Tessa’s smooth, golden skin. Pressing a kiss to her shoulder, he pulled her closer as he inhaled deeply. This woman was getting to him.

Not that he deserved her.

He knew his time was running out. His reality was going to descend on him and this sleepy little town before long. There would probably be reporters crawling out of the woodwork. He didn’t particularly care if they found him, but he knew once they did, they’d start digging around. They would want to know more about the people he was spending his time with. Namely Tessa.

As soon as word got out that he had found a woman, they would be itching for a story. And yes, he was certain they would find out about her because even if he wanted to, he would never be able to deny what he was feeling for Tessa. Hell, it was probably written all over his face.

But he didn’t want Tessa to get caught in the crossfire. Although she hadn’t told him everything about herself, it was clear she was holding something back from him. Hiding something that she didn’t want him to know about, and no matter what it was, she considered it big. Regardless what that was, he knew the tabloids would have a field day when it came to digging into her past, dredging up the pain that she had been through already just because he was with her.

And again, his selfish side was roaring to the front. As much as he wanted to shield her from all of that, Cooper didn’t want to let her go. He didn’t want to risk losing her. But he knew Marcus was going to show up soon. Even if he didn’t admit he was running, Cooper knew it appeared that way.

And they would find him. Which meant he better be prepared when that time came.

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.”