“Yeah. I’m hoping to stable at least six horses and have more animals, so I’ll need a place big enough to store stuff. At first, it’ll probably seem like overkill. I’ll probably only start out with two or three horses, maybe a dog or two.”

“I think that’s a smart move. See where it goes.”

Cooper heard the sadness in her tone. According to everything he had learned since arriving in town, Tessa had the same dream he did. Although hers was probably more thought through… planned out.

“Would you do it differently?”

Tessa glanced up at him, her pretty green eyes sparkling as though he’d found the one thing she loved to talk about. He suddenly really wanted to get her input.

She turned back to look out at the fields and said, “The first measure of business should obviously be clearing the land, ensuring the outer fences are in shape. Check the barbed wire, get all of that repaired. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about a bunch of garbage to be hauled off with the exception of that barn.”

That was one thing about the property that Cooper had been happy about. The land was entirely fenced and based on what he saw, the majority of it was in decent shape. Only a few sections needed to be rebuilt, but certainly manageable.

“Got it. Clean and repair first.”

Tessa peeked up at him briefly. He ran his hand slowly down the side of her cheek, encouraging her to continue.

“From there, I’d probably start out small,” she continued, resting her head back against his shoulder, sipping her beer before holding it in her lap. “Obviously dispose of that,” she nodded with her chin toward the barn. “Depending on what you’re planning to replace it with, that could take some time.”

“I’m not looking to take a lot of time,” he informed her. Not that he flaunted his money, but he had enough to do what he wanted to do and then some. “It’ll probably be the first thing I really focus on. I’d like to see it up in a couple of months, if possible.”

“That’s definitely possible, but again, that depends on the size,” she stated. “From there, assuming you’ll build the stables at the same time, you should start out with three horses, maybe four. If you’re hiring a trainer, you’ll have some help in taking care of them. They’re a lot of work for one person, so you’ll be busy just with their upkeep. Are you going to hire someone to help?” she asked, lifting her beer to her lips again.

Cooper glanced down, watching as her lips touched the edge of the bottle, the way she tipped it up just a little before moving it back to her lap and sliding her pretty pink tongue over her bottom lip. He suddenly had a craving to lick that bottom lip himself.

Maybe it was the fact that they were somewhere private for the first time since he’d met her, maybe it was just being outside with nature, or maybe it was simply the woman… Any way he sliced it, Cooper hadn’t felt this content in a long time. For years, he’d been going ninety miles an hour, never slowing down. But here, this place, this woman, he felt as though he had a chance to enjoy it.

“Do you think I should hire someone?” Lifting his gaze back to the rapidly darkening expanse of sky in front of them, Cooper listened to the crickets as they chirped loudly around them.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea. You can check in with the high school. They’ve got an agriculture program and might have some kids looking to learn.”

Cooper liked that idea. A lot. Apparently Tessa Donovan had done her homework. It confirmed for him that she’d been telling him the truth from the get go.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them needing conversation to make things comfortable. Cooper loved sitting outside like this. With nature being the only sound disrupting the breeze flowing across the acres of tall grass. Other than the light from the kitchen spilling through the screen door and spraying a soft, buttery glow over the wooden planks of the porch, it was now almost totally dark. There weren’t any other lights in the distance, no other houses within miles to disturb the perfection of the evening.

“Why haven’t you done this yet?” he asked, using his hand to gesture toward the barn in the distance.

When Tessa flinched in his arms, her soft body no longer pliant, he tightened his arm around her, unwilling to let her run from him. She didn’t have to answer the question, but he didn’t want her to go. Not yet.

“You just seem so passionate about it, especially when you talk.”

Tessa tried to pull away again, but Cooper held her tight. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” she asked, once again trying to sit up straight.

“Don’t run away. I’m sorry. Forget I even asked.”

Long seconds passed before Tessa eased back against him, but Cooper noticed that she wasn’t relaxed anymore. Her body was rigid beneath his arm, her shoulders tense. He lowered his head toward her, pressing his lips against her hair and inhaling her sweet, fresh fragrance.

He could get used to this. Get used to this woman. Although he hadn’t known her all that long, Tessa was the type of woman he’d been looking for. Sweet, honest, maybe a bit too apprehensive though. She had all of the characteristics of a woman who could withstand a long term relationship if she’d give herself another chance. Something he was looking for, more so now than in previous years.

Ever since he hit thirty, Cooper had been looking for long term. Maybe not actively pursuing women for a happily ever after, but he had kept the thought in mind when entertaining the women he came in contact with.

From the minute he stepped off of the stage in Chicago, Illinois, Cooper had known he was ready to slow down. To settle down. And as he walked out of the concert arena, he decided there was never a better time than right then. He found himself heading south soon after that.

A year ago, he had wanted to believe he had found his happily ever after, although the circumstances hadn’t been within his control, he figured fate had been dealing him a surprise hand. Unfortunately, he’d learned soon enough that his life had just taken an off-road detour, and he was forced to find his way back to his original path.

Now that he was in Devil’s Bend, he felt like he had finally found the place he was meant to end up and no matter how much Marcus threatened him, Cooper wasn’t going anywhere. Was it possible that he had found everything he was looking for? Could Tessa be the woman?

“Have you considered a petting zoo?” Tessa’s sweet voice drifted over the sound of cicadas chirping in the towering oak trees.

Cooper laughed, and this time Tessa did pull away. Completely. She pushed up off the swing, sending it rocking wildly until he managed to still it, moving to the edge.

“Where’re you going?” he asked, looking up at her as she paced away. “Come here, Tessa.”

When she stopped abruptly, Cooper held his breath, waiting to see what she would say.

“Why’d you laugh?” she asked, her voice suddenly sad.

Choosing not to spook her, Cooper remained where he was, placing his empty beer bottle on the porch beneath his feet.

“Come here, Tessa,” he repeated more firmly, his eyes never leaving her. Ok, so she was definitely skittish, even more than he thought. They needed to work on that knee-jerk reaction of hers.

He wasn’t sure whether she won whatever internal struggle she was having or not, but Tessa finally turned to face him and he locked his gaze on hers. There wasn’t an ounce of the sadness he had detected in her tone written on her face. No, she looked more pissed than upset, but he was ready to remedy that.

He tilted his head slightly, lifting one eyebrow as he waited for her to give him a piece of her mind, or worse, turn and run. Cooper might be laidback, he might be easing into the slow life, but he wasn’t a patient man for the most part. With Tessa, he realized he wasn’t going to have much of a choice but to adapt.

She took a few steps closer, putting her beer bottle on the table. When he lifted his eyebrow once more, she moved even closer. Once she was within feet of him, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, causing her to stumble. She righted herself by placing her hands on his shoulders as he looked up into her face.

“I wasn’t laughing at you, Tessa.” He kept his voice firm, making sure she understood that he preferred talking to running. “I was laughing because of how perfect you are. Or rather how ironic it is that we have so much in common, yet we’re so different.”

Tessa’s expression didn’t change, but she wasn’t trying to pull away from him, so Cooper considered that a win.

“I’m sorry if you thought I was laughing at you. I promise, I wasn’t. I’m not surprised that you’ve come up with a million ways to make this place into something only dreams are made of. You’ve managed to consider all of the possibilities.”

Tessa didn’t say anything as they stared at each other, the defining moment upon them. If she was going to put up a wall every time he did something she didn’t like, they weren’t going to get anywhere.

“I don’t want you to run,” he admitted openly, his hands involuntarily gripping her hips more firmly. Being this close to her made his body hum and his brain buzz. “I’m going to say and do stupid things from time to time. Bear with me.”

“I don’t want to run, but…” Tessa left the sentence hanging between them.

“Then stay. Right here with me.” Cooper allowed his voice to drop, brown eyes locked with green as he willed her to understand what he was feeling.

“I could ask the same from you,” Tessa whispered.

His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what she was telling him. Apparently she realized his confusion because she continued.