Chasing Dreams
Page 11
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God, the woman did something to him. There was just something about her that made Cooper want to grab her up and ease some of her pain. Even when her eyes were swollen and her nose was red from crying, Tessa Donovan managed to steal his breath.
Forcing himself to look away, he stared out into the yard, watching the dogs napping in the shade of an enormous oak tree as he listened to the conversation.
“The next class starts next week. I’ve been accepted, so I don’t want to wait,” Adam informed her, but then paused.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Tessa asked.
Unable to not look, Cooper glanced over at Adam again. The man appeared as though he had some more unpleasant news to give Tessa and Cooper wished that the damn porch would open up and swallow him whole. He did not want to be there for any more unpleasant news. Hell, he didn’t think he should’ve been there for any part of it at all.
Adam smiled sadly as he looked down at his sister. “I’m going to Dallas.”
“What? Why? Why not Austin?” Tessa questioned him, her eyes wide.
Ok, so Cooper could guess at this one. Austin was obviously closer to Devil’s Bend than Dallas. Like thirty minutes, as opposed to three hours.
“Austin doesn’t have any openings for a while. I’m ready to do this, Tessa,” Adam said, taking her hands as he shifted on his feet. “When and if I make it through the academy, they’ll hire me on. At that point, I’ve got to give it a couple of years, but then I promise, I’ll be back.”
“First of all, there is no if.” Even as Tessa spoke, Cooper could see the tears reforming in her eyes, but somehow she managed to hold them back. “I’ll miss you.”
“I know you will. Which is why I want Coop here to help you out at the bar. He’ll be here permanently, and I know him, he’ll get bored.”
Bored?
Cooper noticed that Tessa didn’t look his way. Not that he expected her to. If she had, she might’ve seen the surprise on his face. At least he understood the reason behind the random questions Adam had fired off earlier at breakfast.
Cooper contemplated what Adam was saying, and he fought the urge to smile. He wasn’t so sure he’d ever get bored with all the work that would have to be done on the house he was in the process of buying, but he got the impression Adam knew that. Instead of interjecting, Cooper sat quietly, continuing to watch the exchange between Tessa and Adam.
There was a series of emotions that played across her extremely expressive features, but Tessa didn’t say another word to Adam. She stood there, her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded her brother for long moments. Cooper wished he knew what was going on in that pretty head of hers.
“So, when do you plan to start?”
Realizing the question was directed at him and that he’d been busted while he was mentally noting every detail of her sweet, lithe body, Cooper glanced up to see Tessa studying him.
“When do you want me to start?” he asked.
He had to admit, it felt a little strange to be accepting a job offer of this sort, especially when his regular life in Nashville was still up in the air. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t looking forward to it.
Whether or not he would admit it to anyone directly, Cooper wasn’t just looking for a place to start over. He was looking for something that was missing from his life. Recent events had changed his course, and he needed something more than what he was currently getting. According to Marcus, happiness came with a price, but it seemed like the more he paid, the less he got.
Stardom had its downside and one of them was the loneliness that came along with it. He wasn’t referring to the women necessarily either. They were a dime a dozen, but that novelty had worn off years ago. No, Cooper was referring to the interaction with other people on a much more intimate level. Unless he was with his parents, Cooper rarely spent time with anyone who actually knew him. And that included his manager, who seemed to think he knew what was best for him, despite Cooper’s frequent disagreements.
“How about tonight?” she asked, glancing back and forth between him and her brother. She was obviously changing the subject and Cooper was grateful for that.
“Tonight’s good.” He was in the process of buying the Deluth farm, which meant he had some time to kill before he could actually move in and get started. Working at the bar would help him to get familiar with the people in town, as well as give him something to do with his spare time. And the added bonus was that Cooper now had an excuse to spend more time with Tessa.
“It’s settled then,” Adam’s smile looked both satisfied and concerned, but Cooper didn’t say anything more.
There would apparently be plenty of time to figure out how this was supposed to work.
Chapter Five
Cooper wasn’t sure what Adam’s idea of settled was, but clearly it wasn’t the same as his, that was for damn sure. Several hours later, he was sitting on a stool in The Rusty Nail, doing absolutely nothing except talking to anyone who approached him. When he had asked Tessa what it was that he could do to help out, she’d flat out told him to do what he did best. When he simply stared at her, she had followed it up by telling him to find a chair and look pretty.
He’d laughed it off at first. Until he realized she was serious.
The bar was slowly filling up, although he noticed they didn’t have quite the impressive turnout as the night before. There wasn’t an act on stage, but Cooper’s mind was whirling with possibilities. If he was going to be in charge of the entertainment, he was going to ensure that every Friday and Saturday night had live music. Why the hell shouldn’t they have someone on stage drawing in the crowds? There was plenty of new talent that would love the opportunity to play in front of these people. And he had a few friends who would surely get a kick out of playing in the small town bar.
To his surprise, he’d found out that The Rusty Nail was only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday nights. When he asked Adam for the reason, he was told that they didn’t bring in enough business during the week. Devil’s Bend was a small town, and it was saying something that they managed to draw in a lot of their patrons from the bigger neighboring towns. Based on Adam’s explanation, Tessa liked the part time schedule.
“Hey, handsome,” a sultry voice sounded from behind him and Cooper turned to see a tall, willowy brunette standing within just a few inches of him.
Forcing himself to look away, he stared out into the yard, watching the dogs napping in the shade of an enormous oak tree as he listened to the conversation.
“The next class starts next week. I’ve been accepted, so I don’t want to wait,” Adam informed her, but then paused.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Tessa asked.
Unable to not look, Cooper glanced over at Adam again. The man appeared as though he had some more unpleasant news to give Tessa and Cooper wished that the damn porch would open up and swallow him whole. He did not want to be there for any more unpleasant news. Hell, he didn’t think he should’ve been there for any part of it at all.
Adam smiled sadly as he looked down at his sister. “I’m going to Dallas.”
“What? Why? Why not Austin?” Tessa questioned him, her eyes wide.
Ok, so Cooper could guess at this one. Austin was obviously closer to Devil’s Bend than Dallas. Like thirty minutes, as opposed to three hours.
“Austin doesn’t have any openings for a while. I’m ready to do this, Tessa,” Adam said, taking her hands as he shifted on his feet. “When and if I make it through the academy, they’ll hire me on. At that point, I’ve got to give it a couple of years, but then I promise, I’ll be back.”
“First of all, there is no if.” Even as Tessa spoke, Cooper could see the tears reforming in her eyes, but somehow she managed to hold them back. “I’ll miss you.”
“I know you will. Which is why I want Coop here to help you out at the bar. He’ll be here permanently, and I know him, he’ll get bored.”
Bored?
Cooper noticed that Tessa didn’t look his way. Not that he expected her to. If she had, she might’ve seen the surprise on his face. At least he understood the reason behind the random questions Adam had fired off earlier at breakfast.
Cooper contemplated what Adam was saying, and he fought the urge to smile. He wasn’t so sure he’d ever get bored with all the work that would have to be done on the house he was in the process of buying, but he got the impression Adam knew that. Instead of interjecting, Cooper sat quietly, continuing to watch the exchange between Tessa and Adam.
There was a series of emotions that played across her extremely expressive features, but Tessa didn’t say another word to Adam. She stood there, her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded her brother for long moments. Cooper wished he knew what was going on in that pretty head of hers.
“So, when do you plan to start?”
Realizing the question was directed at him and that he’d been busted while he was mentally noting every detail of her sweet, lithe body, Cooper glanced up to see Tessa studying him.
“When do you want me to start?” he asked.
He had to admit, it felt a little strange to be accepting a job offer of this sort, especially when his regular life in Nashville was still up in the air. But it didn’t mean he wasn’t looking forward to it.
Whether or not he would admit it to anyone directly, Cooper wasn’t just looking for a place to start over. He was looking for something that was missing from his life. Recent events had changed his course, and he needed something more than what he was currently getting. According to Marcus, happiness came with a price, but it seemed like the more he paid, the less he got.
Stardom had its downside and one of them was the loneliness that came along with it. He wasn’t referring to the women necessarily either. They were a dime a dozen, but that novelty had worn off years ago. No, Cooper was referring to the interaction with other people on a much more intimate level. Unless he was with his parents, Cooper rarely spent time with anyone who actually knew him. And that included his manager, who seemed to think he knew what was best for him, despite Cooper’s frequent disagreements.
“How about tonight?” she asked, glancing back and forth between him and her brother. She was obviously changing the subject and Cooper was grateful for that.
“Tonight’s good.” He was in the process of buying the Deluth farm, which meant he had some time to kill before he could actually move in and get started. Working at the bar would help him to get familiar with the people in town, as well as give him something to do with his spare time. And the added bonus was that Cooper now had an excuse to spend more time with Tessa.
“It’s settled then,” Adam’s smile looked both satisfied and concerned, but Cooper didn’t say anything more.
There would apparently be plenty of time to figure out how this was supposed to work.
Chapter Five
Cooper wasn’t sure what Adam’s idea of settled was, but clearly it wasn’t the same as his, that was for damn sure. Several hours later, he was sitting on a stool in The Rusty Nail, doing absolutely nothing except talking to anyone who approached him. When he had asked Tessa what it was that he could do to help out, she’d flat out told him to do what he did best. When he simply stared at her, she had followed it up by telling him to find a chair and look pretty.
He’d laughed it off at first. Until he realized she was serious.
The bar was slowly filling up, although he noticed they didn’t have quite the impressive turnout as the night before. There wasn’t an act on stage, but Cooper’s mind was whirling with possibilities. If he was going to be in charge of the entertainment, he was going to ensure that every Friday and Saturday night had live music. Why the hell shouldn’t they have someone on stage drawing in the crowds? There was plenty of new talent that would love the opportunity to play in front of these people. And he had a few friends who would surely get a kick out of playing in the small town bar.
To his surprise, he’d found out that The Rusty Nail was only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday nights. When he asked Adam for the reason, he was told that they didn’t bring in enough business during the week. Devil’s Bend was a small town, and it was saying something that they managed to draw in a lot of their patrons from the bigger neighboring towns. Based on Adam’s explanation, Tessa liked the part time schedule.
“Hey, handsome,” a sultry voice sounded from behind him and Cooper turned to see a tall, willowy brunette standing within just a few inches of him.
