Nicole Edwards - Chasing Dreams

Tessa’s breath hitched, and Cooper squinted in order to make out the other people with Adam. He didn’t recognize the big man who climbed out of the passenger side, but the woman that Adam was helping out of the back seat looked vaguely familiar, although Cooper was certain he’d never seen her before.

“Mom? Michael?”

Well, that explained why the woman looked familiar. She was an older, taller version of Tessa. And as it turned out, Adam had managed to do what Cooper thought would be impossible.

“What’s going on?” Tessa asked when she looked back at Cooper, reminding him why he was there.

Squeezing her hands gently, he stalled for a moment while Tessa’s parents joined them. Once they were standing with the others, Cooper smiled down at the woman he loved.

“Tessa…” Wow, he was tongue tied. For a man who wrote love songs, he found it difficult to come up with the words to express to this woman exactly how he felt about her. Then he thought about the first time he laid eyes on her and the words began tumbling out of his mouth.

“Since the very moment I saw you, when your eyes met mine from across the room, I felt something. A connection that I had never felt before. At that moment in time, I never would’ve imagined that I had just looked into the eyes of the woman I would soon fall in love with.

“And from the first time you fell right into my arms,” Cooper smiled, the memory so vivid, he could practically smell the scent of beer and sawdust, “I knew you’d be the biggest challenge I’ve ever come up against.”

The group behind them chuckled, but Cooper continued. “I knew that walking away from Nashville was going to change my life, but had I known just how much… I would’ve come to Texas a lot faster than I did.”

“Nobody’s perfect,” Jack muttered, and everyone laughed.

“Hey, he got here didn’t he?” Izzy retorted. “Not everyone can be lucky enough to be born here, you know.”

Cooper’s gaze never strayed from Tessa’s face. He could see a shimmer of tears in her eyes, and he forged ahead. “I admit when I came here, I was chasing a dream, but little did I know that what I had set out for wasn’t what I thought it was. Building this,” he glanced around and then back to her face, “it’s what got me here, but you, Tessa, are the one that kept me here. It all comes down to you. You’re my dream, Tessa. You’re everything I’ve wanted, everything I’ve prayed for.”

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.”