"'Fraid so."

Tessa wanted to jump up and run to the front door to see if her lawn was littered with news vans and cameras, but she forced herself to stay seated. They were at her house. Not Cooper's. Which meant they knew Cooper was at her house. Crap.

"Do you think it has to do with Marcus?"

"Maybe. Doubtful, but maybe."

"Well, what are we supposed to do about it?" Tessa asked hysterically, wondering whether she was ever going to be able to step outside her front door again.

"We're going to go about our business. I've got a phone call out this morning. I'm not expecting Marcus to handle this one, so I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands."

Tessa wasn't sure how she felt about that. And what was business as usual if their small town was swarming with reporters? It would probably cause an uproar. Hell, just Cooper's appearance in town had brought people out of the woodwork.

"Don't worry about it, Tessa," Cooper said solemnly.

Tessa nodded just to placate him, sending a quick look his way. There was no way she wouldn't worry. She didn't know how to handle the spotlight, and she knew that when people started digging, they were going to find things that she didn't want them to find. And just like every other time, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"I'm going to take a shower," she declared as she pushed up from her chair, nearly spilling her coffee. She needed a few minutes to think this through. And she needed to be alone.

Thankfully, Cooper didn't follow her to the bathroom, so she locked herself in and hurried into the shower. Letting the water cascade down her body, the memory of the night before flashed briefly, but she quickly pushed it away. Not that remembering how incredible the sex between the two of them was a terrible thing, but Tessa really needed to get her head on straight.

What was going to happen when Cooper found out about her past? Was he still going to want to have anything to do with her? And she knew without a doubt that the press would easily be able to unearth her demons.

But they were a long time ago, she told herself. What she did as an unruly teenager didn't mean she was that same person. In fact, she had worked for years to lose that reputation, to ensure that her past didn't catch up with her. It was one of the main reasons she worked with troubled kids, wanting to offer them some help so they didn't end up in the same situation she had.

She remembered how easily everything had been brought back up when she broke up with Chad...

Shit.

Grabbing the shampoo, Tessa washed her hair and then followed it up with a glob of conditioner while her memories took hold, transporting her back to a time she didn't particularly care to revisit. Her heart never handled reliving the past very well.

"So, what are you in for?" A rough, melodic voice sounded from somewhere on the other side of the stable.

Tessa glanced around, noticing only a line of stalls, all but two containing a horse. "Where are you?" she called out, unable to see a human being anywhere in the near vicinity, and as much as she would like to find out that the horses were talking to her, she knew better.

"This side," the deep voice chuckled, and Tessa followed the sound.

She had to walk outside and then in through the other door to get on the far side of the stalls that lined the middle of the huge stable.

"You gonna tell me what you're in for? Or are you just gonna stand there?"

Tessa finally found the guy attached to the voice. He was in one of the empty stalls, shoveling manure with a big shovel into a backhoe sitting just outside the door. Exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Although she was trying to buy herself some time.

"Why would you ask that?" she questioned, curious as to what he was in for. It was true, she was there as punishment, but she wondered how he would know that.

"Most kids in here don't come for the fun," he chuckled.

No. She could clearly see how they wouldn't find shoveling horse shit a fun way to pass the day. She sure as hell wouldn't be doing it if she hadn't been caught.

"So I take it you find this fun?"

"I don't mind it," he said, a cute smile slipping her way from underneath the brim of his straw hat.

"So, you're not in trouble?"

"Nope. Come here every day after school."

"Why would you do that?" Tessa glanced around, wondering if she should grab a shovel and help him. Although, he seemed to be doing a fantastic job all by himself. He was almost finished.

"FFA," he said simply.

Future Farmers of America.

Tessa had heard of the organization at her school.

"Oh."

"But that doesn't answer why you're here," he said as he turned toward her, carrying the shovel as he moved closer.

"Hey, I know you," she said, recognition dawning. "Richie Donovan, right?"

"Yep. And you're little Tessa Dryden. Adam's baby sister."

Tessa didn't make a snide remark, but she wanted to. She hated being referred to as Adam's baby sister. And she definitely didn't approve of being called little.

"So, why are you here?"

"Mr. Deluth didn't tell you?" Tessa asked curiously.

Considering Mr. Deluth had caught her red handed when she brought his prize thoroughbred, Texas Shadow, back into his stall early that morning, she figured half the town would know what she'd done by now.

"Nope. Haven't seen him today," Richie said as he opened the adjacent stall door and headed inside, leaving Tessa to stare at him from just outside.

"I got caught bringing Texas Shadow back this morning."

Richie's head snapped her direction, a deep frown on his face. "You stole Shadow?"

Stole was such a harsh word, Tessa thought to herself. She would admit she had snuck into Mr. Deluth's stable and taken the horse out for a ride, but to say she stole him would insinuate she had no intention of bringing him back. And she did bring him back.

"Technically, I brought him back," she said defensively.

Richie's face was a mask of concern as he stomped toward her, tossing his shovel onto the hay that lined the perimeter of the stall.

"Where're you going?"

"To check on Shadow," Richie barked, not looking back at her.

Tessa felt about two inches tall right then. Was Richie worried about the horse? She hadn't hurt him. She'd just taken him out for a ride. Granted, it had been dark and after the tongue lashing she received from Mr. Deluth, she now understood how dangerous that had been for both her and the horse.

But she'd just wanted to ride.

She had felt like there was a rope around her neck, chaining her in place and she just needed to get out. Sitting on a horse, her hair flying in the wind, the power of the animal beneath her, the thud of hooves against solid ground... she hadn't found anything that was quite like it.

She'd gotten so tired of listening to her mother and stepfather argue because her mother was crying all the time, sometimes never getting out of bed for days at a time. They did it more often than not, and Tessa was beginning to wonder why the man even hung around. She was starting to believe maybe that was why her father had left.

Shaking off the thought, she jumped into motion, heading out of the stable and back in the opposite side toward the stall where Texas Shadow was kept. When she got there, Richie was inside, his hands roaming over the animal, his voice low and soothing as he talked to him. Tessa made eye contact with the horse and her heart galloped almost as fast as he'd done last night.

Texas Shadow was one of the most elegant horses she had ever seen. Tall, broad, sleek. His lustrous black coat was soft, his mane long and coarse. She'd fallen in love with the animal the first time she saw him. Granted, she didn't visit Mr. Deluth's farm often because she and Luanne weren't friends anymore. Hadn't been since the beginning of their ninth grade year.

"You're lucky he's not hurt," Richie said angrily as he stomped past her, nudging her backward as he did to get her out of the stall.

Tessa took two steps back, watched as Richie closed and latched the stall door and waited to see what he would say. When his piercing blue eyes landed on her, Tessa could see his fury but right there in Mr. Deluth's barn, she fell in love with that boy. Just a little bit.

And a year later, Tessa was head over heels in love with Richie Donovan.

The shower water had turned cold, so Tessa turned it off before grabbing one of the towels hanging on the rack. She went to wipe her face, realizing she was crying, the salty taste of her tears on her lips.

God, she missed Richie.

He had been her saving grace. And he'd even stood by her when karma had paid her a visit several years later, punishing her for all of the things she had done as a rebellious teenager. The thought brought more tears to her eyes.

Holding the towel to her face, knowing the waterworks wouldn't shut off until it was ready, Tessa stood in the bathroom, dripping on the bathroom rug.

She knew she should've been grateful for the sequence of events that led her to Mr. Deluth's door and ultimately to Richie, but the consequences hadn't been as easy for her. Or Richie.

Ultimately, Mr. Deluth spared her. Had Jerry Deluth opted to punish Tessa for stealing his horse, she knew she would've been in a lot of trouble. Not only would she have been arrested, but in their small town, she never would've been able to get rid of the stigma associated with what she had done. As it was, there was a long list of indiscretions that she was responsible for.

Right up until her nineteenth birthday, or shortly thereafter, Tessa had been a free spirit. At least that's what Richie liked to call her. She disobeyed every rule that was laid out for her. Hell, sometimes she even wondered how she was still alive with all of her ignorant stunts: drugs, alcohol, vandalism, even some petty theft, and although safe, she had been promiscuous when it came to sex. Tessa had pushed the envelope, tried to see what she could get away with.

By the time she was twenty-one, Tessa had settled somewhat, at least when it came to all of the illegal stuff. Alcohol was still her friend, although she was getting tired of it quickly. But she was still trying to garner attention wherever she could. Thanks to Richie and one of the youth counselors at her church, Tessa realized she'd been acting out to get the attention of her father. The man who hadn't wanted anything to do with her or Adam since she was an infant.

Not that any of her craziness actually brought her onto his radar, but apparently that was part of why she was doing it. That and her mother. Sheila spent days and nights crying her eyes out, sometimes for no reason at all. Tessa never had tried to understand her mother. Never even attempted to understand what it meant to be depressed after her mother had been diagnosed. Not until she was older anyway.

Her punishment for stealing the horse had included only six months of working on Mr. Deluth's farm doing the jobs most people hated to do and turned out to be one of the only things Tessa found she enjoyed. That was just one of the things she and Richie had in common. So after Mr. Deluth freed her from her obligation toward the end of her sophomore year in high school, she'd asked to volunteer to help. And did so for years after.

By the time Tessa's father left her The Rusty Nail when she was twenty-three, she had managed to get her life under control. Richie went to a junior college and then applied to the police academy, something he'd always wanted to do. During the years leading up to that, Tessa had grown close to Mr. Deluth. After all, Luanne had hated the farm, wanting to leave Devil's Bend altogether so Tessa and Richie would spend time with him in the stables, or sometimes even riding.

Not going to college, Tessa had worked odd jobs, mostly secretarial work, but she had continued to work for Mr. Deluth because confined to a desk was proving to be her worst nightmare.

Her marriage to Richie had been a long time coming, but Richie, being the level-headed one, had insisted they wait until they were financially stable. He knew that they would have a hard enough time at that point, and he wasn't willing to risk their relationship. She'd been working in the bar and Richie had gotten on with the Austin Police Department, and life had been good for the first time in Tessa's life.

Then, the gift of all gifts had been given to them when Tessa found out she was pregnant. Richie had been beside himself with joy, as had she. Even her mother was excited about the baby. But four months into her pregnancy, karma kicked her right in the face. The doctors told her there was nothing she could've done differently, but the pregnancy had terminated itself. She and Richie had been devastated.

And almost a year to the day after that, Richie had been killed. Tessa accepted at that point that all good things came to an end which was why she refused to get too attached to any one thing.

A loud bang on the door scared her so badly, she clutched her chest. Realizing she was standing stark naked in the bathroom, tears still streaming down her face, she knew she had to get herself together. After all, there was no way she could let Cooper know what she was thinking.

There was no reason to ruin the good thing they had. At least not yet. At some point, she knew karma would return to ensure that he was yanked right out of her life as well.

She just wished she knew how much time she had.

Chapter Twenty Two.

Cooper pulled into the parking lot of The Rusty Nail, his mind still on Tessa. After her shower, she'd been closed off and entirely too quiet. He could tell she had been crying, but no matter what he tried, she wouldn't tell him why. He managed to get her to take a nap, or rather she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion an hour ago.

Knowing he had to meet Marcus, Cooper had left her a note and then went home to shower and change. Now that he was back in front of the bar, he dreaded what was to come.

When he pulled into the parking lot, Cooper noticed Eric's fire engine red muscle car was already there, so he shut off the engine and slipped in through the back door. He would prefer to be the one to approach Marcus, rather than the other way around. Since The Rusty Nail hadn't opened just yet, he knew his soon to be ex-manager wasn't there yet.

"Hey, Coop. What's going on?" Eric asked when Cooper approached the bar.

"Not much. I've got to talk to my manager, so I figured I'd come in early."

"Oh, that guy." Eric's exasperated tone put Cooper on edge.

"What's wrong?"

"Not a damn thing." Eric glanced at the front door and then back to Cooper. "Now anyway. The asshole was waiting out front when I got here. Once I got inside, he started pounding on the door. The man's kinda dense."

Cooper would agree with that assessment, but he didn't say anything.

"Anyway, I told him we weren't open, and he tried to invite himself in. When I refused, he got snippy. Don't be surprised if his nose is off center when you see him. I slammed the door in his face, and he finally left."

Well, shit. That would mean Marcus was already primed for a bad mood. And what Cooper had to tell him wasn't going to make him happy anytime soon. Which, Cooper knew from experience, meant Marcus was going to retaliate. In probably one of the worst ways.

"Hey, didn't you say you had some big name playing tonight?" Eric asked as Cooper was setting up his laptop on the bar.

"Son of a fucking bitch!" Cooper had completely forgotten about that.

Nearly an hour later, Cooper watched as Tessa walked in through the back door. He had cued up some music after he updated the sign out front to display the live music talent he was expecting to show up at any minute. Now, as he watched her move across the floor, his heartbeat rivaled the thud of the music. The one thing he noticed was that she looked like she had put on a solid layer of armor.

Gone was the sweet girl he'd seen the night before in her short jean skirt and soft sweater. In her place, was the no nonsense woman who had caught his eye in the very beginning. She wore a form fitting black t-shirt, jeans that accentuated her luscious ass, boots, and her cowboy hat that shielded her eyes. Her blonde hair curled down her back and over her shoulder, making Cooper want to reach for her and pull her close by wrapping his fists in the silky strands.

Not that he would. She looked like a woman on a mission. He felt better when she returned a smile as she passed by, but he decided to leave her be for a bit. The front door opened, and in walked just the man he had been waiting for. Before anyone could notice him, Cooper intercepted him in his path to the bar.

"Hey, man. Glad you could make it," Cooper greeted Dalton Calhoun with a hand held out to shake, but that was quickly thwarted by the infamous guy-hug that was little more than a couple of thumps on the back.

"So glad you invited me. Shit, man. This is cool," Dalton said as he checked out the interior of The Rusty Nail. "How the hell'd you land your ass all the way down here?"

Cooper tilted his head, a silent gesture for Dalton to follow him toward the stage. As he passed the bar, he held up two fingers for Eric and received a nod of understanding. "It's somethin', ain't it?" Cooper asked.