He peeked into the bedroom a minute later, smiling at her. “You mind coming to the house for dinner tonight? I’d like you there when I talk to Dalton about the logistics of the farm.”

Tessa nodded, her heart constricting in her chest. He wanted to include her in his discussions about the farm. She knew he’d been working on getting a plan together, bringing in some volunteers to help with the barn. There was a lot of work to be done before he could purchase horses though.

The sound of the shower came on, and Tessa let her eyes close as she thought about everything that had happened since last night. Just when she thought her world was crashing in on her, Cooper went and threw her for a loop. His story had broken her heart, and at the same time she was angry at Marcus for trying to make Cooper sound like a serial womanizer.

Still, there was a tiny part of her that was scared to open up to him completely. Even if she trusted him, her past didn’t allow her to embrace any sort of happiness. Her path seemed paved with roadblocks that would keep her from a life of happiness. Granted, she had no one to blame but herself. Had she not been so out of control…

When Cooper appeared a few minutes later wearing only his jeans, Tessa pushed all of her negative thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on him.

“I better head out and see if I can track him down. The last thing Devil’s Bend needs is that man on the prowl. I’ll see you in a couple of hours?”

She nodded, watching as he moved around the room, pulling on his shirt.

“Hey, do me a favor,” he said to her as he sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over and focusing on his boots. “Tell Izzy and Eric to come tonight, would ya?”

That got Tessa’s attention, but she didn’t say anything. Cooper must’ve realized she was surprised by his request because he crawled up on the bed, hovering directly above her.

“I’d like to see what they think of the plans. Maybe they can give us some ideas.”

His explanation made her feel better, and she laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.” Izzy wouldn’t hesitate to add her two cents, especially if someone was asking for her input. “Are you sure? I don’t want Dalton to panic if she’s ogling him from across the table.”

“I’m sure he can handle her. If not, I doubt Eric has any problems keeping her in line.”

Tessa laughed so hard, tears came to her eyes. “Right. You don’t know her well, do you?”

Cooper grinned, and the crooked smirk made her bones turn to mush. When he leaned closer, his mouth pressing to hers, she put her arms around him. “I wish we could stay here a little longer.” The thought escaped through her mouth without her permission.

Opening her eyes, she met Cooper’s intense gaze and what she saw there had her heart leaping in her chest.

“I promise, we’ll be doing plenty more of this in the near future,” he replied, his rough finger trailing down her jaw. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you, Tessa.”

God, she really hoped that was true.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Cooper didn’t have much time to do anything productive when he got home. After leaving Tessa’s, he had called Dalton to find out that the guy had, in fact, slept in his truck, in front of Cooper’s house the night before. He apologized profusely for leaving him stranded, but when he met up with Dalton at his house, the grin on Dalton’s face had assured him he didn’t mind. Apparently, he’d gone out for an early breakfast with Katie after The Rusty Nail closed.

Cooper had spent an hour or so trying to straighten the house as best he could, considering he was still living out of boxes. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the time to unpack, but with everything else going on, he had pushed that to the lower part of his priority list. He still didn’t consider it important, except that he was expecting company and wanted to ensure his guests could move around when necessary.

“You get the stuff on the list?” Cooper asked Dalton when his buddy walked in the back door.

“Got it,” Dalton said matter-of-factly.

Grabbing two of the overstuffed paper bags from Dalton’s hands, Cooper started putting things away. When Dalton just stood in the kitchen staring back at him, Cooper turned to face him.

“What’s up?”

“You mind if I invite someone tonight?”

“Not at all. Who’d you have in mind?” Cooper had a pretty good idea, but he didn’t jump to conclusions these days.

“Katie,” Dalton replied shyly.

Interesting. Cooper wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Dalton act like that when it came to a woman. In fact, Dalton had never been the type of guy who went out with the same girl more than once. At least Cooper didn’t think he did.

“Not at all. Izzy and Eric are coming over as well.” Tessa had called to let him know she had to run a couple of errands, but she had confirmed that Izzy and Eric had accepted his invitation for dinner.

Glancing over at the clock on the stove, Cooper knew he needed to kick it into high gear or he’d be the worst host in the history of the planet. Taking the steaks from the bag and the sauce he had asked Dalton to get, Cooper got down to business.

A few minutes later, the steaks were marinating in the refrigerator, and he was sitting on the back porch with Dalton drinking a beer.

“So, when are you gonna have that thing torn down?” Dalton asked, his head tilted toward the old barn that was an eye sore more than anything.

“I’ve got a demolition crew coming next week to knock it down and haul it away. There are a few other things out in the back forty that need to be hauled off.” Cooper hadn’t had the time to go over the land with a fine tooth comb yet, but he hired someone who would go out and see what all was out there.

“You plannin’ to move quickly with this?” Dalton asked as he stood from his seat, moving to lean against the rail that wrapped around the outer portion of the porch. Cooper’s mind drifted to the night Tessa had come over. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to look at that railing without thinking of her.

“Hopin’ to,” Cooper confirmed. “I want to do a lot of the work myself, but I’m not gonna lie, I need help.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for.” Dalton glanced his way. “From what Katie tells me, that lady of yours has a lot of resources too. Did you know she’s a youth counselor down at the church?”