“She was a secretary for a law firm. For a while after she met Michael, Jack’s dad, she continued to work. It wasn’t until after they got married that she decided to quit.”

“Are you close with her?” Because the question was a little more personal, Cooper didn’t expect her to answer.

“No.” There was a long pause before Tessa continued. “My mother was diagnosed with depression many years ago. After she met Michael. Up until that point, we had no idea what was wrong with her. My dad left when Adam and I were kids, and for the longest time, that’s what I thought was wrong with her. But then she met Michael and she seemed happy. For a while. And then it was like a vicious cycle. Happy. Sad. Happy. Sad. Over and over and we didn’t know how to fix it for her.

“Finally, Michael took her to the doctor. Since he’s quite a bit older than my mother, he was worried that she regretted marrying him even after she assured him that wasn’t the case. Jack was in high school before we found out she had depression. So, needless to say, she and I lost a lot of years in between.”

That explained a lot. Cooper knew that Adam wasn’t close to his mother either, and truthfully, he hadn’t expected such an in-depth answer from Tessa. “Is she better now?”

“When she takes her medicine she is.” Tessa looked so lost and so sad, Cooper wanted to rip her out of her seat and wrap his arms around her.

“See, and that’s why I don’t like talking about me,” Tessa added. “My life story’s not all that interesting and I don’t want your pity.”

Cooper grabbed Tessa’s arm when she would’ve jumped out of her seat and walked out on him.

“Sit down,” he demanded, keeping his voice low.

Tessa lowered herself back down in her seat and stared at him as though he’d lost his mind. He was beginning to think he had.

“I’m sorry. I want to get to know you and I haven’t yet learned what the banned topics are yet.”

Tessa seemed to relax as she resettled herself in the booth, but she didn’t say anything.

“I’m not trying to pry, Tessa. I think this is how this is supposed to work.”

“How what is supposed to work?” she asked.

“You know, the whole dating thing. Aren’t we supposed to get to know each other?”

“We’re not dating,” she said abruptly.

Cooper couldn’t suppress the grin. He loved how feisty she was. “No need to get defensive,” he teased. “We’re just having breakfast.”

He was saved from any rebuttal from Tessa because the waiter decided to bring their food out. Cooper was grateful for the interruption. The fire seemed to be smoldering in Tessa’s eyes, but he knew she needed a minute or two.

But then, he was pretty sure he was going to be in for it.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Tessa hated talking about herself. Hated talking about her mother and their issues. And above all else, she hated dating. Well, the last part wasn’t necessarily an issue because until Cooper, she hadn’t been on a real date in… well, forever.

Not that they were dating. Nor would this be classified as a date, if, in fact, the two meant different things.

Tessa occupied herself by staring at her food, moving the eggs around her plate with her fork until Cooper cleared his throat and she glanced up at him.

“Eat.”

She wanted to tell him to make her, but then she realized how childish that sounded even in her own mind. And that made her smile, which in turn made Cooper smile. As her appetite slowly returned, Tessa tried to come up with some questions for him since he obviously now knew more about her than she did him.

“What about your parents?” she asked when he put his fork down to take a sip of his coffee.

“What about them?” He didn’t seem fazed by her question as he watched her like a hawk watches its prey.

“Are you close to them?”

“Yeah, we’re close,” he said, his answer hesitant.

Tessa wasn’t proud of the fact that she wasn’t close to her mother, but she never held it against anyone else. Izzy’s parents were still married, and they doted on their daughter as much as Izzy would let them. And of course, there were Richie’s parents, who were still together, but had moved out of Devil’s Bend shortly after Richie died. They still called to check on Tessa frequently, but as time passed, she had stopped answering their calls. It was too hard to talk to them because they were a vivid reminder of what she had lost. She often wondered if it was a relief for them that she’d all but disappeared from their lives. She knew they wouldn’t say as much, but she still had to wonder.

Wanting to get away from the depressing thoughts, Tessa shoveled a forkful of eggs in her mouth as she pondered her next question.

“Do you see them often?”

“At least once a month, sometimes more depending on my tour schedule.”

Tour schedule. For the past couple of weeks, things had been so normal with Cooper around, she actually forgot what he did for a living. Somewhere along the way, she’d gotten used to him being at the bar and the reminder that he wasn’t a permanent fixture in town was like a punch to the throat.

“Do they come to your shows?” she asked, suddenly wanting to get off of this subject. Off of any subject really. Tessa was scared to get to know Cooper better, scared that she would like him even more than she already did and that would make it more difficult to keep herself distanced from him.

Which she definitely had to do.

“When they can they do.”

Cooper must’ve sensed her discomfort because he leaned forward and placed his hand on her arm. Tessa just stared at the place where he touched her for what felt like a long time.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said softly. “I just want to get to know you.” Cooper paused, and Tessa dared to look up, her eyes meeting his and holding. “You’re a lot like your brother, you know that?”

“Which one?” Tessa knew exactly which one, but the question just came out.

“Adam. He doesn’t share much with anyone.”

“Adam has his reasons,” Tessa said abruptly. She didn’t know all of what Adam kept inside, but she absolutely understood his need to keep his feelings and experiences to himself. “And I’ve got my reasons.”