Feeling like he was running out of time, he knew where his focus needed to be. He only had a month to get things in order at the farm. Not that he expected a finished product, but he wanted to at least see progress. He had more help than he knew what to do with. Between Dalton remaining in Devil’s Bend until things died down and the generous folks in town, the work didn’t seem quite so overwhelming. But there was still a lot to do. The road into the farm was going to be laid in the coming weeks, but until then, there was only so much they could do.

Since the debacle last Saturday, Cooper had worked at the bar two days, – Thursday and Friday – having missed Monday because he had still needed time to cool off. If it hadn’t been for the promise he made Adam, Cooper might’ve called it all off because seeing Tessa, but being unable to speak to her, to hold her in his arms, Cooper was slowly going out of his mind.

He had no one to blame but himself for that either. He’d all but accused her of drawing attention to him. Even if she hadn’t meant to, that’s exactly what happened. The fight with that jackass Chad Harper had been just the beginning. It was a damned miracle Cooper hadn’t ended up in jail, but thanks to Jack, Eric and Izzy, the bastard hadn’t pressed charges. But neither had Tessa.

For now, everything seemed to be simmering down. The reporters were finally getting bored. He had refused to talk to anyone, and from what he heard, Tessa’s friends were keeping her shielded from their onslaught. His father had made a public statement that if they wanted a story, they would have to come to Nashville and talk to him. Surprisingly, no one had heard from Marcus, which Cooper did not consider a good thing.

Sure, Cooper was grateful that his father was willing to take the heat off of him, but he knew he should’ve faced the music. Not only with the press, but with Tessa as well. She deserved so much more than he gave her. Part of him wanted to explain just why he hadn’t made a single attempt to talk to her in the past week. Because he had wanted to, even if he thought she would tell him to go to hell.

He was being an ass, proven in the way he reacted to her, the way he ripped her world apart, all but stealing her dreams, and then the way he threw it all back in her face.

He managed to talk to Izzy once, but she wasn’t as forthcoming as he would’ve hoped. Tessa’s friends were a protective bunch, and he both appreciated and hated that fact. As much as he wanted to know that Tessa was being taken care of, he also wanted to know how she was doing.

A couple of times he’d had to stop himself from going over there just to see for himself. But more than their relationship was at stake at the moment. At the bar, she rarely even looked at him, and she didn’t speak to him. Everything she had to say to him – and vice versa – was handled through Eric. Or Jack.

Cooper wiped the sweat from his forehead with the t-shirt he had shrugged off an hour ago and grabbed the jug of water that was now half empty. In another hour or so, he would have to go in and eat, or he risked passing out in the heat.

He was downing what was left of the water when he noticed dust blowing up along the driveway, the identity of the vehicle obscured momentarily. He watched as an old red Ford came into view and he dropped the jug on the ground as he moved at a rapid pace toward the truck.

“What’s wrong?” he asked Izzy as soon as she jumped out of her truck, making her way toward him like her ass was on fire.

She was out of breath when they met in the middle, and he grabbed her arms, holding her upright as he stared into her eyes. “What the hell’s the matter?”

Panic was filling him, and she hadn’t spoken yet.

“It’s – It’s… Tessa,” she huffed, trying to draw in deep breaths. “I need you to… Just come… with me, ok?”

Cooper grabbed her arm, all but dragging her along with him. Once they were back at her truck, he reached into his own and grabbed the extra t-shirt he’d left in there the day before. Pulling it on over his head, he made his way to the driver’s door, effectively forcing Izzy to scoot over because there was no way he was riding shotgun. She’d be able to explain as he drove.

“Talk to me, Izzy. Where am I going?”

“To The Rusty Nail!” she squealed. “Just drive!”

Cooper glared at Izzy momentarily but then refocused his efforts on the road. His heart was pounding like a bass drum on steroids, and his hands, which were currently gripping the steering wheel, were white knuckled and shaking. He wanted to press her to talk, but he was more interested in getting to Tessa. Even if he had no idea what he was walking into.

After taking several turns on two wheels, Cooper hit the straightaway that would lead directly to town. When the truck hit sixty, the piece of shit started to shake, so he had to let off the gas. Izzy really needed to get a new truck.

“Holy fuck,” Cooper growled when the parking lot for The Rusty Nail came into view. There didn’t appear to be a single empty space throughout the entire lot. The satellites were up and aiming skyward, antennas were like sky scrapers hovering high above the mayhem.

Glancing over at Izzy, he saw that her eyes were just as wide as they had been earlier. “What’s going on, Izzy?”

When she turned to look at him, her gaze went from worried to burning mad in an instant. “She’s being hounded. Your fucking manager gave an exclusive to the press this morning announcing that you two have severed ties. I hope you’re happy, but her entire life story is front page news.”

Ex-manager, he thought to himself. Cooper sighed heavily, then put the truck in Park, leaving it on the side of the road because there was nowhere else to put it.

“But that’s not the worst of it, Cooper,” Izzy said, her hand landing on his forearm.

His head jerked toward her as he waited for her to continue.

“You can’t see the sign out front, but as of this morning, The Rusty Nail is for sale.”

“What?”

“I didn’t stutter, big guy. She’s put the bar up for sale, and she’s moving.”

Cooper knew his mouth was hanging open, but for the life of him, he couldn’t get any words out.

Izzy leaned over, her eyes narrowed to slits. “You better make this right, Cooper. I will never forgive you if my best friend leaves. Until you, she’s never run from anything in her life, and you and I both know she hasn’t had it easy. She’s spent her entire life chasing her dreams, not running from them.”