By the time she was twenty-one, Tessa had settled somewhat, at least when it came to all of the illegal stuff. Alcohol was still her friend, although she was getting tired of it quickly. But she was still trying to garner attention wherever she could. Thanks to Richie and one of the youth counselors at her church, Tessa realized she’d been acting out to get the attention of her father. The man who hadn’t wanted anything to do with her or Adam since she was an infant.

Not that any of her craziness actually brought her onto his radar, but apparently that was part of why she was doing it. That and her mother. Sheila spent days and nights crying her eyes out, sometimes for no reason at all. Tessa never had tried to understand her mother. Never even attempted to understand what it meant to be depressed after her mother had been diagnosed. Not until she was older anyway.

Her punishment for stealing the horse had included only six months of working on Mr. Deluth’s farm doing the jobs most people hated to do and turned out to be one of the only things Tessa found she enjoyed. That was just one of the things she and Richie had in common. So after Mr. Deluth freed her from her obligation toward the end of her sophomore year in high school, she’d asked to volunteer to help. And did so for years after.

By the time Tessa’s father left her The Rusty Nail when she was twenty-three, she had managed to get her life under control. Richie went to a junior college and then applied to the police academy, something he’d always wanted to do. During the years leading up to that, Tessa had grown close to Mr. Deluth. After all, Luanne had hated the farm, wanting to leave Devil’s Bend altogether so Tessa and Richie would spend time with him in the stables, or sometimes even riding.

Not going to college, Tessa had worked odd jobs, mostly secretarial work, but she had continued to work for Mr. Deluth because confined to a desk was proving to be her worst nightmare.

Her marriage to Richie had been a long time coming, but Richie, being the level-headed one, had insisted they wait until they were financially stable. He knew that they would have a hard enough time at that point, and he wasn’t willing to risk their relationship. She’d been working in the bar and Richie had gotten on with the Austin Police Department, and life had been good for the first time in Tessa’s life.

Then, the gift of all gifts had been given to them when Tessa found out she was pregnant. Richie had been beside himself with joy, as had she. Even her mother was excited about the baby. But four months into her pregnancy, karma kicked her right in the face. The doctors told her there was nothing she could’ve done differently, but the pregnancy had terminated itself. She and Richie had been devastated.

And almost a year to the day after that, Richie had been killed. Tessa accepted at that point that all good things came to an end which was why she refused to get too attached to any one thing.

A loud bang on the door scared her so badly, she clutched her chest. Realizing she was standing stark naked in the bathroom, tears still streaming down her face, she knew she had to get herself together. After all, there was no way she could let Cooper know what she was thinking.

There was no reason to ruin the good thing they had. At least not yet. At some point, she knew karma would return to ensure that he was yanked right out of her life as well.

She just wished she knew how much time she had.

Chapter Twenty Two

Cooper pulled into the parking lot of The Rusty Nail, his mind still on Tessa. After her shower, she’d been closed off and entirely too quiet. He could tell she had been crying, but no matter what he tried, she wouldn’t tell him why. He managed to get her to take a nap, or rather she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion an hour ago.

Knowing he had to meet Marcus, Cooper had left her a note and then went home to shower and change. Now that he was back in front of the bar, he dreaded what was to come.

When he pulled into the parking lot, Cooper noticed Eric’s fire engine red muscle car was already there, so he shut off the engine and slipped in through the back door. He would prefer to be the one to approach Marcus, rather than the other way around. Since The Rusty Nail hadn’t opened just yet, he knew his soon to be ex-manager wasn’t there yet.

“Hey, Coop. What’s going on?” Eric asked when Cooper approached the bar.

“Not much. I’ve got to talk to my manager, so I figured I’d come in early.”

“Oh, that guy.” Eric’s exasperated tone put Cooper on edge.

“What’s wrong?”

“Not a damn thing.” Eric glanced at the front door and then back to Cooper. “Now anyway. The asshole was waiting out front when I got here. Once I got inside, he started pounding on the door. The man’s kinda dense.”

Cooper would agree with that assessment, but he didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, I told him we weren’t open, and he tried to invite himself in. When I refused, he got snippy. Don’t be surprised if his nose is off center when you see him. I slammed the door in his face, and he finally left.”

Well, shit. That would mean Marcus was already primed for a bad mood. And what Cooper had to tell him wasn’t going to make him happy anytime soon. Which, Cooper knew from experience, meant Marcus was going to retaliate. In probably one of the worst ways.

“Hey, didn’t you say you had some big name playing tonight?” Eric asked as Cooper was setting up his laptop on the bar.

“Son of a fucking bitch!” Cooper had completely forgotten about that.

Nearly an hour later, Cooper watched as Tessa walked in through the back door. He had cued up some music after he updated the sign out front to display the live music talent he was expecting to show up at any minute. Now, as he watched her move across the floor, his heartbeat rivaled the thud of the music. The one thing he noticed was that she looked like she had put on a solid layer of armor.

Gone was the sweet girl he’d seen the night before in her short jean skirt and soft sweater. In her place, was the no nonsense woman who had caught his eye in the very beginning. She wore a form fitting black t-shirt, jeans that accentuated her luscious ass, boots, and her cowboy hat that shielded her eyes. Her blonde hair curled down her back and over her shoulder, making Cooper want to reach for her and pull her close by wrapping his fists in the silky strands.

Not that he would. She looked like a woman on a mission. He felt better when she returned a smile as she passed by, but he decided to leave her be for a bit. The front door opened, and in walked just the man he had been waiting for. Before anyone could notice him, Cooper intercepted him in his path to the bar.