“I would bet that she’s using me to try and get more money out of you,” Tessa offered. “I was having a hard enough time coming up with twenty percent, and that was at half the price you agreed to. As it was, I could barely afford what I was paying Jerry monthly just for the down payment.”

“What about the money you’ve already paid?” he asked, still wary of how this all came about.

Another sigh, then Tessa sipped her tea, although her glass was practically empty. He waved Miranda over to refill her glass while he waited for her to continue.

“Luanne said she’d give me my money back. Said she didn’t need it.”

“Did she?”

“Not yet, no. I just talked to her right before I came over here.”

Well, that explained the phone call he’d received from his Realtor a few minutes before he got to the restaurant.

“What were you planning to do with the land?” he asked, having a feeling there was more to this story than Tessa was telling him.

Finally, she looked up at him. When their eyes met, Cooper saw the sadness in her eyes. His stomach clenched painfully at the sight.

“I was going to build an equestrian center,” she said softly.

“Seriously?” he asked as he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. He realized he looked as skeptical as he sounded.

“Yes,” Tessa answered firmly, her eyes locked with his. “Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?” she asked snidely.

He’d have to agree. And yet he still wondered whether he was the butt of someone’s joke here. Was there a conspiracy to try and get more money out of him?

“I thought someone had told you and you were messing with me. I’ve had plans for that land, and if you don’t believe me, I’ve got the designs to prove it. Not only was I going to build an equestrian center to provide equine therapy to both the disabled as well as troubled youth, but I wanted to build a farm that would give the troubled kids a place to go. I’ve grown up around horses and figured it was the best of both worlds.”

Holy shit. Still leaning back, Cooper stared across the table at Tessa, noticing the way the soft waves of her hair fell over her shoulder, resting just above her breasts. God, the woman was beautiful, and for some reason, when she looked vulnerable like that, his protective instincts kicked in. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to know that though.

“Why troubled teens?” he asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Tessa’s expression turned stony. “That’s a conversation for another time.”

Figuring that pushing her would only make her get up and leave, he decided to take a different route. “So what do we do about it?”

“We?”

“Yes, we.” Cooper smiled. “It sounds like we’ve got a few things in common and I’m not here to step on any toes. Maybe we can work out a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” Now it was her turn to sound disbelieving.

Not that he blamed her for not trusting him. After all, it looked as though he’d waltzed right into her life and stole her dream right out from under her.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Tessa wasn’t sure what Cooper was angling at, but she was a bit surprised. Truthfully, she had expected him not to care one way or another about what she had put into the land so far. Not that the money was her greatest concern. Sure, she wanted her money back if she wasn’t getting the property because she could certainly use it to put toward something else. But the Deluth land was something she had wanted for a long time. Not only because of the price, but because of the location. She would be able to stay in Devil’s Bend. Something she fully intended to do.

This was her home.

“What if we go talk to Luanne together? See what happens when we play her game?”

“Together?” Tessa wasn’t sure that was a good idea. What if Luanne decided not to sell to either of them?

“Or, I’ll go talk to her. See if I can persuade her to my original price.”

The disappointment swamped her. She knew she shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. She doubted from the beginning that he would be willing to take a step back and take his money elsewhere. The selfish part of her hated that he was coming in and stealing her dreams out from under her. Not that she’d gotten very far. Not yet.

“Ok, so I take it you don’t like that idea either,” he said before she could answer. “How about this? We go about our business, I let my Realtor know that I’m still thinking it over, and we give her a couple of weeks. See if she comes back to me and agrees to my original price.”

Tessa knew it honestly didn’t matter one way or the other. Even though she wanted the land for herself, she knew the next best thing was for Cooper to get it. There was nothing to say she could even get an equestrian center up and running anytime in the next decade. It wasn’t like it was a cheap endeavor. Not in the least. Cooper would certainly have the means to do it much sooner than she would.

“I think that’s a smart decision. If she is playing us, then she’ll surely get back to you. However, if there is another buyer,” she told him, “which I seriously don’t think there is, but it’s still a possibility, you might lose the land.”

“I’m not going to lose it,” he countered. “I’ll top the price if I have to, but I think you’re right. I think she’s trying to see what she can get out of me.”

Tessa genuinely wanted to believe that. Not because she wanted Cooper to get taken by the likes of Luanne, but it seemed way too coincidental.

“Now, I’ve only got one stipulation,” Cooper added, and Tessa met his eyes once again.

“What’s that?”

“A date.”

Tessa cocked an eyebrow. “Luanne’s married. I’m not sure she’ll date you. Then again, I don’t know her all that well.”

Cooper laughed, but she had expected him to. Tessa knew what he was getting at, but she truly didn’t want him asking her out. She liked him. Despite the fact that he was interrupting her entire life in more ways than one, she still liked him.

Too much.

“With you.”

Damn. How was she going to get out of this one?

“How about this? We give Luanne two weeks. If she calls you about your original price, I’ll go out with you. If not, we’ll leave it at that.”