At first, she was defiant, not wanting anything from the man. Except Richie managed to calm her down – something he’d gotten used to doing – and after they talked about it, Tessa decided she would take over the bar. And she was still grateful to him for that because, at this point, it was the only thing she had.

“What about your parents? Where do they live?” Tessa asked, hoping Cooper would take the hint before he started asking about her mother again. She wasn’t sure she had it in her to talk about Sheila tonight.

“They live in Tennessee. Probably two of my biggest fans,” Cooper said quietly.

Obviously her sad story was weighing on him. She truly didn’t want this date to go that direction like the first one had, so she smiled and decided to dig further. “I’m sure they’re proud of you.”

Cooper’s smile actually reached his eyes, and the golden brown orbs lit up with pride. “They are. My dad’s not a big fan of Marcus though.”

“Well, I could never imagine why,” Tessa remarked, grinning. “I have to say, I’m not his biggest fan either. When do you think he’ll show up to drag you back kicking and screaming?”

Cooper’s face hardened, his mouth a thin line, an immediate response not forthcoming. Tessa knew she’d opened her mouth and inserted her whole boot. Grabbing her milk shake, she made herself appear interested in the other patrons in the restaurant, hoping he wouldn’t be too angry at her.

“I’m not going back, Tessa,” Cooper said sternly, drawing her eyes back to his face. She couldn’t come up with anything to say, so she just watched him. “I want to be here, even if you don’t believe that yet.”

Did she believe it? Had he given her any reason not to? Tessa wasn’t sure. The only thing she knew for sure was that she enjoyed his company, liked talking to him, and did want to get to know him better. Even if that street went both ways.

Nodding her head in understanding, Tessa pushed her half eaten burger away. “Richie and I had only been married for a little over a year when he died. I was so hurt and so angry at him for leaving me. That’s all I could think about for the longest time. My grief consumed me. I had never been so thankful for The Rusty Nail and my brothers until then.”

Cooper’s eyes stayed locked with hers, but he didn’t say a word, so Tessa continued. “I spent the next two years focusing only on managing the bar. Adam finished two years of college before he came back home. He was supposed to go to the police academy with Richie, but he stayed home to help with Jack’s deteriorating father.”

Tessa expected to see pity in Cooper’s eyes. Her story wasn’t an exciting one and yes, she’d had her fair share of grief. More than her fair share actually. But she didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for her. But that’s not what she saw when she looked at Cooper.

“You’re a strong woman, Tessa.”

Most of the time she didn’t feel strong.

“So, what do you do in your spare time?” Cooper questioned.

Tessa let the relief flood her. She could talk about this. “If it’s outside, you’ll probably find me there. When I’m not at the bar, that is,” she answered simply. “The dogs and I spend a lot of time out and about. I volunteer as a youth counselor at our church.” The last part was something she didn’t necessarily care to elaborate on, more specifically what had gotten her into that particular area.

“And for the last couple of years, I spent a lot of time with Mr. Deluth, just hanging out with him, helping with his garden when he wanted help. Or simply just talking to him.”

“And that’s how you and he came to an agreement on the land?”

“Sort of. I’ve never purposely kept my dream a secret.” Tessa left off the ‘except from Adam’ part. “I want to help people, and I love working with kids. I was just a kid when I first fell in love with horses, and I never actually grew out of it. I’ve volunteered at the high school’s Ag barn a few times to help them out. Both the horses and the kids have brought me such joy, I guess I figured I could have the best of both worlds.”

Cooper pushed his plate away and stared back at her, his forearms resting on the table in front of him. Tessa could feel his full attention focused on her, and she fought the urge to squirm in her seat. She continued, “Jerry and I were talking one day and I told him what I wanted to do. We’d been on the back porch, staring out at the rickety old barn that was falling in on itself. That’s when he mentioned his property would be perfect for what I wanted. I explained to him that I didn’t have that kind of money, so we worked out a deal. I’m not sure I ever would’ve had enough for the down payment, but I was trying hard.”

“And then I waltzed in and stole it out from under you.” Cooper’s tone had turned bitter, surprising Tessa. She sat up straight as her eyes roamed over the hard lines of his face, too startled to continue.

“Goddammit, Tessa,” he growled, his voice low. “How the hell did you let me do that?”

All of a sudden, the sweet, laidback country boy was nowhere in sight and Cooper Krenshaw was more than a little pissed off. Tessa sat motionless, watching as he grabbed his hat – which he took off when they came inside – from the seat beside him and then stood. She couldn’t bring herself to move as she watched him walk over to Rose, handing her some money before he walked right out of the restaurant.

Shit. He was her ride.

Figuring she had no choice but to follow, Tessa stood quickly, waved at Rose as she passed and then followed him out into the parking lot. To her surprise, Cooper was standing by his truck, his hands braced on the bedside.

“Hey.” She kept her voice low, unaffected. She was confused, and probably annoyed that he’d walked out on her, but she was more interested in what happened. Why was he acting like that?

“Tessa, I had no idea,” he whispered as he turned to face her. She could see the anguish on his face, and her heart broke a little.

Tessa knew that was only a partial truth. He had known. Maybe not how much she wanted the land, but he had definitely known. But for some reason, she didn’t hold it against him. “Don’t,” she told him. “Please don’t feel sorry for me, Cooper.”

“Sorry?” He laughed without mirth. “Darlin’, I don’t feel sorry for you. I feel like a selfish bastard. I walked in here and stole that land right out from under you.”