Rock Star Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Book 6) (2 page)

The fact that the famous rock star Sean Barfield
of the group Endangered Species was asking her out for pizza should have made
her ecstatic. Most women would have swooned at the invitation, but Tessa wasn't
most women. She liked Sean; he'd always been nice to her, and, in fact, he'd given
her her first kiss. Granted it had been under the mistletoe at one of the
Tanners' annual Christmas parties for disadvantaged children, but it had still
been her first and she'd never forgotten it.

However, and it was a big "however,"
she had sworn off men, even if they were just friends. Preston Tanner had asked
her to dinner a few times, but she'd always found an excuse to beg off. His twin
brother Toby seemed to understand her reluctance and didn't push her into
meeting up with him outside of work, even though they had often shared ice
cream at the DQ during childhood.

She scooted some papers around on her desk and
then glanced back up. "I'm going to have to pass. I've been taking online
classes to get started on becoming a vet's assistant and I'm inundated with homework."
It wasn't exactly a lie.

"Ah, okay. Maybe some other time." He
looked disappointed. They were both silent and then he said, "Do you
suppose I could look in on the dog before I leave?"

"Oh, let me check. I'll be right
back." She walked down the hallway and into a door that had ICU written on
it. Toby was adjusting the IV and Midge, his assistant, was preparing a cage.
Toby said to Midge, "We'll move him into the cage in an hour."

Tessa said, "I only wish I had seen the car
coming sooner. Maybe I could have prevented the accident."

Midge put her hand on her hip. "There you
go taking the blame for something you had no control over."

Tessa ignored her remark and glanced at Toby.
"Sean's in the waiting room and wants to know if he can see the dog."
Her eyes moved to the sleeping animal. "We need to give him a name until
we find out who his owner is or until he's adopted."

Toby said, "Tell Sean to come on back.
We'll let him name the dog."

Tessa returned to the waiting area. Since the
lunch hour was now over, a couple of people with appointments had arrived. Mrs.
Fitzpatrick with her chubby Chihuahua, Chica, was breaking off a piece of
cookie for him, something she had been warned to stop doing many times. The
other appointment was Grady Granger with his ginormous cat named Godzilla unhappily
staring out of his carrier.

Tessa saw Sean standing in a corner with his
back to the patrons and apparently reading a dog wormer poster. She cleared her
throat and Sean glanced covertly in her direction. She said, "The vet
would like to see you, sir."

Sean nodded, covered his face to cough, and
hurried toward the door Tessa held open. When it closed behind them he puffed a
relieved sigh. She grinned and shook her head. Being famous and recognizable appeared
to be a pain in the butt, although it was iffy that Lulu Fitzpatrick would have
recognized him, being in her eighties, or Grady Granger, a died-in-the-wool
cowboy. But anything was possible. Maybe they liked to rock out with the Endangered
Species.

Sean followed her to ICU.

Toby said, "Hey Sean, good to see you,
although I wish it were under better circumstances."

The men shook hands and Sean glanced toward the
dog. "Like I told Tessa, anything he needs, I'll pay for it."

Toby said, "We'll take good care of him.
He's a damn lucky dog. But there is a slight problem."

Sean looked stricken and both Tessa and Midge
held back grins. They knew where the conversation was going.

Toby laughed at Sean's expression. "I'm
just messin' with you. He's doing fine, but he needs a name. Tessa and I
decided to leave that up to you. What do you want to call him?"

A slight smile tilted the corner of Sean's
mouth. "Hell, I don't know. Whatever you want."

Toby lifted an eyebrow. "He's
your
dog, you name him."

Sean glanced at Tessa and she shrugged.

He blew a breath. "Okay, okay. How about,
ah, Red?"

Toby said, "Come on Sean, you're the
songwriter, you can be more original than that."

Sean rubbed the side of his nose, studied the
dog, and said, "Toby I think you hit the nail on the head when you said
'Lucky'."

Tessa, Midge, and Toby grinned. "Now that's
a great name. Lucky it is," said Toby. He motioned toward Midge.
"Sean, meet Lucky's other caregiver, my assistant, Midge Farmer."

Midge stuck out her hand and winked. "I
wish I were twenty years younger and liked rock music. Nice to make your
acquaintance, Sean."

That evening, Tessa sat in her recliner at home
and tried to concentrate on reading the latest romance novel by her favorite
author, Mims Murphy, who also happened to be Toby and Preston's mother, but
finally gave up. She glanced at Sadie, the German shepherd at her feet, and
Muffin, the two-year-old calico cat in her lap. Both animals had been part of
her divorce settlement. There was no way she'd leave them behind with an abusive
ex. She finished her last bite of salad and set the bowl on the table next to
her recliner.

She apologized to her animals. "I know. I
know. We could be enjoying pizza right now if I wasn't such a stick-in-the-mud.
But if anyone should understand, it's you two. We like being alone. We don't want
to complicate things with a social life. Sure, Sean's nice and he's famous, and
he's really cute, and he's nice, and…well, he's cute…but I'd probably fall for
him and he'd never look twice at me, so why go through all that?" She
stretched and Muffin jumped off her lap, lifted her tail in disdain, and
pounced off toward the kitchen. Sadie wasn't so disgruntled about the pizza and
chose to stay curled at her feet.

Tessa reached for the lever of her recliner and leaned
it back, grabbed her remote, and punched on the television. The first thing
that popped up was a pizza commercial.

Sean padded into the kitchen in sweatpants and
an old T-shirt. He headed straight for the coffee pot, grabbed the biggest mug
he could find and poured it to the brim. Cecelia was scrambling eggs and his
dad was reading the morning paper. His adopted sister, Merry, was spreading a
huge glob of strawberry jam on her toast and his other adopted sister,
twelve-year-old Goldie, was trying to read the backside of her father's paper.

Sean grinned because he couldn't help himself.
His father, once a recluse, now had a family worthy of a Norman Rockwell
painting. And, actually, his dad could paint the picture himself, being a renowned
artist.

Cecelia said, "Sean, have a seat and I'll
have your eggs, bacon, and toast ready in a jiff. Did you sleep well?"

"I did. Thanks."

"Do you want orange juice?"

"Yeah, but I'll get it."

His dad lowered his paper. "So, what's on
your agenda for today, son? We can close the music room off if you want to
practice."

 Merry said, "Can I practice, too?"

Sean shook his head. "I'm not planning on
playing music for awhile. I've been on the road for over a year and I'm burned
out. I've been looking forward to a break for a long, long time." He
ruffled Merry's hair. "So the room's all yours, midget."

Merry looked disappointed. "Okay, but I
don't want to play if you're not going to."

Sean said, "How about you give me a few
days and then we'll play chop sticks?"

Merry grinned. "Okay!"

Goldie said, "Daddy's been teaching me to
paint trees. Do you want to see what I've done, Sean?"

"I sure do."

Cecelia said, "Not this morning. We have to
leave in thirty minutes. I've got to be at the coffee shop early to showcase
some new ChocoDrops from Alligator. He's come up with
another
flavor—Salsa
Pizzazz."

Sean laughed. "Have you tried them?"

"I have and they're wonderful. Spicy, but
not too spicy. I don't know how he does it. I got a letter from Dixie recently
and she said their family is doing terrific and business is booming. They've
even begun shipping orders to China. She also said they sold their home in
Denver because they're building a bigger one. Seems their family is expanding; they're
adopting their third child, an eight year old Haitian boy."

"Like you adopted me!" Goldie
exclaimed.

"And me!" Merry joined in.

"Yep, my daughters. Just like we adopted
you two, which were the best things we ever did." She smiled lovingly at
her girls and then her husband. Sean saw him wink at her.

Merry said to her brother, "Are you going
to visit the doggy today?"

"I am."

Cecelia said, "Well, tell Tessa and Toby
hi. And if you think of it, remind them that the Fourth of July Committee needs
to know if they're planning on setting up a booth this year. The clinic has had
one every year, but since the twins bought the practice only a few months ago
when Dr. Torres retired, we don't want to be presumptuous in thinking they want
to continue the tradition."

"I'll remind them."

"Thanks," replied Cecilia.

Sean had never been friends with Toby's brother,
Preston, but he asked, "By the way, where's Preston? I didn't see him
yesterday?"

"He got invited to France to speak at a
symposium on some procedure he's perfected. I guess in the vet world it's a big
deal. Those boys are as smart as they come. Sarah said they graduated high
school with honors and aced it through college and vet school. Tessa told me
Preston is expected back some time in July." Cecelia served Sean his
breakfast and then said to her daughters, "I've got to finish my makeup
and hair. Girls, brush your teeth as soon as you finish eating and meet me in
the living room. Don't forget your backpacks." She bent to kiss her
husband and he cupped her head to lengthen the kiss. The girls giggled and Sean
laughed with them. He loved his adopted sisters and admired his father and
stepmother for taking on the responsibility of two children with special needs:
Goldie wore leg braces and Merry had a learning disorder requiring special education.

Two hours later he pulled his black Porsche 991
into the parking lot of Tanner Veterinary Clinic. His heart hammered for a
couple of reasons. First, he was going to see Tessa, and second, he sure hoped
the dog hadn't taken a turn for the worse.

Tessa watched Sean enter the foyer of the clinic
and her heart flipped, which was a reaction she didn't want. She'd had a crush
on him growing up, but an even bigger crush on her scumbag ex.

The first time Sean had arrived in Paxtonville
to visit his dad he'd been a sullen and defensive teenager. Tessa had learned
early on that his attitude stemmed from the fact that after being led to
believe he'd been orphaned as a baby, he'd discovered his father was alive. She
wasn't sure what had brought Sean and his dad back together, but she remembered
it as being a turbulent time. And although she and Toby had taken a liking to
him, Preston never had. Throughout the years, whenever Sean visited his father,
who'd become a permanent resident after marrying the sister of Miles Brightman,
a famous author who lived in Paxtonville, he and Preston had often sparred
words. There seemed to be some sort of rivalry between them. She remembered Sean
and Preston both being present at her thirteenth birthday party and their
animosity toward each other. Over the years, it had gotten to the point that
they totally avoided each other.

Tessa pushed remembrances aside and motioned for
Sean to come to the back of the clinic. He opened the door and walked into the
hallway. Tensely, he asked, "Is he okay?"

She smiled. "Yes, Lucky is doing great. I
thought you'd want to see him awake. We're just about to feed him. Follow
me."

She led the way into ICU and approached the
dog's cage. "Good morning, Lucky," she crooned.

Sean followed Tessa into ICU and watched Lucky
lift his head. The dog made some whining noises and then laid his head back
down. Tessa stepped away from the cage so Sean could lean down.

"Hey, boy," he said. "How're ya
doin'? You're sure lookin' better."

The dog lifted his ears and followed Sean with
his eyes.

Tessa walked across the room and returned with a
small plate of moist dog food. She handed it to Sean. "Here. I'll open the
cage so you can put the food inside."

"Okay."

When the cage was open, he gently set the plate
down and then reached to pet Lucky's head. The dog whined again and licked his
hand. Sean couldn't believe that he felt like crying. He stepped back so Tessa
could close the cage and quickly swiped his eyes.

Toby entered ICU and Sean jerked his hands away
from his face.

Toby said, "I checked his vitals a few
minutes ago and he's doing great. We'll move him to another room later
today."

"If he needs a private room, I'll cover the
cost," Sean quickly said.

Toby looked at Tessa. "Probably a day or
two in a private room would be good."

Tessa said, "You got it."

Sean asked, "Have you heard anything from
an owner?"

Tessa shook her head. "No. Did you get a
chance to call the newspaper and run an ad?"

"I called first thing this morning. The ad
comes out tomorrow."

Toby said, "Well, all we can do now is wait
and see what happens. If no one comes forth in the first forty-eight hours, it
usually doesn't happen. But we'll cross that bridge if we come to it."

Sean said, "Thanks for all your help. Guess
I better leave so you can get to work."

Toby and Tessa both followed him back to the
waiting room.

For some reason, Sean felt reluctant to leave
and he supposed it was because he was feeling nostalgic about the times he'd palled
around with Toby, Tessa, and another friend named Harris, during his annual visits
to Paxtonville. After his rock band had unexpectedly hit stardom when a video
of them went viral, which led to signing with a top record label, he hadn't had
time for visits with his family, but he'd kept in touch via Skype and phone
calls. He'd hit the big time at the age of twenty and now, having recently
turned twenty-five, he was burned out and disillusioned.

He glanced from Toby to Tessa. "I'll see
you guys tomorrow when I check on Lucky. Oh, I almost forgot…" he reached
into his pocket and pulled out two cards, "this is my private cell phone
number. Call me if anything changes."

At that moment, the door opened and a woman
wearing a T-shirt with a Rottweiler's face emblazoned across the front said,
"Sorry to interrupt, but Petunia has gone into labor."

Toby pocketed the card. "See you tomorrow,
Sean."

Outside, Sean groaned when he saw about a dozen
teenage girls hovering near his car. The first one to see him squealed, which
started the others doing the same. They rushed toward him with flow pens
extended.

A tall blond said, "Oh, Sean, you're our
favorite rock singer. We couldn't believe it when we heard you were in town. Pleeeaaassseee
autograph us." She extended her pen and lifted her tank top to just below
her breasts.

Sean put on his best fake smile and wondered
whatever happened to paper. He had a cardinal rule that he lived by. He
never
touched any of his groupies. However, the same couldn't be said for them when
they crowded him.

"Hold on ladies. Just one minute and I'll
sign some autographs." He hit the fob to unlock his car and quickly ducked
inside. Reaching into the console, he pulled out color glossies of his band and
grabbed the pen in one of the cubbies below his CD player. He counted the number
of girls surrounding his car and signed as many pictures. He rolled his window
down just enough to hand the photos out. The girls squealed again, but the one
who'd raised her shirt said, "I want a bodygraph."

Sean smiled and shook his head. "Not gonna
happen, honey." He fibbed when he said, "It's in my contract not to
touch pretty girls."

That seemed to satisfy her because she grinned
and said, "I won't tell."

The other girls repeated, "Yeah, we won't
tell," and started lifting their shirts.

Sean gunned the motor of his car, which
scattered the girls far enough for him to make his getaway. He was going to
have to ditch the car and find something nondescript, preferably something like
Newt Tucker's old rattletrap truck. At the thought of Newt Tucker, he headed
out of town and in the direction of
Lazy M Ranch,
which belonged to Sage
and Sarah Tanner, parents of Toby and Preston. He remembered visiting Newt and
his wife Molly the last time he was in town. The Tanners had given the
old-timers a house on their property that their daughter and her husband had
once lived in, and Sean wondered if Newt and his missus still lived there. He'd
find out soon enough.