Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) (15 page)

"You
got it."

After
they hung up, Sage realized he hadn't asked Pinky about the female models. He
wondered if he'd worked with any of them before. Except for Chrissie Cabot, it
didn't matter much, and Pinky wouldn't be stupid enough to send Chrissie to his
ranch.

Sage
heard Julie talking to Sarah when he returned to the living room. The girls
looked at him.

"We've
got more greenhorns showing up in two weeks." He laughed, "High
fashion greenhorns. Should be interesting."

Sarah
lay curled in Sage's bed listening to cows lowing in the distance and watching
a morning breeze billow the curtains. She had one week left at the ranch and
she hadn't allowed herself to think beyond that. Now it was time to return to
reality. Sage hadn't mentioned staying in touch with her beyond the week. Her
eyes pricked with unshed tears. It was a good thing he'd already left the bed;
she didn't want him seeing her like this. His pity was the last thing she
wanted. She'd willingly dived into a relationship with him. Of course, she'd
privately hoped there'd be a happily-ever-after, but now the real world was
beckoning.

With
a heavy heart, she slipped from the sheets and headed for the shower. It was
early and she wondered if Julie was up. From the beginning, Sage had tried to
convince her that Julie didn't have a problem with them being together. When
Sarah had protested he'd flat out asked his daughter in front of her if she had
a problem. As it turned out, Julie had been thrilled with her dad and Sarah's
relationship. In fact, Sarah and Julie spent a lot of time together.
Just
like a real family.
Sarah stifled a sob.

After
showering, she pulled on fashionably faded Levis that she and Julie had found
at a second hand store. They had discovered a common passion in combing junk
shops. While Julie searched for clothing, Sarah searched for old books. Sage
had even accompanied them once and bought an antique saddle.
We have so much
fun together.
She stifled another sob.

After
dressing in one of her pretty peasant tops, she brushed her hair into a pony
tail and applied a little makeup. Then she remembered the crew and models for
the photo shoot were arriving today and wondered if she should dress nicer. But,
quite frankly, she didn't have the energy to care.

She
entered the kitchen to find Julie and Sage already making breakfast. Sage said,
"Hey, we were going to surprise you." He leaned over and kissed her
cheek and said low, "I love your blouse."

Julie
glanced at them and grinned before opening the fridge. "So, Dad, what time
are the photographers and crew showing up?"

Sage
groaned, "Did you have to remind me?"

"Come
on Dad, you're a famous model. Your public anxiously awaits your next full
cover glossy."

"Julie,
you're grounded."

Sarah
listened to the father/daughter banter and couldn't help but smile. The thought
of leaving and never hearing their teasing again was heartrending.

After
breakfast, Sage headed to the dorm to get the dudes lined out for the day
before turning his attention to running his ranch. Sarah admired him for his
dedication and work ethic.

Julie
called a quick goodbye and left with Newt, who was dropping her off at Tooty's.
Since summer school had ended the girls were having a blast enjoying their time
before school started again.

Sarah
sighed and pulled out her laptop. She was writing the last chapter of
Dream
Kisses.

Tarah
exited the library, her heavy heart weighing on her spirit like an anchor. The
smell of rose perfume, thick as a blanket, made her want to wretch. Daisy's
words echoed. "You're nothing but a distraction to Gage. Do you really
think he could fall for you? Look at you." The beauty had waved her hand
in a dismissive gesture. "You look like the proverbial old maid." Then
she had tittered before making a sweeping exit in her bosom revealing silk and
satin gown.

Inhaling
deeply with her resolve solidified, Tarah returned to the small bedroom she'd
made so homey and retrieved her old valise from under the four poster bed.
Tears leaked as she packed her meager belongings. She needed to leave before
Gage returned.

 Setting
her laptop aside, Sarah decided she needed a distraction. Writing about Tarah's
sadness only intensified her own. Julie had put a load of clothes in the dryer
earlier and Sarah decided to fold them for her. Retrieving the clothing, she
absentmindedly folded and considered the ending of her book. Of course, it was
going to be happy, but she wasn't exactly sure if she wanted Tarah to leave and
make Gage search for her, or have him stop her before she left.
Decisions.
Decisions.

Sarah
placed the folded clothing back in the basket and walked to Julie's room to set
it on her bed. She turned to leave but an open magazine on the nightstand captured
her attention. It was Sage and he was with a beautiful woman. Sarah picked up
the magazine. The heading read, "Beauty and the Hunk." Sarah read the
small caption:
Reclusive hunky model, Sage Tanner, and curvy, bathing suit
model, Chrissie Cabot, were caught sneaking into Chrissie's Malibu beachfront
house. Rumor has it they've been privately seeing each other.

Sarah
scanned for the date on the magazine. It was a year old. She looked closer at
the picture. Sage was smiling and had his arm wrapped around Chrissie's waist.
The woman was wearing a teeny bikini and looking up at him with sexy adoration.
Sarah wanted to throw up. She set the magazine back on the nightstand and
started to turn away. Her foot bumped something and she glanced down to see
another magazine on the floor and bent to retrieve it. When she did, she
noticed several more spilling out from beneath Julie's bed skirt. One by one,
as if mesmerized, she pulled them out. Each magazine had either a picture of
Sage on the cover or a bookmark to a page about him. In at least a half dozen
photos, he was with Chrissie Cabot and there was more speculation about them
having a romance. Other photos showed him in ads. There was one with his agent,
a short, skinny man, with long hippy hair, and another of him at a charity
function for the Big Bro and Big Sis Organization.

Sarah
pushed the magazines back under the bed and left Julie's room. Numbly, she sat
on the couch. God, what a fool she'd been to think maybe Sage would stay in
touch and something lasting could develop.

A
knock on the door distracted her. She walked to open it.

A
woman said, "Oh, I'm looking for Sage Tanner. Are you the
housekeeper?"

Sarah
looked at the woman dumbfounded. It was Chrissie Cabot.

A
truck drove up and Chrissie spun around. She turned back to Sarah and grinned.
"Speak of the devil." She shoved her overnight case at Sarah.
"Could you put this in the guest room?" Then she turned and ran
toward Sage, throwing her arms around his neck.

Sarah
stared at the case in her hand, and then obediently walked to the guest room
because she couldn't bear to watch their reunion. Returning to the living room,
she closed her laptop just as Sage and Chrissie entered the house.

"Oh,
I already met your housekeeper, Sage."

Sarah
turned fuchsia and couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"My
what!" he exclaimed.

Chrissie
looked from Sage to Sarah, clearly confused.

"Sarah
isn't my housekeeper!" he practically shouted.

Sarah
fumbled while placing her laptop in its briefcase and Sage walked over, stilled
her hands, and kissed her cheek.

Chrissie
stuttered, "Oh, I…I'm really sorry. I didn't realize you two…"

Sarah
glanced at her to see the incredulous expression in her eyes. Her look made
Sarah want to give in to a childish urge to push her. Instead, she turned
toward Sage and kissed him full on the mouth. "Later, hon." She
grabbed her briefcase and rushed out the door.

* * *

Sage
watched Sarah walk out the front door. God, the woman was hot! He sighed and
looked back at Chrissie. "Pinky didn't tell me you were on this
shoot."

"Sage,
is
she
really your latest flame?"

"What's
your point, Chrissie?"

"Nothing.
She's just…different."

"You
mean intelligent, sweet, interesting, funny, and sexy?"

"Whatever
you say. Too bad you got cold feet about us."

"There
never was an 'us' and you know it. It was all about the sex."

"Maybe
for you. I wanted things to work out."

"That's
a crock, Chrissie. You wouldn't know monogamous if it bit you in the
butt."

"You
haven't changed a bit." Chrissie grinned. "Still a cowboy from the
top of your gorgeous head to the tip of your…" She looked him up and down,
"…scruffy boots."

Sage
heard vehicles and walked to open the front door. A couple of vans, a Toyota
SUV, and a Lexus LS pulled in front of the ranch house. Two tall, skinny women,
obviously models, stepped out of the Lexus, as did Harvey Livingston. Four men,
two in each van, got out and stretched, and a man and woman exited the SUV.

Sage
groaned. It was going to be a long week.

After
he'd greeted Harvey and his crew, he grabbed his walkie-talkie and called Newt
and Beaner to meet the arrivals at the dorm. When Chrissie started walking back
to the house with him, he said, "Where are you going?"

"To
the guest room, of course."

"Chrissie,
you're staying at the dorm with everyone else."

"Come
on Sage, I promise to behave around your girlfriend."

"What
part of 'you're staying at the dorm' don't you understand?"

Chrissie
squinted. "You're really serious. Boy, you've got it bad."

Sage
placed his hands on his hips and stared her down.

"Okay,
okay. Just let me get my travel case."

After
Chrissie drove away, he picked up his phone and dialed Pinky.

"Hey
Sage," Pinky answered. "Did the crew arrive?"

"Yeah,
they arrived alright. Don't you think you neglected to tell me something?"

"Honestly,
Sage, I didn't know she was coming until the last minute."

"It
would have been nice if you'd clued me in, even at the last minute."

"I
know. I started to call and then chickened out. I knew you'd be pissed. But man,
she's a hot ticket right now. Why don't you give her another trial run?"

"I
will not even dignify that remark with an explanation. If you think she's so
great,
you
give her a trial run. Personally, I prefer a woman with
substance." He envisioned Sarah.

"You
are one sick puppy. I'd take advantage of Chrissie as long as I could. She's in
demand. She'd boost your career."

"I'm
not interested in boosting my career. I was stupid to get involved with her,
even for a short time. You're gonna owe me for this, Pinky."

"Okay,
okay. I'll throw in an extra five hundred for mental anguish. I should be so
lucky."

After
Sage hung up he decided to go find Sarah.

In
her dorm bedroom, Sarah sat on the side of her bed. She felt like hell and a
glance in the mirror only made her feel worse.
You're almost forty years
old, you have no family of your own, and losing weight is about as easy as writing
a Pulitzer Prize novel.

She
heard commotion outside her room and peeked out her door. Men and women, other
than the current dudes, were hauling suitcases and equipment. Two leggy gals
walked down the hallway, one with mahogany hair and the other a platinum blond.
They both saw her peeking out her door and the blonde made a small waving
motion. Sarah shut her door. They probably thought she was speechless because
of the presence of high fashion models. Maybe they'd offer to sign autographs,
she thought sarcastically.

She
plopped across her bed. Should she ask one of the ranch hands to drive her to
the closest car rental agency and head out into the sunset? The thought of
leaving Sage made her blink rapidly. She'd wanted to treasure her last week
with him and create memories to last a lifetime. Maybe they'd never see each
other again. She heard a knock on her door and then, "Honey, it's me, Sage."

She
rushed to open the door.
Girl, you're hopeless.

Sage
stepped inside the room and closed the door. Leaning against it, he shut his
eyes for a few seconds. "I'm really sorry, Sarah. I had no idea Chrissie
Cabot was one of the models. If I'd known, I would have refused to work with
her. She's spoiled and impossible."

"You
don't owe me any explanations. It's none of my business."

He
gave her a strange look. "Maybe I want it to be your business."