“She’s a stupid fucking cunt!” Chad spat toward Tessa. “Fucking whore! Don’t think your famous boyfriend won’t find out the truth about you! Fucking bitch!”

The group that was now gathered, the noise, everything faded as Cooper’s world narrowed down to the guy throwing obscenities at Tessa. He fucking hurt her, and his nasty insults weren’t slowing. And that’s when Cooper let loose, his fists flying, his anger unstoppable. Chad never knew what hit him either. It wasn’t until someone – make that several someone’s – pulled Cooper off that he stopped.

“Out of here now!” Eric barked, pulling Cooper until he stumbled backward. When the noise and the lights assaulted his senses, Cooper realized where he was, and he immediately searched for Tessa, finding her as Jack was leading her away.

Apparently the bastard now lying in the dirt must’ve gotten in a few solid punches because Cooper felt as though he’d been run over by a truck. He managed to limp toward Tessa, gently pulling her into his arms as Jack moved to clear the area.

“Take him back to the house,” Jack ordered Tessa, referring to Cooper. “Don’t come back until I tell you.”

The next thing Cooper knew, they were in his truck, tearing across the back pasture toward his house. Once they were locked inside of his house a few minutes later, he took stock of her condition. Yep, that was going to be a nasty bruise on her jaw.

“What the fuck happened?” he asked, realizing how cruel he sounded. He was doing his damnedest to get his temper under control, but the only thing he saw was when that bastard knocked her down. And Cooper knew full well that his anger was obscuring his common sense, but he couldn’t rein himself in no matter how hard he tried.

“You don’t want to know,” Tessa said as she inhaled deeply, her bottom lip already swelling.

“I told you to stay the fuck away from him, Tessa.” Cooper growled, forcing himself to stand up straight although his ribs protested as he did.

Tessa glared at him, her anger matching his. “You told me?”

“Yes. I fucking told you to stay away from him.” Moving closer, he lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. When she flinched, he felt like an asshole, but he couldn’t help himself. He checked out the mark on her cheek as he waited for her to answer him.

Tessa pulled away, walking to the other side of the room.

“What the fuck made him hit you?”

Tessa shrugged, and Cooper’s anger was like a wild fire roaring to life again, gaining momentum as it barreled through dry brush. “You don’t know? This is the second fucking time he’s gone after you. Did you start the fight, Tessa?”

Her incredulous expression pinned him in place, but Cooper was long past sane at the moment. “Did I not tell you reporters would be here? Are you fucking trying to draw attention to me? As it is, they’ve probably got it all on video. Shit, it may be all over the television by now.”

Obviously she didn’t like the question or his tone of voice because her hands balled into fists at her side, her eyes shooting daggers.

“Why would you ask that?” she asked, her voice much stronger than minutes before.

“Is there something I should know?”

Tessa’s body straightened and her eyes narrowed on him. “Yeah, you should know that I’m just the town whore as far as he’s concerned. That make you feel better?”

The words were like a slap to the face and Cooper actually recoiled. How the hell had this conversation turned in this direction? “What?”

“You heard me,” she yelled. “I need to go.”

Before he could stop her, Tessa disappeared out the front door, and she was making a run for her truck. He tried to follow her, but his ribs protested, forcing him to stop and breathe through the pain. With no choice but to let her go, he watched until her taillights disappeared at the end of his driveway.

Sonuvabitch!

A few minutes later, Dalton and Jack came inside the house.

“Where is she?” Jack asked as soon as he stepped into the living room.

“Hell if I know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Just what I fucking said,” Cooper yelled, taking a step closer to Jack.

“Hold on now,” Dalton stated, pushing an arm between the two of them. "Tempers are hot right now. You two need to calm down.”

“Fuck you, Calhoun.” Cooper turned his wrath on his friend.

“Chill the fuck out, Coop. This ain’t helping, and you know it.”

“She was defending your sorry ass,” Jack stated, his voice low and laced with venom.

“What?” Cooper’s head jerked back toward Jack as though his neck were a rubber band. “Defending me? What the hell did I do?”

“Nothing. That’s the damn problem.”

Cooper felt like he’d been sucker punched. Again.

Jack thrust his hands through his hair as he turned to pace the room. “His name is Chad Harper,” Jack said by way of explanation a minute later.

“Chad Harper?” Dalton asked incredulously, his tone causing both Cooper and Jack to turn to face him.

“You know him?”

“Not personally, no. He was supposed to open for a friend of mine. Some sort of favor or something. The only reason I know is because they said the bastard was crazy.”

“Yeah, you could say that. The asshole thinks the world owes him something. It doesn’t surprise me that he’d go off half-cocked. Again.” Jack glared at Cooper.

Why the fuck didn’t Jack tell him all of this last time Chad pulled this shit at the bar? If he had, maybe Cooper could’ve protected her.

Sonuvabitch!

“What the hell does he have against Tessa?” Cooper asked.

“Chad spent almost a year in Tessa’s bar, bragging about his almost fame. He never actually made it. My sister dated him for a while. About a year or so ago. She said he didn’t beat on her, but sometimes I wonder. He was abusive in every other way that I could tell. When she finally kicked him to the curb, he started talking shit about her. Being this is a small town, and considering Tessa’s past,” Jack’s eyes went to the floor, “the rumors flew and people swallowed them whole. Wasn’t a good time for anyone there for a while.”

His heart felt like Jack had just seared him with a cattle prod. Why did Cooper have to be such a dumbass?