When she finally emerged from the house, he was sitting on the edge of the chair wondering just how much longer he’d be able to hold out. A short whistle had the dogs running up to the house as he turned and went inside. Grabbing the travel mug that he’d put Tessa’s coffee in, he handed it off to her and ushered her out through the front door with the dogs alongside them.
“Where’re we going?” she asked, but Cooper just smiled. She would figure it all out soon enough. Maybe. Until then, he planned to keep a lid on the surprise.
A few minutes later, Cooper was pulling his truck down the long dirt road to his house, a smile permanently plastered on his face. Although the trip had been a short one, he had managed to evade all of Tessa’s questions. He couldn’t help but think about how she sounded just like Adam the last time he’d had breakfast with the man. Seemed like just yesterday that her brother had grilled him about his plans to stay in Devil’s Bend, but still felt like months had passed at the same time.
“What’s going on, cowboy?” Tessa asked sternly when Cooper parked his truck beside the spot where the new stables were going in. Nothing more than a concrete foundation for now, but he could pretty much picture the entire setup in his mind already.
“Come on,” he told her as he climbed out.
While he waited for her to join him, Cooper let the dogs out of the bed of the truck and then moved around to her side.
Taking her hand, Cooper started walking, forcing her to fall into step beside him. He had to give her credit, she wasn’t asking any more questions. Then again, she was probably too stunned to speak considering the people who were waiting for them.
Nodding his head toward Izzy, Eric, Katie, Miranda, Jack, Dalton, David, and Becca, he didn’t say a word. Once he and Tessa had joined them in the middle of what would soon be the center of the equestrian center, he stopped and turned to face her.
Still holding her hand, he felt her tremble, and he only hoped she wasn’t shaking from fear.
“Tessa,” Cooper said when he looked down at her, taking both of her hands in his. The afternoon sun was shining down on her, blonde hair glistening like gold, green eyes sparkling back at him and a measure of uncertainty written on her face that made his heart twist.
“What’s going on?” she whispered, the tremor in her hands evident in her voice as well.
“I…”
“Wait, hold up!” Dalton yelled as he took off running toward his truck.
Cooper couldn’t help but laugh as did the others. Everyone except Tessa, who seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on.
“Sorry, man.” Dalton was out of breath when he returned, but he was grinning, his hands behind his back.
It was Cooper’s turn to want to ask questions, but he focused on Tessa, the main reason they were all there.
“Tessa,” he began again, his heart clenching in his chest as he smiled down at her. “Since the –”
The sound of a horn bleating from up near the house had everyone turning that direction. Cooper was beginning to sweat, and it had nothing to do with the afternoon sun and everything to do with his nerves. The interruptions weren’t helping.
“That’s…” Tessa said, her hand squeezing Cooper’s. “That’s Adam’s truck.”
Oh, thank God. Cooper was hoping her older brother could make it. Unsure how much longer he would be able to hold out, Cooper sent up a silent prayer that Adam would get a move on so he could continue before he lost every ounce of nerve he’d worked up over the last hour.
Adam’s big white Silverado came to an abrupt stop next to Cooper’s truck and even though the sun was glaring off of the windshield, Cooper could tell there was more than one person in the vehicle, but he had no idea who Adam could’ve possibly brought with him. This had been a spur of the moment deal. Well, the scheduling part had been. The actual event had been on Cooper’s mind for some time now, but as it turns out, not everything in his life goes according to plan.
Tessa’s breath hitched, and Cooper squinted in order to make out the other people with Adam. He didn’t recognize the big man who climbed out of the passenger side, but the woman that Adam was helping out of the back seat looked vaguely familiar, although Cooper was certain he’d never seen her before.
“Mom? Michael?”
Well, that explained why the woman looked familiar. She was an older, taller version of Tessa. And as it turned out, Adam had managed to do what Cooper thought would be impossible.
“What’s going on?” Tessa asked when she looked back at Cooper, reminding him why he was there.
Squeezing her hands gently, he stalled for a moment while Tessa’s parents joined them. Once they were standing with the others, Cooper smiled down at the woman he loved.
“Tessa…” Wow, he was tongue tied. For a man who wrote love songs, he found it difficult to come up with the words to express to this woman exactly how he felt about her. Then he thought about the first time he laid eyes on her and the words began tumbling out of his mouth.
“Since the very moment I saw you, when your eyes met mine from across the room, I felt something. A connection that I had never felt before. At that moment in time, I never would’ve imagined that I had just looked into the eyes of the woman I would soon fall in love with.
“And from the first time you fell right into my arms,” Cooper smiled, the memory so vivid, he could practically smell the scent of beer and sawdust, “I knew you’d be the biggest challenge I’ve ever come up against.”
The group behind them chuckled, but Cooper continued. “I knew that walking away from Nashville was going to change my life, but had I known just how much… I would’ve come to Texas a lot faster than I did.”
“Nobody’s perfect,” Jack muttered, and everyone laughed.
“Hey, he got here didn’t he?” Izzy retorted. “Not everyone can be lucky enough to be born here, you know.”
Cooper’s gaze never strayed from Tessa’s face. He could see a shimmer of tears in her eyes, and he forged ahead. “I admit when I came here, I was chasing a dream, but little did I know that what I had set out for wasn’t what I thought it was. Building this,” he glanced around and then back to her face, “it’s what got me here, but you, Tessa, are the one that kept me here. It all comes down to you. You’re my dream, Tessa. You’re everything I’ve wanted, everything I’ve prayed for.”
A tear leaked down Tessa’s cheek, and he paused.
“Get on with it, cowboy,” Tessa whispered, making him laugh.
“We’re two souls after the same thing. We’re dream chasers, and I think it’s high time we stop chasing those dreams and realize we’ve found what we’re looking for,” he said, his throat tightening. Taking one step back, Cooper lowered himself to one knee.
Releasing Tessa’s hands, he retrieved the ring that had been burning a hole in his front pocket. “I love you, Tessa Donovan. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. You’re my heart, my soul… my everything. I want to spend the rest of my days making you happy.” Cooper had to swallow hard. “Will you marry me, Tessa?”
Cooper held his breath as he stared up at Tessa, his heart stuttering in his chest as he waited for her answer. Her tears flowed steadily now, and he couldn’t stop the fear from clogging his throat. He wanted her to be his wife, to spend the rest of her days beside him, loving him. And letting him love her.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll marry you, cowboy. Yes.”
Cooper barely heard the words, but his heart didn’t have any problem understanding what she said. Now his hands were shaking but he managed to slide the engagement ring over Tessa’s finger, his eyes never leaving hers. Pushing up to his full height, he couldn’t stop the tear that escaped, nor did he try to.
“I love you, Tessa.”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that, cowboy.”
When Tessa flung herself into his arms, Cooper grabbed her up and held her close, his mouth finding hers. The group that was gathered behind them started
to clap, several piercing whistles got the dogs excited, and then a booming “Yeehaw!” sounded, causing Cooper to look over at Dalton.
The man was holding the For Sale sign that Tessa had put up at The Rusty Nail. He grinned and then spun the sign around. On the other side was a handmade sign that read:
Dream Chasers
Equestrian Center
“It’s perfect,” Tessa said on a sob. “Absolutely perfect.”
“Yes, you are,” Cooper told her, squeezing her tightly. “You certainly are.”
Epilogue
Tessa was a bundle of nerves and Izzy’s excitement wasn’t helping much. Her best friend was all but bouncing around the tiny room, a grin on her face as she continued to work on Tessa’s hair. Getting all “prettied up”, as Izzy referred to it, was proving to be a time consuming ordeal.
“Are you almost finished?” Tessa asked.
“Yes!” Izzy squealed. “There! All done.”
Tessa turned her head back and forth, studying the woman in the mirror, admiring the up-do that Izzy had spent the last forty-five minutes working on. Had Izzy not been so jittery, it would’ve probably only taken twenty.
“It’s beautiful, Izzy,” she said admiringly.
“No, you are,” her best friend said on a sigh. “God, Tessa. I’m so excited for you.”
Tessa could tell. If she hadn’t been a nervous wreck, she would’ve been jumping up and down with her friend.
After all, she was getting married.
Today.
In fact, the church was quickly filling up, and Tessa knew they didn’t have much longer before the ceremony started. As much as she wanted to hide out in the bridal suite for another, oh, say, two days, she knew she needed to get this over with.
Not the wedding per se. She was beside herself with joy at marrying Cooper. It’d been six months since he proposed and they had been counting down to this day together. They’d kept the wedding simple and made a list of everything that had to be taken care of. With Izzy as her Matron of Honor and Dalton as Cooper’s Best Man, everything had taken shape without much effort on their part.
In fact, getting to this point had been relatively easy. Not much stress involved when they spent most of their time enjoying one another. They’d had the opportunity to talk things through and decided exactly how they saw their future. The one thing they agreed on… whatever they did, they wanted it to be together. Just the two of them.
Which meant Tessa had to let go of some of the ghosts from her past. So, last week, Cooper had taken her to visit Richie’s grave, which had been harder than she thought it would be. Thankfully, Cooper had held her tightly both at the gravesite and then later that night when she fell apart again. He had offered a comforting shoulder and let her say what needed to be said. She hadn’t been to Richie’s grave since the funeral, and she hated herself for that, but now that she had, she felt as though they both might be at peace. As much as they could be anyway.
Tessa would never stop loving Richie and Cooper seemed to understand that. But, Tessa knew she would never stop loving Cooper either. In a matter of minutes, he was going to become her husband and she was finally ready to take this next step. She had officially evicted the negativity from her life, and she’d learned to hope as much as she dreamed.
And all of her dreams were coming true. It hadn’t been long after Cooper proposed that she had moved in with him. Days, in fact. She had been blessedly surprised that her need for independence hadn’t been another obstacle they had to overcome. Cooper gave her as much space as she needed and Tessa found on those few nights he was gone for something music related, she missed him terribly.
They seemed to have found exactly where they were supposed to be. The equestrian center, which they had justly named Dream Chasers, had become as much Cooper’s passion as Tessa’s. Although he was the one who put the dream within reach because he had the resources required to build it, they’d both turned it into what it was today. Then, of course, there was the farm. Thanks to the high school kids lining up to volunteer, it was thriving. And yes, Tessa got her petting zoo.
So, their days were long, and their nights were longer, but Tessa wouldn’t have it any other way.
It was true, chasing dreams were something she’d been doing for as long as she could remember. Now that she’d lassoed them and pulled them in, she couldn’t wait to get on with the rest of her life. And to know that she would be sharing that with the one man who shared her dreams as well… Well, that was more than she ever could’ve asked for.
It would seem that everything did happen for a reason, and although the pain endured along the way could be enough to knock you down, Tessa knew it was all about getting back up and moving forward. Now, as she stood facing the door that would lead her into the church, Tessa was going to do just that.
Two hours later, Tessa was standing beneath one of the enormous white tents that had been set up next to the barn, with Izzy, Miranda, and Katie. The four of them were watching as a group of guys got a little crazy on the makeshift dance floor thanks to Cooper and Dalton singing one of those fast country beats they used to rile up an audience.
The wedding photographer was moving in and out of the fray, risking his life as far as Tessa was concerned. The day had been perfect. The wedding beautiful, but the reception… it was unexpected.
The barn wasn’t big enough to hold everyone, so tents had been erected close by; one containing food and drinks, another the dance floor, and another still that contained more tables than Tessa could count.
Considering how intimate the wedding had been, Tessa had no idea Izzy and Dalton had conspired with their families to throw a huge reception. And technically, huge was an understatement. Tessa’s entire family was there, including her mother, her stepfather, both brothers, all of her cousins from her mother’s side who lived in or around Devil’s Bend.
And, as if that weren’t enough, there were even some she hadn’t seen in, well, forever. Despite the fact that Tessa’s father hadn’t been a part of her life, his sister Lorrie had always made a point to keep in touch with Sheila over the years. The Walker’s lived in Coyote Ridge, a small town about half an hour away, and Tessa had no idea how Izzy or her mother convinced them to come, but most of them were there. Admittedly, the cousins she spent time with regularly were intimidating enough, but Lorrie’s seven sons took intimidating to a whole other level.
Cooper’s parents were there, along with some of his friends. Yes, that’s how he referred to some of the biggest names in country music – friends. Needless to say, invitations had to be guarded once word got out, but thanks to her cousin Shane, they didn’t have to worry about security.
So far there hadn’t been any altercations, everyone was having fun, and as far as Tessa was concerned, that’s what mattered most.
“Hold up, y’all.” Dalton’s voice sounded over the speakers, and Tessa turned to look at the stage set up on the far side of the tent. “It’s time for the bride and groom to share their first dance.”
Tessa’s breath lodged in her chest as she caught sight of Cooper moving her way, the seductive grin on his face making her skin tingle. The man was eye catching in a pair of boots and jeans, but sporting a tuxedo, he was mouthwatering.
And he was hers.
Without a word, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor, his golden brown eyes trapping hers, mesmerizing her with all of the love she saw reflected there.
“I’m sure y’all have heard this one on the radio recently. This is Cooper’s chart topping single that was just released, ‘Angel in Blue Jeans’. He wrote this one for his beautiful bride and he’s allowed me the honor of singing it here tonight.”
Tessa’s eyes filled with tears as she let Cooper pull her into his arms. She could still remember the first time she heard the song when he sang it at The Rusty Nail, not realizing then that he’d written it for her. Since then, he had released the song as the first single from his next album and to their delight, he
had topped the country music charts with it.
“You doing all right, Mrs. Krenshaw?” Cooper whispered against her ear as he held her close, his head tilted down toward her.
“Never better, Mr. Krenshaw,” she answered, squeezing his hand tightly. “It’s still a little surreal.”
“Well, you better get used to it, darlin’. This is only the beginning.”
Tessa glanced up, met his eyes as she smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that, cowboy.”
“Good,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her gently. “Because I’m going to start proving it tonight.”
Tessa laughed. “I certainly hope so.” Glancing around briefly, she met his eyes again. “Think we can sneak out early?”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Cooper would’ve endured the wedding and the reception one hundred times over just to marry Tessa, but he had to admit that this was what he’d been waiting for.
“Where’re you at, cowboy?” Tessa’s sweet Texas drawl echoed within the cavernous barn.
Cooper leaned his head over the edge of the hayloft and smiled down at her. “Up here, so get your pretty little ass up here with me.”
Tessa chuckled, and he watched as she shuffled the items in her hands around so that she could make it up the ladder. Once she was within reach, he helped her by retrieving the items and setting them to the side. Wine, two glasses, cheese, crackers. The woman was optimistic, wasn’t she? As far as Cooper was concerned, there wasn’t going to be time to eat.
“Oh, wow,” she said on a breath.
That was exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for. “Do you like it?”
Cooper glanced over at the bed he’d made over the straw, ensuring that it was soft enough for his gorgeous bride. He’d had to sneak the items up last week when she wasn’t expecting it just to surprise her. And apparently that had worked.
Chasing Dreams (Devil's Bend) Page 32
