And now as they lay in his bed, Tessa stirred in his arms, the silky strands of her hair tickling his arm when she moved. Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head and waited to see if she was awake.

When she didn’t rouse, he figured he needed to get up. The sunlight was just beginning to come in through his windows, and he knew his parents would be there soon. They had called him the day before to let him know they were driving down to visit. And yes, he had knowingly kept that a secret from Tessa. No sense in worrying her even more.

After making a pot of coffee, Cooper let the dogs out the back door and joined them on the porch. Sliding into one of the plastic chairs, Cooper stared out at the land in front of him as the sun continued its remarkable ascent into the sky.

“Mornin’.” Tessa’s drowsy voice came from behind him a second before her arms wrapped over his shoulders and around his neck.

“Mornin’, baby,” he greeted her, his hands landing on her arms, enjoying the softness of her against him. “Sleep well?”

“Not too bad,” she answered and he heard the smile in her voice.

A loud bark had Tessa pulling away. “Thanks for letting them out this morning. You should’ve woken me up.”

“They’re easy to manage,” Cooper told her, glancing at her over his shoulder. “And anyway, you needed the sleep.”

Tessa’s knockout smile made his heart lurch in his chest. He’d spend the rest of his life trying to make her smile like that if she would let him. However, he knew now wasn’t the time to try and push that issue. One day at a time is what they agreed to, and he was trying damn hard to stick to his word. It was a little harder now that he knew that he loved her.

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her around in front of him and then down onto his lap. Placing his hand on her bare thigh, he smiled. “My dad and mom will be here in a bit,” he warned her, taking in the fact that she was wearing only his button down shirt. Since it came to her knees, he knew she was modestly covered, but she probably wouldn’t appreciate meeting his parents for the first time dressed like that.

“Here? Today?” Her voice was high and thin, and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of fear in her eyes.

“Yep. So, go on in and take a shower. You’ve got time.”

“But Coop –” She started to argue as she rose to her feet.

“No, ‘buts’, Tessa. Just do it.” He laughed as he smacked her on the butt. “I’ll handle the dogs and Dalton will be up shortly.”

Without another word, she disappeared inside. Maybe he should’ve warned her in advance that his parents were coming, but Cooper truly wanted her to meet them. He knew Tessa, and if she had any sort of advanced notice, she’d probably have come up with at least one excuse. Probably more.

Half an hour later, Cooper was just finished frying the bacon and scrambling enough eggs to feed a small country when there was a knock on the front door. His father’s booming voice was the first warning, followed by the excited barks of Tessa’s dogs.

“Come in,” he hollered over the loud barks.

After scooping the eggs on a plate and tossing a paper towel over them, he ventured into the front room where his parents stood petting the dogs like they’d been friends all their life.

“Momma,” Cooper greeted his mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek when she stood. “How was the trip?”

“Oh, you know your father,” she teased. “Sometimes I worry that his foot’s on the brake and not the gas.”

“Oh, hush, woman,” his father belted out as he stood to his full height, which was eye level with Cooper. “Too fast. Too slow. It’d be easier if she’d just tell me how fast she wants me to drive and I set the cruise control.”

“Why didn’t you mention that before? That would make it so much easier,” Becca Krenshaw teased as she poked her husband in the ribs.

“Watch it, woman,” David said with a smile. “So, this is the house, huh?”

Cooper glanced around the room, trying to see the house for the first time through his father’s eyes. “Yup, this is it. It needs some work, but I like it.”

“It’s charming,” his mother said as she moved through the open living room. “Open, airy, just like a country house should be.”

Cooper bit back his laugh. His parents lived in a four thousand square foot cabin in the Smoky Mountains, so this was like a cardboard box in comparison to their three story retreat.

“Is that food I smell?” David asked, his hand landing firmly on Cooper’s shoulder.

“Yes, sir,” Cooper answered, glancing down the dim hallway as they made their way toward the kitchen. He was surprised Tessa hadn’t appeared yet. Then again, if she had her way, she would probably hide out in his bedroom until she thought the coast was clear.

Not that he was going to let her.

When the back screen door opened and then shut, Cooper turned abruptly to see his angel in blue jeans standing in the doorway, a shy smile on her face. Sneaky woman. She must’ve snuck out the back door when his parents arrived so she wouldn’t be caught coming out of his bedroom.

Cooper saw the dogs running down the back porch steps which meant she had done exactly that when he had been greeting is parents.

“Hey, darlin’,” Cooper said, heading straight for her. “Mom, Dad, this is Tessa Donovan. Tessa, this is my mother, Becca, and my father, David.”

“Oh, she’s a beauty,” Becca swooned as she moved in close, grabbing both of Tessa’s hands in hers and then pulling her in for a hug. That was his mother. She didn’t have any respect for personal space whatsoever when it came to the people in her life.

“Woman, let her be,” David said with a laugh after a good thirty seconds or so.

“Why don’t y’all head on out to the table on the back porch and Tessa and I will bring the food out.” Cooper held the door open for his parents as they disappeared outside.

“Dalton up yet?” he asked Tessa when he turned back to face her.

“I heard him moving around, but I haven’t seen him yet. Want me to go get him?”

“Nah. Once he smells the food, he’ll come runnin’.”

By the time the four of them were sitting at the table on the back porch, Dalton came cruising out the back door, sniffing the air with a grin on his face. “Mornin’, Mr. and Mrs. Krenshaw. Tessa. Thanks for calling me for breakfast, jackass.” Dalton aimed the last jab at Cooper, making the entire table laugh.

“Dalton,” David greeted. “Good to see you, boy.”

“You too, sir,” Dalton grinned as he pulled out the chair between Tessa and Becca. “Y’all saved me the best seat in the house.”

Definitely a charmer, that boy was. For the next few minutes, everyone ate, the conversation surprisingly comfortable. Tessa joined in when the questions were directed at her, which a lot of them were considering Cooper’s parents were obviously interested in getting to know her. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem at all bothered by answering them.

“Tessa, would you like to help me clear the table?” Becca asked once all of the plates were emptied and pushed away, signaling everyone had gotten their fill.

“Yes, ma’am,” Tessa said with a grin.

“I’ll get it,” Cooper offered, pushing his chair back to help.

“No, sir,” his mother said, pinning him with a glare. “You boys have stuff to talk about. We girls will be fine.”

Cooper nodded, his attention redirected at his father. This was the reason they’d shown up unexpected. Maybe not entirely unexpected because Cooper fully anticipated his father coming to see him soon. He didn’t spend a lot of time away from his parents, usually stopping in to visit at least once every two weeks when he wasn’t on tour.

“Tell me more about this equestrian center,” David insisted as the three men sat at the table, glancing out to see the dogs rumbling in the yard.

“See the barn out there?” Cooper asked as he pointed in the direction of what was left of the old barn.

“Ain’t that a little close to the house?” David asked, leaning back in his chair with his hands resting on his flat stomach. At fifty-one, the man was still in top form.

“It is. I’m looking to tear it down and rebuild farther out. I’ve got just over two hundred acres to play with, so I think I can make it work.”

“How far out? What about that direction?” David asked, looking out toward the tree line that hid the pond Cooper and Tessa had made love by a couple of weeks ago.

“Yeah?” Cooper asked, interested in what his father had to say.

“I think we put in a road over there, that’ll keep the traffic away from the house.”

“Traffic?” Cooper asked, glancing between the two men.

“You know once the media gets wind of this, they’re gonna descend on you. If they know the boys you’ve got helping you out, it’ll be sooner rather than later.” David added, his expression serious.

True. And thanks to Dalton and several phone calls, they had more volunteers than they needed. The materials were on order and would be delivered in the next week, coming in by the truck loads. Although he and Dalton had only briefly talked about the plans, the man had run with the idea. He’d even spent Sunday nailing down the help they would need.

When Dalton Calhoun got involved, things moved pretty quickly. Cooper’s original concept of an equestrian center focused on working with disabled children and adults came from one of their more in depth conversations, he knew Dalton was fully onboard with the idea.

“All right,” Cooper agreed. “I’m game.”

For the next half hour, the three of them talked about the logistics, even mapping out the location on a copy of the land survey to ensure they had everything placed within the appropriate boundaries.