Chasing Dreams

“Tessa.” 

At the sound of her name, Tessa Donovan glanced up from the beer she was pouring. Not that she needed to. She knew exactly which man owned that sexy country drawl.

“Awww, hell!” she exclaimed, glancing down to see a mess of foam as it poured over the edge of the glass she was filling.

“Well, don’t get too excited that I’m here,” Eric Lancaster, the only other bartender that The Rusty Nail employed, said with a cocky grin as he headed her way. 

“I blame you, Mr. Lancaster.” She grinned sheepishly as she grabbed a towel and wiped the overflow off her hands.

“You can drop that mister shit right here and now,” Eric teased. “Keep it up and I’ll start callin’ you ma’am.”

“Okay, buddy. No need to start with the threats,” Tessa joked, returning her focus to the new glass she grabbed, paying attention this time as the foam lifted to the top. Once full, she slid it over to the man at the end of the counter as she called out to him, “Hey, Tex, put your hands on the beer, not the lady. You know she’s married, right?”

The stranger who’d bellied up to the bar half an hour ago had the decency to blush. Didn’t stop him from hitting on the bar bunny though. The very same bar bunny with a wedding band on. Tessa glanced down at his hand. Great. He had one on too, and it wasn’t from a matching set. Lovely.

As Eric made his way behind the bar, Tessa grabbed another glass, filled another beer, and passed it over to another waiting customer. Story of her life.

“Ow!” Tessa hollered when Eric swatted her on the ass, as was his usual greeting. “Don’t let your ol’ lady see you doin’ that.”

“She might just be jealous that I got to touch your ass, you know that, right?” Eric’s sexy rumble echoed around the bar.

Glancing over at him, Tessa smiled. If it weren’t for the fact that Eric was more like her brother than her own brothers sometimes, she might just get excited. Okay, no. That wasn’t true either. She’d grown up with Eric, and since he was actually married to her best friend, Isabelle, Tessa knew more about him than she cared to. Probably no attraction to be had, no matter the case. 

He was a decent guy though. 

“You’re probably right on that one,” she said, making Eric laugh.

The sexy rumble that followed caused more than one head to turn at the bar. Eric had that effect on women … er, other women. He turned heads. In fact, Tessa was pretty sure he was almost personally responsible for the sheer volume of ladies who flocked to The Rusty Nail on a nightly basis. It was just a good thing that Izzy — Eric’s lovely bride — was one of the most confident women she knew. Had Eric belonged to Tessa, she couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be at least one cat fight each and every night.

“You see Adam yet?” Tessa hadn’t seen her older brother all day, and that was unusual, especially for a Friday night. 

Since Adam was in charge of the entertainment, he generally stopped in early to ensure there weren’t any problems with arrival, setup, that sort of thing. Considering the band wasn’t there yet, and they were closing in on seven o’clock, Tessa figured it was safe to say there were problems. If not, then this was one band that could use a course in time management. She would not be responsible for the chaos that would ensue if the main attraction did not show up on time.

“He texted me earlier. Said he had to run an errand,” Eric explained as he grabbed a bottle of vodka and began rolling shots out as they were ordered. 

The bar was quickly filling up, and Tessa knew it was because of the night’s entertainment. She personally hadn’t believed Adam when he’d said he’d booked Cooper Krenshaw, but from what her brother told her, he was actually excited to play there. 

Right. 

Why one of the biggest names in country music wanted to play her bar, she had no idea, but she wasn’t in charge of the music selection, so she didn’t ask. She wasn’t the swoon-worthy type, which meant she wouldn’t be swept off her feet by his overwhelming presence either. From the looks of it, she might be the only one though.

“Care if I take a few minutes?” she asked Eric when the walk-ups slowed a short time later. Although it was still early, Tessa had been running solo for the last hour, and they were busier than usual. 

“Take all the time you need.” He grinned and she could’ve sworn she heard several sighs from a few of the ladies seated at the bar. 

“Thanks.” Tessa pulled off her short apron and tossed it onto the shelf beneath the bar before sneaking out. She made a beeline for the back door, hoping for some fresh air before the place filled to capacity as was expected tonight. In fact, she had called in extra backup to man the doors because she was pretty sure there would be a line of people waiting to get in even after they hit maximum capacity. Thankfully, she had a family full of cousins who weren’t too proud to help out when needed. 

Before the solid steel door could slam behind her, Tessa was inhaling the humid September night air, letting the warm breeze slide over her overheated skin. It wasn’t long before some of the tension in her shoulders eased. 

Her brother Adam gave her a hard time about wanting to be outside rather than upstairs in the private office that they rarely used. Tessa couldn’t explain it, but she’d rather be inhaling the country night air than the stale, bittersweet fumes that lingered on the inside. 

At least out here she could think. Inside, with the whoops and hollers of the crowd, she could barely pay attention, much less focus on anything other than serving drinks to her customers. The sheer volume of people overwhelmed her, even if she did enjoy the interaction most of the time. Tonight, it seemed that her feet were already pissed off at her, and her shift had only just begun. 

Leaning back against the corrugated metal, she gave one foot a rest by propping it flat against the wall at her back before alternating to the other. It was on nights like tonight that Tessa wondered why she hadn’t become an accountant. Sure, it might be stressful in its own right, but at least she’d be able to sit down. Then again, that would probably make her crazy too.

At twenty-nine, she should’ve been used to the constant hustle, smelling like beer, and her aching feet. She and Adam had acquired the bar from their late father — a man neither of them had known all that well — six years ago, and after some careful consideration and a long talk with her husband, Richie, she’d opted to give it a go. 

It could safely be said that a twenty-three-year-old did not come equipped with all that much wisdom when it came to running her own business, but no one would’ve been able to tell her that at the time. Hell, for years before that, no one could tell her anything at all, so it wouldn’t have mattered much then either.

Just the thought of her late husband made her heart ache. Seemed life had taken a turn some years ago, and Richie’s death was only part of the heartache Tessa had experienced. To this day, she missed him dearly. He had been a police officer, killed in the line of duty when he was only twenty-six years old. She had been twenty-five, and they’d just settled into life together, married only fifteen months when he was taken from her.

Here she was, four years later, slinging beers and dodging more than a few wandering hands night after night in the place she’d come to feel was her second home. The Rusty Nail was nothing more than an eight-thousand-square-foot remodeled old barn that had at one point been a feed store years and years ago. At that time, it had received an enormous overhaul, which included an exterior facelift of metal walls and reinforced steel beams on the inside to support the roof as well as bear the weight of the two-hundred-square-foot office upstairs. Not much had changed after her father had purchased the place and converted it into a bar until Adam had come along and set up the stage.

Speaking of the stage, she could only hope the band showed up soon, because there was an excellent chance things were going to go from bad to worse if they didn’t. If Adam left her to handle the fallout like he had the last time, she was going to give him a piece of her mind, followed by a good swift kick in the ass.

Glancing down at her watch, Tessa realized she had a few more minutes to spare, so she pushed off the wall and headed back inside. She disappeared into the restroom, using the free minutes to take care of business before washing her hands and pulling her hair up into a ponytail. While she was standing in front of the mirror, two women slammed in through the door in a flurry of giggles followed by “Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod!” 

Tessa didn’t turn to face them, but she could see them through the reflection in the mirror. Since they were effectively blocking the door, she waited for the ladies to move on so she could sneak out and get back to work. She smiled at her reflection, trying not to laugh at their giddy excitement.

“Ohmigod! Did you see him? He winked at me! Winked!” one of the ladies squealed, the other jumping up and down by her side as though this were the biggest news to hit Devil’s Bend since Jessica Sanderson told the Devil’s Bend Gazette that she was having triplets. 

“He’s going home with me tonight if I have anything to say about it!” 

“Oh, he will. Maybe we’ll just surprise him. You know, tag team,” the blonde woman exclaimed, giggling between words like a schoolgirl.

Figuring she wasn’t going to be able to outlast their elation over meeting another famous singer, Tessa turned around, smiled at the ladies before squeezing past them and out the door. Once she was in the dark, narrow hallway, the familiar noises and the perfume-slash-cologne mixture assaulted her senses, and she pasted on another smile as she turned the corner.

“Holy crap,” she muttered to herself, pushing through the wall of bodies as she tried to finagle her way back to the bar. 

An influx of women had descended upon them during her short reprieve. Tessa sighed as she wove through the commotion, realizing that tonight was going to be one of those nights. If anyone ever thought men were high maintenance in a small country bar, they clearly hadn’t met the women Tessa had. Especially when there was supposed to be a hunky, big-time country music star in their presence. 

With her back to the stage, she made her way through the throng of people to the bar on the other side of the room, smiling at Eric as she approached. “What the hell happened while I was gone?” she asked, not expecting a response.

“You have him to thank,” Eric said, nodding his head in the direction of the stage. Due to the sheer volume of people filling every available inch of floor space, not to mention her height deficiency, Tessa couldn’t see who he was referring to, but she could pretty much guess. 

“Hey, can we get some beers over here?” 

Tessa glanced over, nodding her acknowledgement to a table of women who looked as though they’d prepped themselves for prom. Wow. This guy certainly had quite the following.

“Why didn’t you come get me?” she asked, grabbing her apron before turning toward the first customer she came to. 

Within seconds, Tessa felt frazzled. Unlike Eric, who was standing a couple of feet away, looking as cool and confident as ever although the oversized bar with its hardwood top scarred from years of customer abuse — her favorite part of the entire place — was completely engulfed by people.

“What? You think I can’t handle this?” Eric laughed and, once again, heads turned. Geez, these women were easy.

“Hey, Katie!” Tessa had to raise her voice over the din of the now-overcrowded section. “Can you check on that table? They want beers, and Miranda is not here yet.” 

Katie Clarren was one of the two waitresses that Tessa employed. Young, beautiful, and almost too smart for her own good, Katie was also one of the best servers she had. Not too long ago, Tessa had been under the impression that her younger brother, Jack, actually had an interest in Katie. According to Katie, she didn’t have time for dating, although she seemed flattered. 

As it turned out, Katie was juggling college and another part-time job outside of the bar, so her days and nights seemed to be full. Considering Jack’s history with women, she was actually grateful for Katie’s busy schedule. No need to have another broken heart left behind in her brother’s wake.

“Sure,” Katie said sweetly, her long, silky black hair swinging behind her as she nodded energetically.

For the next few minutes, Tessa didn’t have a chance to look up from the horde of people demanding drink after drink. Just when she was beginning to think she would need to call in some backup, a gruff voice echoed through the speakers, causing the noise to dim as everyone turned toward the stage.

“Howdy, y’all.” The deep southern drawl, followed by a rough, raspy chuckle, silenced the rest of the chatter.

Tessa spared the voice a glance, but she couldn’t see over the sea of heads standing around, so she returned to pouring beer, taking money, and making change. 

The disembodied voice continued talking, and Tessa smiled at the sweet, sexy drawl that drifted through the room. He gave a brief introduction, followed by casual conversation with a few people in the audience, and Tessa decided immediately that she liked the intimate sound of his voice. Especially his laugh. Hearing his voice in person was a lot different than on the radio.

Managing a bar in the middle of nowhere, Tessa had the pleasure of meeting a few hopefuls, but not generally any who actually had made a name for themselves. Tonight’s entertainment was an exception. Granted, in the last year, Adam had raised the bar on the talent he brought in, but to have set it this high, Tessa was amazed.

Screaming and carrying on from the cowboys and cowgirls reacting to Cooper’s presence was once again quickly building to a dull roar, and Tessa forced herself to tune out the noise. Over the years, she’d become successful at drowning out the steady rumble of voices and music, mainly because her sanity required her to. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of guy could garner this much enthusiasm.

From what she knew of Cooper Krenshaw, thanks to the stories Adam had told her, he was an old friend from college. Even though Cooper had made it big in the country music world, Adam still kept in touch with him on a regular basis. Adam never had given her a viable reason why Cooper was in Devil’s Bend though. Seemed odd that he was just passing through their tiny neck of the woods or that he was craving the scenery. And she seriously doubted his busy schedule would allow him to make the trek this far south to play here.

But she didn’t really need a reason, and based on the scene in front of her, the crowd was more than thrilled that he’d made an appearance. The women obviously liked him if their screams and catcalls were anything to go by. Tessa knew of Cooper Krenshaw, had seen pictures in magazines, but since she wasn’t much into music — country or otherwise — she couldn’t have named even one song of his. Most of her downtime was spent listening to the comforting serenity that being outside in the country afforded her. After nights like this, her eardrums thanked her for it. 

Listening to him chat and laugh with the fans, Tessa realized she could get on board with this guy’s voice. Very sensual. Seductive even.

“All right, all right. I’m sure you’re tired of listenin’ to me ramble. I’ll get on with it.” The voice somehow managed to calm the group again, and the deep, rusty chuckle that followed had Tessa’s head popping up. Despite her disinterest, his voice had a strange effect on her. 

“This is something new I’ve been working on in my spare time. Let me know what you think,” he continued. A few brief guitar strums followed, and then the crowd was eerily quiet. The sound always surprised her.

As all of the heads in the room turned to face the stage, Tessa realized they’d stopped demanding alcohol, and she shot Eric a smile, noticing he still didn’t appear ruffled. He was a patient man, she would give him that. Considering he had to put up with her best friend, Izzy, on a daily basis, he had to be.

Knowing he could handle what few customers they might have in the next minute or two, Tessa snuck out from behind the bar and over to the long wooden shelf along the south wall that was a catchall for empty beer bottles. Not seeing Katie anywhere, she decided to help the girl out by disposing of what she could while the masses were engrossed in the man now crooning out a slow, country love song. 

Grabbing a handful of bottles, Tessa eased through a few cowboys lining the outer edges of the room to one of the large barrels used for trash. Interesting how they couldn’t seem to find it on their own, she thought to herself. Tossing the bottles in as quietly as she could, Tessa looked up, noticing the man on stage for the first time.

She couldn’t see much of his face, which was in the shadow of the black Stetson sitting low on his head and covering most of his features as he looked down at the ladies in the front row. What she could see was an incredibly well-developed torso, clad perfectly in a dark gray T-shirt that clung deliciously to a set of well-defined pecs. 

It somewhat baffled her how many hot, well-built cowboys graced her stage week after week. A dime a dozen they were. It was just unfortunate that they all came with an ego the size of Texas and more baggage than the TSA handled in a week.