“Dalton up yet?” he asked Tessa when he turned back to face her.

“I heard him moving around, but I haven’t seen him yet. Want me to go get him?”

“Nah. Once he smells the food, he’ll come runnin’.”

By the time the four of them were sitting at the table on the back porch, Dalton came cruising out the back door, sniffing the air with a grin on his face. “Mornin’, Mr. and Mrs. Krenshaw. Tessa. Thanks for calling me for breakfast, jackass.” Dalton aimed the last jab at Cooper, making the entire table laugh.

“Dalton,” David greeted. “Good to see you, boy.”

“You too, sir,” Dalton grinned as he pulled out the chair between Tessa and Becca. “Y’all saved me the best seat in the house.”

Definitely a charmer, that boy was. For the next few minutes, everyone ate, the conversation surprisingly comfortable. Tessa joined in when the questions were directed at her, which a lot of them were considering Cooper’s parents were obviously interested in getting to know her. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem at all bothered by answering them.

“Tessa, would you like to help me clear the table?” Becca asked once all of the plates were emptied and pushed away, signaling everyone had gotten their fill.

“Yes, ma’am,” Tessa said with a grin.

“I’ll get it,” Cooper offered, pushing his chair back to help.

“No, sir,” his mother said, pinning him with a glare. “You boys have stuff to talk about. We girls will be fine.”

Cooper nodded, his attention redirected at his father. This was the reason they’d shown up unexpected. Maybe not entirely unexpected because Cooper fully anticipated his father coming to see him soon. He didn’t spend a lot of time away from his parents, usually stopping in to visit at least once every two weeks when he wasn’t on tour.

“Tell me more about this equestrian center,” David insisted as the three men sat at the table, glancing out to see the dogs rumbling in the yard.

“See the barn out there?” Cooper asked as he pointed in the direction of what was left of the old barn.

“Ain’t that a little close to the house?” David asked, leaning back in his chair with his hands resting on his flat stomach. At fifty-one, the man was still in top form.

“It is. I’m looking to tear it down and rebuild farther out. I’ve got just over two hundred acres to play with, so I think I can make it work.”

“How far out? What about that direction?” David asked, looking out toward the tree line that hid the pond Cooper and Tessa had made love by a couple of weeks ago.

“Yeah?” Cooper asked, interested in what his father had to say.

“I think we put in a road over there, that’ll keep the traffic away from the house.”

“Traffic?” Cooper asked, glancing between the two men.

“You know once the media gets wind of this, they’re gonna descend on you. If they know the boys you’ve got helping you out, it’ll be sooner rather than later.” David added, his expression serious.

True. And thanks to Dalton and several phone calls, they had more volunteers than they needed. The materials were on order and would be delivered in the next week, coming in by the truck loads. Although he and Dalton had only briefly talked about the plans, the man had run with the idea. He’d even spent Sunday nailing down the help they would need.

When Dalton Calhoun got involved, things moved pretty quickly. Cooper’s original concept of an equestrian center focused on working with disabled children and adults came from one of their more in depth conversations, he knew Dalton was fully onboard with the idea.

“All right,” Cooper agreed. “I’m game.”

For the next half hour, the three of them talked about the logistics, even mapping out the location on a copy of the land survey to ensure they had everything placed within the appropriate boundaries.

When Tessa came back out with Becca and a full pot of coffee, Cooper was already missing her. Before she could take her seat in the chair she’d commandeered earlier, Cooper pulled her onto his lap. When she started to squirm and tossed him a look that guaranteed retribution later, he put his hand on the inside of her thigh and she immediately stopped squirming.

Exactly how he planned it.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

“What are you boys up to?” Cooper’s mother asked as she returned to her seat.

Tessa couldn’t believe that Cooper had trapped her on his lap, but each time she tried to move, his hand moved up higher on her thigh. She knew no one could see beneath the table, but she wasn’t about to risk him making her turn bright red. Not in front of his parents anyway.

“What’s that?” Tessa asked when she noticed the land survey sitting on the table in front of her. There were some red marks on it, clearly marking the location of the various outbuildings needed to support the farm, including the stables and a separate barn.

Pulling the paper closer, she studied it for a moment before glancing up at the others at the table.

“Look good to you?” Cooper asked.

“Would you mind if I make a couple of suggestions?” she asked, suddenly feeling as though all eyes were on her. Which they were, obviously.

“Not at all,” David said, leaning forward. “What’s your take?”

“See this here?” She pointed to one of the buildings on the paper. “I think you need to bring in the road from this side,” with her finger Tessa circled the road that ran along the south side of the property. “That’ll keep Cooper’s house off of the beaten path. No matter how you design it, there will be people who want to insinuate themselves into his life, even if he tries to keep them off the property. Being that the center will be open to the public, that’s not gonna be all that easy.”

Tessa could feel Cooper’s eyes burning into her, and she turned to look at him. The smile he gifted her with made her heart beat rapidly, probably heard by everyone at the table. “What?” she asked, wondering what he was thinking.

“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” David answered for Cooper. “Never even thought about that. That way Cooper will have one way in and out from his house while the public can come from the other direction. Good idea.”

For some reason, David Krenshaw’s approval made her feel light headed. Granted, she’d given the plans for this center, as well as the farm, a lot of thought over the years, and just because it now belonged to Cooper, she wanted to provide insight if they’d let her. With a renewed sense of self confidence, Tessa leaned forward and outlined for David and Cooper all of the ideas she’d had. When they were finished, they had used about fifty percent of her suggestions and come up with several more collaboratively.