would’ve tried to jump to
her rescue, especially after Richie died.
There
had to be a mistake, and as soon as she got the chance, she was going to call
Luanne Deluth Rosenbough and talk to her.
“What
do you plan to do with it?” Tessa asked, glancing Cooper’s way briefly. Her
throat felt tight and her eyes stung from unshed tears, but she fought them
back. She refused to get emotional until she had all the facts.
“It
needs some work, and it’ll probably take me some time to build it up, but
ultimately I’d like to turn it into a fully functioning farm. As a side
venture, I’m looking to build an equestrian center. I’ve always wanted to use
horses to work with disabled children and adults.”
Tessa
knew her jaw was hanging open, knew she shouldn’t stare at him as though he’d
just admitted that his dream was the exact same dream she’d been chasing
ever since she was a child, but she couldn’t help it.
“Hey,
that’s funny. Tessa wanted to do that when she was a kid,” Adam offered.
She still wanted it, but Adam didn’t know that.
So
if Adam hadn’t said anything, then that left… Had Luanne told Cooper what Tessa
was planning to do? Was this some kind of joke? Or payback?
Tessa
had to force her jaw to relax when she realized she was grinding her teeth
together.
“Really?”
Cooper sounded as though he was hearing the news for the first time. Didn’t
mean she wasn’t still suspicious of what his overall objective was. What were
the odds that he came to Devil’s Bend, bought the property she was in the
process of buying and planned to build the exact same thing? Something was off
here.
“So, what ?” Tessa realized she sounded frustrated. “You bring him all the way
out here to tell me he wants to run a horse farm?”
Adam
frowned down at her, and Tessa bit the inside of her cheek as she turned to
stare out into the yard. Yes, it was somewhat of a sore spot that she spent her
nights slinging beers in a bar, even if she owned said bar while others were
out making their dreams come true. She might not be able to make her dream come
true overnight, but she was working on it.
“No,
I brought Coop out here because I wanted to know what you thought of him
handling the entertainment at The Rusty Nail .”
Tessa
stared up at Adam once again, confusion replacing the frustration from moments
ago.
“You
want him to sing in the bar every night?” Turning to face Cooper, she asked
him, “And you’d want to do that? I thought you were a big country star.”
Adam
laughed, pulling her attention back to him. “No, I don’t think Coop would be
interested in becoming a permanent nightly fixture at The Rusty Nail .
He, however, would be good for business.”
“What
are you talking about? You handle the entertainment. Why would we need him?”
Tessa stared at her brother, trying to comprehend what he was telling her. Or
rather what he wasn’t telling her. She knew there was something, but for
the life of her she couldn’t put it together. The look on his face told her she
wasn’t going to be happy with his news.
“I’m
going into the police academy.” Adam’s calm tone sounded as though he were
trying to soothe her which meant…
And
then his words registered.
Police
academy.
Tessa’s
heart stopped beating in her chest and she felt faint. Somehow, although her
body was hardly cooperating, she managed to put her coffee cup on the railing
beside her because she wasn’t interested in wearing what was left of it.
Staring up at Adam, she couldn’t get a single word out of her mouth.
“Tessa…”
Adam began, sounding as though he were going to start explaining.
“Don’t,”
she demanded harshly. “Don’t. I… I don’t even know what to say.”
Pushing
to her feet, Tessa forced her legs to move, forced herself to go inside before
she lost every ounce of her decorum right there on her front porch in front of
God and everyone.
And
Cooper Krenshaw.
∞
∞ ∞ ∞