Chasing Dreams
Page 37

Before he could give in to his frustration his cell phone rang, and his heart leaped right into his damn throat. Picking it up from the table, he glanced at the caller id and groaned.
“What’s up?” he greeted the one man he wasn’t interested in talking to at the moment.
“Coop. Where’re you at, man?” Marcus asked the same question he’d been asking for days. Cooper didn’t understand why Marcus didn’t just track his cell phone to pinpoint his exact location.
“At home.”
“Home? As in Nashville? Why the hell didn’t you say so?” Marcus’ tone had turned upbeat quickly, and Cooper couldn’t help but smile.
“Not Nashville,” he answered, trying his best to hide the amusement in his voice. He wasn’t proud that he found satisfaction in being the downturn in Marcus’ day. Ok, so maybe he was proud.
“What the hell are you talking about? When are you coming back, Coop?”
“I’m not,” he answered honestly.
“Come on, man. If this is depression or some shit, I know we can get you some help. I just need to know when you’re coming back. I’ve got people starting to ask a lot of questions.”
Cooper frowned. This was the problem with Marcus. He never listened. Not that Cooper was much of a talker, but when he did, he expected the man who claimed to have his best interest in mind to actually listen to him. “It’s not depression.”
Marcus’ voice lowered, sounding more than a little irritated, “You know you’ve got a contract, don’t you?”
“Yep,” he answered, not giving a shit about the contract. He had one album about to release and one more he’d signed on to do. At this point, he wasn’t sure what that meant for him or the album, but he wasn’t interested in thinking about it at the moment.
“So, what? You’re just going to run away?”
Damn it. Why the hell were people saying that? Cooper wasn’t running.
“I’ve got some things to take care of. I need some time.”
“How much time?” Marcus asked, relief threaded through the words.
A year? Ten, maybe? Hell, Cooper had no idea. He had no intention of throwing himself headlong into the fray at this point. He just bought a damn house and he was actually beginning to feel more normal. It was a feeling he’d missed for so long, he barely remembered what it even felt like.
“I’ve got to go, M. I’ll call you in a couple of weeks, and we’ll figure out what comes next.”
“Godammit, Coop!”
With that parting shot, Cooper disconnected the call and tossed his cell phone back on the table. The call had successfully managed to disengage all thoughts of Tessa, but now he couldn’t help but wonder whether he actually was running or not. If so, what from?
More importantly, would he be running again?
 
 
Chapter Fifteen

“I still can’t believe it. Cooper Krenshaw sang at The Rusty Nail?” Izzy declared as the two of them sat on Tessa’s front porch, drinking wine and watching the dogs play in the yard. Thankfully, the instant Izzy realized Tessa needed someone to talk to, she came over. Then again, the two of them had always been like that. Ever since they were teenagers.
“He did. You should’ve been there. It was wild,” Tessa mentioned, not turning to look at Izzy. She knew her face was red because her skin was flaming hot as thoughts about the night before danced in her brain.
“But he’s still here, right? He didn’t just sing and leave town?” Izzy asked.
Because of so many things going on, Tessa hadn’t had much time to just sit and talk to Izzy lately, and based on her best friend’s questions, she realized how far behind they were in playing catch up with what was going on in each other’s lives.
“He’s still here,” she confirmed.
“Have you talked to him?”
Yes, among other things, Tessa thought to herself.
“Adam brought him over the next day and officially introduced us.”
“And?”
“And what?” Tessa shot her best friend a questioning look.
“Tessa Lynn Donovan, I know you’re hiding something from me. You better spill it and spill it quick.”
Tessa laughed. She loved how passionate Izzy got when she felt as though someone was holding out on her. In this case, it was true, but Tessa wasn’t willing to share anything that happened between her and Cooper with anyone. Not even her best friend.
Although Izzy had stood by her when Chad went from sweet boyfriend to spurned dickhead, Tessa still had a hard time trusting anyone with her most private thoughts.
“No way!” Izzy exclaimed, pushing back on the porch swing and sending it rocking as she pouted.
From her perch on the side railing, Tessa smiled at her friend.
“You aren’t really going to hold out on me, are you?”
“I am.”
“You have to at least tell me about him. Why’s he still here in Devil’s Bend anyway?”
Tessa sipped her wine and stared back out at the yard where Havoc and Harmony were crashed beneath the shade of the old oak tree.
“From what I can tell, I think he’s looking for something to do on the side.” Which was true. “He bought the Deluth farm though, so I think he’s planning to stay for a while.”
“Are you serious?” Izzy’s swinging motion stopped abruptly as she sat upright and stared at Tessa. “Cooper Krenshaw moved here? Like permanently?”
Tessa was surprised that Izzy asked that question first. Her friend had known full well that she was trying to buy the Deluth land as well. She had to fight the urge to sulk because her best friend had missed the entire point of her comment. “I don’t know about permanently, but yep, he bought a house.”
For any normal person, buying a house would probably mean putting down roots. But for a famous country music star who owned at least one other house that she knew of, it probably wasn’t the same. He could very well be planning to build his equestrian center and then leave it to be run by others. She just didn’t know. Then again, she could just be letting her negative thoughts take hold.
Did she want him to stay? The question was hard for her to answer. That meager piece of her heart that was yearning for something she felt was out of her reach said yes, she’d like to have the opportunity to get to know him. See if whatever this was between them actually went somewhere.