The group laughed, and Katie, with a brilliant glint in her eyes, moved up and put her arms tentatively around Dalton. The man actually put his arms around her in a very intriguing protective hug that nearly had Tessa’s mouth dropping open.
“Nice to meet you,” Katie said sweetly, her face almost as red as the glowing exit sign near the back door.
“My pleasure, darlin’,” Dalton crooned in a low voice that had Tessa glancing up to look at Cooper. He seemed just as taken by Dalton’s apparent interest in the pretty waitress.
And just like that, Katie was off toward the other side of the bar, followed by Izzy close on her heels, the two women chattering about Dalton. At one point, Katie actually glanced back, and that’s when Tessa noticed that Dalton was still staring after her.
“Man, you all right?” Cooper asked his buddy with a loud clap on the back.
Dalton turned his head, a slow grin tipping his lips. “Never better. You ready to get this show on the road?”
“Always.” Cooper turned and pressed his lips to Tessa’s, making her blush like a school girl before he sauntered back toward the stage, leaving her to stare in his wake.
Wow. The difference a few weeks could make. Tessa still couldn’t believe how Cooper Krenshaw had crash landed in her life and left such a monumental impression that she was standing here, staring at him as though she were a woman in love.
Oh, hell.
Tessa squeezed her eyes shut.
Yep, that trouble she knew she was going to be in had finally caught up to her.
Shit.
Chapter Twenty Three
Two hours later, the bar was jumping. The sound of two cowboys entertaining the rowdy crowd, singing like they’d been born on the stage, filled the room. The energy was significantly different from what Tessa was used to when they had a performer up there. These two guys had a rhythm about them that had nearly everyone moving. According to her cousin Shane, there was a line that wrapped around the building, and it looked like they’d all be turned away soon enough.
Izzy was behind the bar helping Tessa and Eric while Miranda had come in to help Katie. Jack was coming in to help, but Tessa hadn’t seen him yet. They were fully staffed and at maximum capacity, yet Tessa hadn’t felt a lick of stress since Cooper went up on that stage with Dalton. It was a sight to see, that was for damn sure.
When they broke out into a slower song, the bar settled somewhat, and there was another surge of people to the bar. Tessa had just finished preparing a handful of shots for Miranda to take to a table near the door when a familiar voice sent a violent shudder racing down her spine. Not the good kind.
Turning toward the sound, Tessa saw Chad standing at the edge of the bar with two women practically wrapped around him. Swallowing hard, an effort to maintain her composure, Tessa tried to force a smile but failed.
A quick glance around showed her that she was by herself because Eric and Izzy were busy with a line of customers which meant she would have to deal with Chad herself.
“What can I get you?”
Chad’s glare made Tessa’s stomach churn painfully. She hadn’t seen Jack yet tonight, which was probably the reason Chad had grown a set of balls and decided to come to the bar rather than order through one of the waitresses.
Tessa had never officially kicked him out of The Rusty Nail despite everyone’s insistence that she should. Having attempted to be the bigger person, Tessa had hoped he would just keep his distance. Based on the glint in his midnight blue eyes, she had a feeling he was about to push the boundaries.
“Three Bud Lights,” the brunette on the left of Chad said sweetly.
Well, if Tessa only had to deal with the women, she might just be able to get through this unscathed.
“Thanks, darlin’,” Chad said to the woman as Tessa moved off to get their beers. “That’s the slut I was telling you to stay clear of.”
Tessa’s back straightened at the cruel words, but she forced herself to move forward. The man had pretty much called her every name in the book before today, so it wasn’t like she hadn’t heard it before.
“Her?” the other woman with Chad asked.
“Yep. Used to date her, but she got a little too freaky for me, if you know what I mean.”
The women giggled, and Tessa’s hands squeezed so tightly around the beer bottles she was carrying she thought they might just shatter in her hands.
“Freaky, how?”
“She was always hanging on me, begging for sex. I sang in here a few times and it got to be too much trouble because she was always up on me, ya know?”
God, had Chad always sounded so stupid? Tessa wondered to herself. Just listening to his bullshit story made her want to wrap her hands around his neck and squeeze until his eyes bugged out of his head. The guy was so full of himself. Had it not been for Tessa’s generosity, allowing Chad to play in her bar on occasion, she was pretty damn sure he’d never have been allowed past open mic night anywhere else.
“God, I can’t stand women like that,” the blonde said, her hands plastered to the front of Chad’s thick chest.
Tessa bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Ok, so laughter was good. At least it meant dealing with him was getting easier.
“Ain’t that right, darlin’?” Chad asked as Tessa slid the three beer bottles toward them.
She told them the amount they owed and ignored Chad’s question altogether.
“See, she’s still bitter. I won’t take her calls, so she has to pretend she’s not into me anymore.”
“I prefer men to boys,” Tessa mumbled, ashamed that she was succumbing to his antagonism.
“That right? Sure don’t seem like it to me,” Chad snarled. Turning his head toward the blonde, he grinned, “Her nasty cunt is already chasing Cooper Krenshaw. I heard he’s gettin’ ready to hightail it out of town just to get away from her.”
Tessa grabbed the twenty dollar bill that the blonde placed on the bar and turned toward the register. Before she was two steps away, the deep baritone of Jack’s voice startled her.
“See, son, that’s where you heard wrong.”
She turned abruptly to see Chad flinch while the women who’d been molded to his side were quickly moving away. Jack was standing behind him, one huge hand clamped down on Chad’s shoulder, the impression of his fingers scrunching Chad’s shirt.
“Fuck, man. Get your goddamn hands off me!” Chad yelled, ripping away from Jack’s grip.
“This is your last fucking warning,” Jack said slowly, his voice frighteningly low.
“Or what, man? You’re just pissed that I didn’t enjoy nailing the shit out of your sister. You didn’t have a problem until I tossed her out like yesterday’s garbage.”
“Jack stop!” Tessa screamed the instant her brother’s hands gripped Chad’s shirt, yanking him off of his feet as he got right up in his face.
Everything from that moment forward happened in a blur. Jack shoved Chad hard enough to send him sprawling on the concrete floor, forcing other customers to jump out of the way or be taken down like bowling pins.
“Out! Don’t let me see your face in here again,” Jack demanded, moving fast for a guy his size.
Chad was backing up on the floor, but unable to get enough purchase on the slippery concrete to make it back to his feet. Tessa couldn’t get out from behind the bar because Eric had moved close, keeping her sandwiched between him and the wood while Izzy stood by her side.
“Get up!” Jack growled.
Chad managed to make it to his feet, but as soon as he was upright, he was backing away while Jack was pursuing him like a cougar cornering its prey.
“She’s a fucking whore, man. The whole fucking town knows it.”
And that’s when the shit hit the fan. Tessa was watching Jack, waiting to see what he would do next when Chad was yanked backward, his legs barely managing to keep him up off the floor for a second time. Tessa glanced up to see Cooper as he forcefully pushed Chad toward the
door.
“Not another fucking word,” Cooper barked. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your fucking mouth shut.”
Another chill raced down Tessa’s spine. She’d never seen Cooper that angry, not even after he had to deal with Marcus face to face yesterday. Part of her was worried he was going to kill Chad.
“Hey, folks,” Dalton’s voice crooned through the speakers. “Y’all keep lookin’ that way and I’m gonna get my feelin’s hurt.”
The distracted patrons laughed as Dalton effectively redirected everyone’s attention back to him.
Tessa glanced down to see her hands were shaking. There was no way she would be able to keep her past a secret now. Not from Cooper anyway. She glanced toward the front door just in time to see it shut behind Cooper and Jack. She took a deep breath and wondered if she should make a run for it. After all that, she knew she didn’t have it in her to try and explain herself tonight.
“It’s all good,” Izzy said, her hand rubbing up and down Tessa’s back.
She momentarily allowed the motion to soothe her as she tried to figure out what she was going to do next.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s a jackass,” Eric confirmed before stepping over to help the customers who had just had a front row seat to Tessa’s humiliation.
Nodding her head in agreement, she remained where she stood, wishing like hell she could sneak out. Since the bar was so busy, she knew that wasn’t an option.
“Just think of it this way,” Izzy whispered. “The night can only get better from here.”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
“What the fuck was that about?” Cooper asked Jack when they were heading back inside after Jack handed Chad off to Shane, one of the burly bouncers standing outside. His instruction to ensure Chad never stepped foot inside the bar again would be heeded, he was sure.
“Nothin’. He’s a dumbass.”
That didn’t answer Cooper’s question, and he realized Jack was deflecting. The dumbass part was a given, but what Cooper wanted to know was what the hell the guy had against Tessa. In all the time Cooper had been in Devil’s Bend, he’d never met a single person who had said anything negative about her. Until tonight.
Grabbing Jack by the arm, Cooper stopped abruptly. “That doesn’t tell me shit.”
“It ain’t your fucking business,” Jack growled.
“The hell it ain’t.” Tessa was his business, and he’d be damned if anyone would talk to her like that.
“He’s trash, man. Just let it go.” Jack’s tone dripped with disdain and his emerald green eyes shot sparks of fire.
Nodding his head because he knew he wasn’t going to get anything more from Tessa’s brother, Cooper moved to the door. Once he was inside, he made a straight line for the bar, moving people out of his way as he went. The only thing he cared about was seeing that Tessa was all right.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked when he approached her at the bar. Never mind that there were at least ten people standing in line waiting to get their drinks.
“Can’t right now,” she muttered but didn’t look up at him.
Cooper glanced over at Izzy who was watching him. When their eyes met, she shook her head slightly, as though signaling him to give her a break.
Fine.
He made his way to the wall, standing close to where the sound system controls were and waited. Jack joined her behind the bar, and roughly twenty minutes later, they had managed to get the waiting customers down to a minimum.
By then, Cooper’s temper had cooled, which he considered a good thing. As he moved toward where Tessa was now standing, he glanced up at the stage to see Dalton looking his way. A quick tilt of his head was the only nonverbal communication he needed to send because the next song that Dalton began was a slow one. Something to douse the remaining flames of the anger that had flared up inside of Cooper when that bastard had started talking shit.
Rather than asking permission, Cooper lifted the wood top and slid behind the bar to join Tessa. He walked right up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and whispered in her ear. “Come dance with me.”
To his surprise, she didn’t argue, and Cooper took her hand, leading her back out the way he came and over to the dance floor. Joining the group of other dancers, Cooper fell in step and pulled Tessa up against him, wrapping her in his arms and holding her tightly against his body. They didn’t talk, but the way she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his chest said everything he needed to hear.
Dalton ventured into another slow song, giving Cooper more time with Tessa, but he knew he would eventually have to let her go. When his buddy decided to take a break, Cooper released Tessa, but grabbed her hand when she would’ve walked away.
“Can we talk for a few minutes?” he asked, nodding his head toward the back door.
When she relented, he realized just how much she’d been through tonight. Hell, today. After that morning, he knew something had upset her, but he wasn’t able to get her to open up to him. Hoping she might now, he took her hand and led her outside.
“What was that about?” he asked calmly once the door closed behind them, glad that enough time had lapsed for his temper to settle.
Tessa looked up at him briefly, but then diverted her gaze as she stepped away. He waited patiently for her to answer, and to his surprise, she didn’t make him wait long.
“His name is Chad.”
“What’s his deal with you?”
Tessa’s head jerked back toward him, her eyes weary. “I used to date him.”
Cooper nodded, hoping she would continue.
“It’s been a year since I broke it off with him.”
A year and the guy was still going crazy on her.
“Did you do something to him?”
Tessa’s back straightened, and he noticed the moment her defenses went up. He wasn’t trying to piss her off, but he knew that the sort of anger that man showed was usually triggered by something. That or he was just plain fucking crazy. Based on Jack’s reaction to the guy, Cooper was leaning toward the crazy.
“I broke up with him, that’s what,” Tessa said defiantly, her hands going to her hips. “If you don’t mind, I really need to get back to work. I don’t have any desire to discuss Chad with you or with anyone else.”
“Then do me a favor,” he retorted, his anger slowly starting to build.
“What’s that?”
“Stay away from him.”
Tessa’s eyes narrowed on him, and he felt the chill all the way to his bones. She obviously didn’t take too kindly to his demand, but he couldn’t help himself. He hated seeing that bastard talk to her that way. If Cooper had anything to say about it, the guy would’ve been leaving in an ambulance, but luckily for everyone involved, he had somehow managed to keep himself under control.
“In case you didn’t notice, I own this bar,” she said adamantly before turning away abruptly and heading back inside, leaving Cooper standing there, staring into the night.
Shit.
He hoped like hell this night didn’t get any worse.
Chapter Twenty Four
A short while later, Tessa was standing behind the bar once again, making change when Izzy’s statement from earlier resounded in her mind.
“Just think of it this way. The night can only get better from here.”
She hoped like hell Izzy was right. There for a few minutes, when she had been dancing with Cooper, she thought her friend might be on to something. Being in Cooper’s arms for even that short period of time had been just what she needed to calm her nerves. The safety and security she found in his arms was such a welcome change from the chaos that had erupted not long before that. It was difficult to admit, but Tessa was actually getting used to him being there and the comfort that his nearness afforded her.
At least until he went and said something idiotic like he did outside.
“Stay away from him.”
It was almost as though he believed she had started the incident with Chad. She had seen the doubt in his eyes, known that he wasn’t absolutely sure of her because of what happened, but for the life of her, she hadn’t wanted to argue with him. Especially not about Chad. She had no intention of talking about him. Ever.
“Can I get a Crown and coke over here?”
Tessa’s spine straightened as the voice registered and she turned slowly to see Marcus Evergreen once again gracing her bar with his presence.
Oh, hell. Apparently, Izzy spoke too soon. Tessa got the feeling things were about to go from bad to worse.
Tonight Marcus looked not much different than the night before, only this time his suit wasn’t gray, it was either navy or black, she couldn’t tell in the dim light.
Nodding her head when he continued to pin her with his beady eyes, Tessa took her time getting the Crown from the shelf. There was no way she could warn Cooper this time. There were too many people there, too much going on and quite frankly, she didn’t want him to have to endure this guy just yet. For the first time since Tessa had met him, Cooper seemed perfectly at ease, like he was doing what he loved to do – the altercation with Chad notwithstanding.
Once she had the drink poured, she gave him the total as she pushed it toward him. And just like last time, he told her to put it on Cooper’s tab.
“Sorry, no can do. Cooper doesn’t have a tab here anymore.”
Marcus’ chocolate brown eyes narrowed. Tessa felt as though he were examining her, trying to determine exactly what he needed to say. Or perhaps how he needed to say it. As she waited, refusing to walk away until he paid for the drink, the guy continued to make her uncomfortable.
“Fine,” he said with a huff, standing from the stool and pulling his wallet from his back pocket. Slapping a ten on the bar, he told her to keep the change, and she offered a small smile in return.
“You mind going up there to let Cooper know it’s time to go,” Marcus said, grabbing her arm just as she was turning to walk away.
Tessa’s outrage at being manhandled nearly broke loose, but she managed to stare down at her arm, then back up at Marcus. “You’re gonna take your hand off of me now.” Her voice was low and calm, but she hoped he understood how deadly her statement was. She might not have the ability to kick this guy’s ass, then again, she might. He was kind of puny in her opinion. But there was a bar full of her cousins, not to mention her brother Jack was somewhere close, who’d do the deed for her if she just said the word.
Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) Page 21
