Cooper’s vision was hazy, a red film shading the world in front of him. “This is my reality,” he ground out.

“Is that what you said last year? You remember the time, don’t you, Coop? Does Arkansas ring a bell?”

Cooper turned away, pacing the parking lot and hoping like hell he could rein in his temper before he pounded Marcus into the gravel.

“That wasn’t the same thing, and you fucking know it,” Cooper declared, not bothering to look Marcus in the eyes.

God, he needed to get inside to see Tessa. He needed to talk to her. To explain. What happened in Arkansas wasn’t the same as this. In fact, it was completely the opposite. Not that she would believe him.

“Ahhh, but see the details are irrelevant,” Marcus told him. “What’s important is that you get back to Nashville, and we’ll move on like this never happened. You’ve got an album to make, and you can’t do that from here.”

Cooper stopped pacing. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Marcus. “You’re fired,” he stated with every ounce of pent up frustration that boiled in his gut.

Marcus’ eyes widened, but for the first time since he showed up, the man didn’t have a comeback.

Grabbing his phone off of his belt, Cooper didn’t wait for Marcus to respond. It was over. He should’ve fired him years ago. And now that he had, the weight of the world seemed to lift off of his shoulders. He dialed the familiar number, listened as it rang twice.

“Hey, boy.” David Krenshaw’s powerful voice reverberated through the phone.

“Dad,” he greeted his father. “Remember the last time we talked? When I said I might be looking for a new manager?” Cooper didn’t wait for his father to answer before he continued, “You still interested?”

“You son of a bitch,” Marcus’ words echoed through the parking lot. “You’re gonna regret this!”

Cooper didn’t react to Marcus’ rant, knew it wouldn’t make a difference if he did. Marcus Evergreen was a vindictive son of a bitch and yes, firing him was bound to have some repercussions, but at this point, Cooper would much rather deal with those than to deal with the man himself.

Focusing his attention on the conversation with his father, Cooper filled him in on what was going on. Both his mother and father knew exactly where he was. They both knew what he was doing even, and they’d been supportive ever since he called them when he had been on the road to Texas, not even knowing then what he was set out to do. In fact, Cooper had talked to them every day since.

After Cooper gave his father the specifics of his location, they hung up. At least his best interests would be taken care of at this point. Now, he just had to figure out how to fix what Marcus had already broken. And then he had to prepare himself for the aftermath that was sure to come.

“Where is she?” Cooper asked a seriously pissed off Eric a few minutes later. He had come inside the bar to find her gone. To confirm his suspicions, he had made a beeline for the back door. When he didn’t find her truck, he knew she’d run away.

Damn that Marcus.

“You need to leave her alone,” Eric ground out, his eyes spitting fire.

Cooper sighed heavily. He didn’t want to do this right now. He appreciated the defensive friend routine, but he needed to talk to Tessa before she had time to come up with a million scenarios that weren’t even close to the truth.

“I just need to talk to her,” Cooper explained, trying to keep his composure. He was already pissed off, the last thing he needed was to go rounds with someone he would like to consider a friend.

“Give her a break.” Eric’s tone was almost pleading. “She’s been down this road before and I don’t want to see her go through it again.”

Down what road? Cooper doubted Eric had a clue what actually went on, but he wasn’t going to hang around and try to explain either.

“I’m out,” Cooper declared as he retrieved his truck keys from his pocket and headed back in the direction he came in. More than likely, Eric was going to warn Tessa that he was coming, but he didn’t have much of a choice. If she wasn’t at her house when he got there, he didn’t have any problems waiting for her until she showed up.

Ten minutes later he was pulling into Tessa’s driveway. Her truck was there. And so was she because he could see her sitting on the front porch. With Izzy.

Great. Not exactly what he wanted to have to deal with tonight. If Eric was defensive, he could only imagine what her best friend was going to be like.

Taking his time and trying to collect his thoughts, Cooper slowly got out of the truck. Not that it mattered because the second his feet hit the ground, Izzy was standing directly in front of him. He ground his back teeth together, reluctant to say anything until he got the chance to talk to Tessa first.

“You need to talk to her,” Izzy said, sounding surprisingly calm. “I don’t know what happened, and don’t ask me why, but I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

Staring down at the tiny woman, Cooper battled the urge to glance over at Tessa.

“You don’t know all that she’s been through, but I can assure you that it’s more than she ever should have. I don’t know what she is to you, but… Just make this right, Cooper.”

The plea in Izzy’s voice clutched at Cooper’s heart. He nodded his head in understanding, unable to find any words. He waited as she turned to go back toward her house, but before he moved even one step, Izzy was turning back to him.

“Oh! And she’s drunk. So, um… good luck with that!”

Why did it sound like Izzy was laughing at him?

Chapter Twenty Five

Cooper didn’t make any sudden movements. He took his time getting to the porch, petting the dogs when they came out to greet him. Surprisingly, Tessa was still sitting on the porch swing, but she had yet to look his way.

Drunk, huh? This was going to be interesting.

As he approached the porch, he said hello but was met with silence. So she was going to be stubborn as well? Why would that surprise him? Figuring he’d let her be the first to say something, he moved up the stairs and then propped himself up against one of the cedar posts that held up the roof over the porch. He never took his eyes off of Tessa, unless glancing down to see the half empty bottle of vodka sitting on the ground by her feet counted.