Rock Star Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Book 6) (3 page)

Sean drove up to the call box of the massive
ornate gates that were the entrance to
Lazy M Ranch.
He punched a button
and a woman asked, "Sean, is that you? I can see you on camera."

Sean recognized Sarah Tanner's voice. "Yes,
ma'am, it's me."

"The gates will open in about ten seconds.
What's your pleasure, coffee, soda, tea, water? I'll have it ready when you get
to the house."

"Water with ice sounds great. See you in a
few minutes."

The gates swung open. Sean had visited the
Tanner ranch a few times over the years for parties or just to hang out with
Toby. Mrs. Tanner was a very nice lady who doted on her husband and children,
not that she didn't have her own career. She was a successful romance writer
with over a dozen books published. Her husband, Sage, besides running his
ranch, was just as successful in his own career as a model, and Sean guessed he
was still going strong since he'd seen him in a Gucci advertisement lately.
Sean knew Sarah was in her early sixties and Sage was a few years younger.

He pulled up to the house. Sarah was already on
the front porch waiting for him. She grinned and waved.

"Hello, Mrs. Tanner," he called as he
exited his car.

"Oh, don't you start calling me Mrs.
Tanner. I'm Sarah to you, and always will be. Come give me a hug."

Sean grinned and gave one of his favorite women
a huge hug.

She said, "Now, that's better. Come on back
to the porch and let's catch up. Hannah is one of your biggest fans and she's
going to be sorry she missed you. She's in Denver attending pep squad camp. She
was so excited when she finally made the team. She's fifteen now, the same age
you were when you first came to the
Lazy M."

"Well, I'll be around for about three
months, so I'll probably catch up with her sooner or later."

Sarah led the way through the house. She had a
magnificent enclosed back porch and although the furniture was a little worn
after years of gatherings, it was just as homey and friendly as Sean
remembered.

Sarah motioned to two overstuffed chairs with
beautiful views of the ranch's pastures. Several horses grazed close to the
house and a rider was galloping across the field. Sarah pointed. "There's
Sage riding in. I called him on his cell phone to let him know you were here.
He said as soon as he gets his horse rubbed down he'll be in."

Sean said with sincerity, "I've sure missed
everyone. Being on the road and playing gigs night after night isn't what it's
cracked up to be."

Sarah laughed. "Are you tired of the
fame?"

"Honestly, yes. But I seem to be in a cycle
I can't break. Besides, I have a contract to fulfill. I think my manager saw
how burned out I was and finagled three months off for me."

"You know, Sean, Sage will understand what
you're going through. As a model, he's been on some whirlwind jobs that took
him away from home when all he wanted to do was be with his family and run his
ranch. He's slowed down in the past five years, but he still accepts a few modeling
contracts. Running a ranch on the scale of
Lazy M
is expensive."
She chuckled. "Not to mention putting two sons through veterinary school.
Of course, Toby and Preston both carried their own weight and worked to cover
many of the costs. They're good boys." Her eyes got a faraway look.
"I never thought I'd have children and then, in my forties, we had twins
and later a daughter. Life sure throws a curve sometimes." She returned
her attention to Sean. "Listen to me, going on and on about myself. Honey,
tell me what your plans are for the next three months? Oh, but before you do,
Toby told me about the dog and that he's doing well. Are you planning on adopting
him if an owner can't be found?"

"No. Not that I wouldn't want to. But it's
too difficult taking an animal on the road. I intend to find a good home for
him though. Are you interested?"

"It's a possibility, but we'll talk about
that if one isn't found."

Sean sipped his ice water and Sarah sipped her
drink. He asked, "Are Newt and Molly still living on the property?"

"Goodness, yes. Newt is pushing ninety and
Molly is past that age, but you'd think they were seventy year olds. It's only
been in the past year that we got Newt to slow down. Sage doesn't let him work
more than a few hours a week, so Molly had to find something for him to do before
he drove her crazy." Sarah grinned and gave a laugh. "She's got him writing
his memoirs and painting. Actually, he tells her about his life and she writes
it down. But as far as painting, he's really good. Who would have guessed? In
fact, he's so good that Cecelia is going to feature some of his oils in the
coffee shop."

Sean shook his head. "I sure hope I have a
life as full as Newt's and marry a woman as sweet and interesting as Molly."

"Molly certainly is that, also feisty, with
an iron will. When Newt started moping around after Sage made him slow down,
she said that if he didn't want to follow her suggestions about writing and
painting, she was booking several cruises, back-to-back, and he wasn't
invited."

Sean laughed. "Let me rephrase what I just
said, 'I hope I find a wife as sweet, interesting, and
bossy
as
Molly'." He then asked about Ann Martinez, Molly's granddaughter.

"She and Jackson are as happy as ever.
Jackson purchased the ranch next to him to expand his operation and now he owns
more property than Sage. Their daughter, Angel, who will soon be eighteen, is
growing into a beautiful young woman with the same feistiness as her
great-grandmother. And Ann volunteers her time at the high school helping in computer
science classes. Were you aware that she's a genius when it comes to
computers?"

"No. I wasn't."

"Goodness, several years back she helped
the FBI crack a huge case using her skill. That's why Alligator, the guy who
married Dixie, the original owner of Dixie's Cuppa Joe, came to Paxtonville. He
came to enlist her help."

"Really? The guy who invented
ChocoDrops?"

"Yes. He used to be an FBI agent."

"Wow!"

Sean talked with Sarah several more minutes and
then Sage bounded up the steps to the patio's French doors. He swung them wide.
"Howdy, Sean! It's been a few years since you were here. Glad to see you,
son. I ran into your dad at the feed store a couple of weeks back and we did
some catching up."

Sean stood and walked to shake Sage's hand.
"Hello, sir. Like I was telling Sarah, I've got three months reprieve and
I wanted to spend it with my family in Paxtonville. My adoptive parents are out
of the country until fall so I won't have to divide my time up."

Sage motioned for him to sit again and Sarah
said, "I'll be right back with your tea, honey. Sean, do you need a refill
on your water or would you like something else."

"No, ma'am, I'm good."

Sage sat on the couch across from Sean and
stretched his long legs out. He was the epitome of a cowboy and Sean inwardly
grinned. During a visit with his family when he was seventeen, Sean had tried
to dress and act like a cowboy, but soon discovered it just wasn't his style.
He was a city boy that loved living in the country, but not dressing country.
It had been Preston who'd pointed out how ridiculous he looked, and that had only
added to their animosity. Not that Preston was wrong in his assessment.

Sarah returned with her husband's drink and for
the next hour everyone caught up on the years since they'd last seen each other.
Sean asked about Julie Hackstetter, Sage's daughter and Sarah's step-daughter,
and her family. He found out that Sage had sectioned off a large portion of his
ranch and given it to her and Jacob. Sage also proudly talked about Jacob's
side business of hosting two-week roping schools, having become a champion
roper after being taught by Newt and Sage when he was a teenager and attending
Lazy
M's
dude ranch. Sage said Julie also had a side business teaching trick
riding. And their children, Maudie, in her teens, and Missy, still in grade
school, were following in their parents' footsteps, both being proficient in
roping
and
riding.

Sarah said, "Sage, did you see Sean's car.
It's fantastic!"

"No. I came straight from the barn the back
way. Let me guess…it's a sports car?"

Sean didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed.
"It is. And that's part of my problem."

Sage and Sarah both gave him questioning looks.

"The car is like a neon sign when I want to
remain under the radar. So I got this idea that I need a truck more like
Newt's."

Both Sage and Sarah laughed so hard they got
tears in their eyes. Sage said, "There ain't a truck in the world like
Newt's. Even God isn't that old."

Sean chuckled. "Well, I need one similar to
it. My sports car is a chick-magnet and that's the last thing I want. I wasn't
thinking when I left L.A. I just wanted to blow the town fast. Anyway, when I
walked out of the vet's this morning it was surrounded by girls. That's when I
thought about Newt and his truck. I was going to ask if either of you could
steer me in the right direction to find an old beater like his."

Sage pursed his lips and cocked his head.
"So, you want to stay under the radar and drive an old trasher. You know,
staying at your parents' house is going to garner attention no matter what
you're driving."

"I know. I was thinking of holing up at a motel
outside of town and wearing a disguise." He laughed. "I'm going to
dress like a cowboy with a Stetson, boots, and big belt buckle, and if that
doesn't work, I have a hippie outfit."

Sarah and Sage laughed again.

Sage said, "Maybe I've got a solution that
will take you off the chick-radar and into an old pick-up that you won't have
to buy."

That got Sean's attention and Sarah's, too. They
both leaned forward in their chairs.

Sarah hid a knowing grin as she walked Sean to
the front door to see him out and also make him promise to visit again soon.
Sage was still sitting on the couch when she returned to the patio and sat
beside him. She studied her husband's face. "Don't think I didn't see
through your motive in sending that boy to Dirk's. You're playing
matchmaker."

Sage reached and smoothed a hand down Sarah's
brunette hair now laced with gray. "Are you chastising me, honey?"

"Not at all. I think what you did was
brilliant. Sean has had his eye on Tessa from day one. He lights up whenever she
walks into the room. Cecelia knows it too. In fact, she told me just the other
day that if Tessa hadn't run off and eloped, she was hoping the two of them
would see how great they are together." She sighed. "But, things went
south when Tessa took off with that bully."

Sage said, "Perhaps its fate that the boy
showed up now. Tessa's divorced and getting her life in order and doing well
from what I've observed."

"Perhaps. Do you think you should call Dirk
and let him know you're sending Sean to apply for that job he's got advertised?"

"No. If this is fate, it'll work itself
out; just like it did with you and me."

 Sarah snuggled her head against Sage's chest
and he kissed the top of her head. How she loved her handsome, romantic, kind,
and hardworking husband.

"Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"Since we've got the house to ourselves,
why don't we mosey on over to the bedroom and spend some quality time
together."

She grinned against his chest. "Do you
think we'll ever get too old for that part of our lives?"

"No, and hell, no!"

Sean followed a graveled road past the Tanner's
house and outbuildings until he reached Newt and Molly's place. They were both
outside, with Molly sitting in a chair under a tree and Newt standing before an
easel.

As he parked, they both headed toward his car.
When Molly recognized him, she said, "Howdy, young Sean. It's been a few
years."

"Yes, ma'am, and you're more beautiful than
the last time I saw you."

Molly glanced at Newt, lifted an eyebrow, and
said, "Maybe you should take flirting lessons from this boy."

Newt said, "Aw, come on Molly. I'm always
tellin' ya how purdy ya are."

She cocked her head. "Yeah, that's true. But
listen up anyway."

Newt walked over to Sean's Porsche and ran a
hand down the fender. "She's a beaut, son."

"Yeah, and that's the problem." Sean
pointed to Newt's old truck. "I need to find a truck like yours. My car
attracts too much attention. I plan on staying in the area for awhile and the
last thing I want is attention."

Newt scratched his scraggly gray beard.
"Oldies like mine are snatched up real fast."

Molly guffawed, "I can't imagine why. If I
had a choice, I'd be zipping around in Sean's black beauty."

Newt corrected, "Molly, you do have a
choice. You drive a Taurus."

"Yeah, well, I'm thinking about trading it
in for one of those." She inclined her head toward the Porsche.