Rock Star Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Book 6) (4 page)

Newt gave Sean an exasperated look.

Sean pointed to the easel and canvas. "Mind
if I take a look?"

"Not at all, son. Seems I got this talent I
never knew I had. I can paint pretty good." He glared at Molly, "Not
like writing."

She shot back, "We're gonna finish your
memoirs whether you like it or not, old man."

Sean walked around the easel to get a better
look, and damn, Newt
was
good. Really good. He was painting a portrait
of Molly and it looked just like her.

Molly came up beside Sean. "I keep telling
Newt I don't want him to paint me with wrinkles and look at that. You can hardly
see my features for all the wrinkles."

Newt said, "Dang, Molly, I got wrinkles,
you got wrinkles, and some day this young fella's gonna have 'em, too. What's
the big deal?"

"The big deal is I don't want a painting of
me that's going to become famous showing all my wrinkles. You could at least
make me look like I'm seventy and not pushing a hundred."

Newt didn't back down. "Hell, Molly,
between us, we got almost two centuries. We're old, honey, and I ain't changin'
your painting 'cause you're the most beautiful woman I know just the way you
are."

Molly's face suddenly went all soft and she
replied, "Why didn't you say it like that in the first place?"

Sean, who had been watching the interaction
between them, reaffirmed in his heart that he wanted a relationship with a woman
that was just as open and honest as theirs.

Molly seemed to forget the tussle over the
painting and turned to Sean. "You seen Tessa, yet?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You swap any spit?"

Sean choked and Newt said, "Molly! That's
not a question you ask a strappin' young man."

"I just did, didn't I?"

She studied Sean's face, waiting for an answer.

"Ah, no ma'am to your question."

"Well, I wouldn't wait too long to make a
move. You shoulda' done so before she ran off with that scumbag. Both you and
Preston have always had a hankerin' for her and he might beat you to the punch
if you lollygag this time."

Sean didn't know what to say but it didn't
matter because Molly kept talking. "'Course, sometimes you gotta bite into
a pit and break a tooth before you discover how to eat the sweet stuff. Been
chewin' on pits lately, son?"

He kept a straight face. "Yeah. One too
many."

"Good. Now you've learned some lessons so
you can go for what you really want."

Newt just stood off to the side shaking his
head. But then a grin spread across his ancient face and he started laughing.
Molly joined his laughter and soon Sean did too. Sean decided a good laugh and
a good woman were definitely needed in his life.

Sean pulled up to the gate of Dirk Branigan's
ranch. When he'd first come to Paxtonville at the age of fifteen, Dirk had been
getting his ranch going. From the looks of the horses scattered across the
pastures, he had done extremely well.

Over the intercom a male voice said,
"Howdy. Who be ya and what's yer business?"

"My name is Sean Barfield. Sage Tanner was
telling me about a ranch hand job you got advertised."

"Okay. Gate's about to open."

The gate swung wide and Sean drove the short
distance to the Branigan cabin. A short, beefy cowboy waited in front of it and
didn't look particularly impressed by Sean's sports car.

After Sean stepped from the Porsche, the cowboy
scratched his head and said, "You sure you got the right place, son. This
here's Paxtonville, Colorado, not Hollywood, California."

Sean nodded and politely responded. "Yes,
sir. This is just the place I want to be. Mr. Branigan knows me and I'd like to
talk to him about the position he's hiring for."

The cowboy stuck out his hand. "My name is
Charles Trotter, but everyone calls me Flatfoot. And as far as the hirin'
around here goes, I'm the foreman, and I do it all myself. So, I guess you
better start by–"

A deep voice interrupted Flatfoot and Sean
turned to see Dirk walking toward them from the barn. "Hello, Sean. Tessa
mentioned you were back in town."

Sean grinned and stuck out his hand for a shake.
"Hello, sir. It's good to see you."

Flatfoot said, "Dirk, this young fella said
he's applyin' for the hand position."

Dirk looked surprised. "You're the last
person I'd think would be looking for work. Come on, son, let's take a walk and
you can explain it to me."

Flatfoot resettled his hat on his head. "I
guess you got this covered, boss. I'm gonna ride out to the south pasture and
check on the men. Hopefully, that section of fence is just about
restored."

"Thanks, Flatfoot. I'll catch up with you
later."

Dirk motioned Sean toward the barn. "Come
on and see some of the horses I'm working with."

Tessa had once told Sean that her father was a
renowned horse whisperer and then explained that he had a way of communicating
with animals that astounded most people.

Inside the barn the Branigan's youngest daughter
ran up to her father and Sean, and said breathlessly, "Sean, will you sign
an autograph for me?"

Her father scowled. "Candi is that any way
to greet our guest. You need to welcome Sean to our home."

She blushed. "Welcome Sean. Maybe you can
stay for supper?"

Dirk said, "Now that's more like it."
He glanced at Sean. "Please say you can stay for supper. We eat around six
when Tessa gets home."

That caught Sean's attention. So Tessa was
living at home. "I'd like that, sir."

"Call me Dirk, son." He patted Candi's
head. "Run tell your mother that Sean is here and that he's staying for
supper."

"Okay, Daddy." She shuffled her feet
and didn't immediately move.

Sean said, "I'll sign an autograph for you
at suppertime."

Her face lit as she turned and skipped toward
the house.

Dirk shook his head. "I know how it feels
to be bombarded by autograph seekers. If she starts asking for autographs for
her friends, just let me know and I'll have a talk with her."

"It's not a problem, sir…er…Dirk."

Dirk led the way through the barn and pointed
out various horses, from colts to mares, and explained what their issues were
and how he was working with them. He said, "We got the stallions in the
other barn. I don't like to take on more than three or four of them at a time.
Usually, they've either been mistreated or they're just young and high
spirited."

Dirk paused beside one of the stalls and a big brown
and cream German shepherd ran up to him and whined. He knelt and rubbed the
dog's back. "Hey, Sadie, how ya doin'? You missin' Tessa?"

"Is that Tessa's dog?"

"Yes, she brought him back from Denver;
also a cat named Muffin." He rose again and his face looked as hard as
granite. "I suppose you heard about her marriage to Jared."

"Yes."

"I swear I could have killed that boy when
she came back all brokenhearted. And after she told me how he punched her, I
was ready to torture him to death."

Sean's eyes widened. "I didn't know she was
abused."

Dirk snorted. "I don't think she's even
told us half of the nightmare. What she ever saw in him, I don't know. I'm just
glad she got him out of her system. 'Course she's still recovering emotionally
and begs off anything social, but Monica says she'll eventually come around and
start dating again. I know Preston Tanner has asked her out a few times. One of
these days she'll accept."

Sean felt a wave of nausea knowing Tessa had
been physically and emotionally hurt, and a wave of jealousy at the mention of
Preston.

Dirk was still talking. "She's living in
the apartment above the garage. It took some convincing to even get her to move
in there, but Monica finally got her to see the sense of it. She said Tessa
admitted to being ashamed about running off with the guy who'd taunted her
throughout their school years. She said she felt like she'd shamed and
embarrassed her family. Hell, can you imagine that? My baby thinking she'd
shamed her family and wanting to stay away to spare us embarrassment." He
shook his head. "Anyway, we're just glad she's home and we're giving her
space to recover."

Sean puffed a breath. Dirk's confidences were a
lot to take in, and now
he
also wanted to torture the asshole that'd
mistreated the sweetest girl he had ever known.

Dirk said, "So, do you want to tell me why
you're wanting to work for me shoveling shit? The job's an entry level one and
gets most of the dirty work."

For the next five minutes Sean explained the
circumstances of his arrival in Paxtonville and how he wanted to lay low and
just lead a normal life. He finished up by saying, "I'm not afraid of hard
work and I can shovel all the dung you want."

Dirk laughed so loud he startled the horse whose
stall they were standing in front of. "Whoa, girl," he crooned. He
slapped Sean on the back. "Let me show you to your room and if you still
want the job, it's yours."

Sean followed Dirk to the rear of the barn where
he opened a door into a small, maybe eight-by-ten room with a double bed,
ancient chest with four drawers, a makeshift closet constructed of plywood, and
a door leading into a tiny bathroom with a shower, sink, toilet and barely enough
room to turn around.

Dirk said, "We got plans to remodel, but
since this is only a seasonal job, it's not on the list of priorities. It pays
fairly decent though."

Sean said without hesitation, "I'll take
it."

Tessa was running a half hour late for supper so
she called her stepmother to let her know. Monica said, "No problem,
honey. And hey, we have a surprise guest for dinner."

"Yeah? Does that mean you're not telling me
who it is?"

"Yep. You'll see when you get here."

At six-thirty Tessa punched her fob to open the
garage door, and gasped! What was Sean's Porsche doing inside the garage? She laid
her head on her steering wheel. Was he the surprise supper guest?
Please
God, don't let it be so.

She pulled her old Honda Civic beside his. Her
father had wanted to buy her another car, but she'd adamantly refused. He and
Monica had already done so much by allowing her to live in the garage apartment
rent free until she was on her feet. And she was almost there. She didn't need
a monkey wrench by the name of Sean Barfield thrown into her life plan. He made
her feel things she didn't want to feel.

She rushed upstairs to her apartment, took a
quick shower, and changed out of the smock she wore for work. She did her best
to tame her wet, curly hair, but it was impossible, so she just tied it back
with a ribbon. As for makeup, she started to reach for her blusher and paused.
Nope. The worse she looked the better. Painting herself with makeup was saying,
in essence, that she wanted to look nice for Sean because she liked him in a
way that was more than friendship. Her reasoning was illogical but she didn't
argue with herself.

Slipping into old jeans and a T-shirt that had
been washed probably a million times, she stuck her toes in her flip flops and
headed toward the main house.

Her dad was in the living room with Sean and Candi.
Candi sat on the couch beside Sean with her heart in her eyes, staring up at
him. On the coffee table were several eight-by-ten glossies that he had
autographed with the various names of her girlfriends. Tessa stifled a smile.
Her baby sister was going to be one popular student.

They all glanced at her as she walked in. Sean
stood and smiled and her dad frowned—no doubt because of her attire, which was
horrible. "Hi Dad and Candi. Hi Sean. So you're the surprise supper guest
Monica told me about."

Her dad said, "Oh, he's more than that.
He's my new ranch hand. He's taking up residence in the first barn."

Tessa felt her eyes widen and barely stifled a
groan. "Oh." She glanced at Sean and although it sounded rude, asked,
"Why are you working for my dad?"

He grinned. "For one thing, I don't like sitting
around on my as–" he glanced at Candi, "er, my backside doing
nothing, and for another, it keeps me hidden in plain sight and hopefully away
from fans."

Candi piped up, "And I told Sean I'm really
good at keeping secrets. I'm not even going to tell my girlfriends he's at our
house."

Her dad laughed. "And that chick-magnet car
is staying in the garage. He'll be driving one of our old beater trucks."

Tessa felt panic claw at her throat as she absorbed
this turn of events. She and Sean were going to be living in close proximity
and she would probably see him almost every day. She couldn't breathe.

Monica stepped into the room. "Hi, Tessa. I
thought I heard you. Want to give me a hand in the kitchen?"

"Sure, Mom." She was grateful for the reprieve.

Candi said, "I can help too, Mommy."

"That's okay, sweetie. You keep Sean
company."

In the kitchen Monica pointed to a loaf of
French bread. "Why don't you slice and butter the bread while I pour the
spaghetti sauce over the noodles?"

Tessa pulled out a knife from its block holder
and started on her task. She almost cut herself so she paused, took a deep
breath, and started cutting again.

Monica said, "So, what do you think about
Sean working for your dad? I assume they told you."

"Ah, yeah, they told me. It's great."

"You don't sound like its great. Is there
something you want to talk about?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

Monica sighed. "Honey, I'm always here if
you need to talk. You've been through a lot the past few years and maybe you're
ready to start dating again. Maybe Sean will ask you out."

Tessa swallowed back tears. "He already
has."

"And?"

"And I turned him down."

"Just like you turned Preston down?"

"Yes. I'm not ready."

"Maybe if you talked to someone about why you
feel that way, it would help you understand your feelings."

Tessa blinked back tears. "I don't think
I'll ever be ready. I feel…I feel…so inadequate. I feel like I'm a mess,
Mom."

Monica set down the tongs she was mixing the
spaghetti with and walked over to Tessa. She embraced her and said, "We're
all here for you, Tessa. You'll confide in us when you're ready."

Sean enjoyed dinner with the Branigans more than
he'd enjoyed anything in a long time. Tessa was quiet though, and he wondered
what she was thinking. She seemed preoccupied. When the ribbon holding her hair
came untied and the curly mass fell forward, he had a vision of smoothing it
off her cheeks and kissing them—kissing that adorable dimple. She tied her hair
back and when their eyes met, she quickly glanced away. She was skittish of him
and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. They'd been friends for
years, and except for kissing her that one time under the mistletoe, he'd never
been forward.

While Monica and Tessa served dessert, Candi
said, "Sean, are you coming to the Fourth of July picnic in the park? The
whole town will be there."

"It sounds like fun. I have some disguises
I wear when I go out."

"You mean like a Halloween costume?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that. In one of
them I dress like a hippy with a beard."

"Wow! Will you show me tomorrow?"

Dirk said, "Candi, give the man time to
settle in."

Sean said, "It's okay." He winked at
Candi, "I'd be happy to show you my hippie getup."

Tessa remained quiet over dessert and then
immediately started clearing the table when Dirk suggested they all move to the
living room. She said, "Ya'll go ahead. Mom, you too. I'll clean the
dishes."

Sean felt hurt by her obvious avoidance of him.
It was almost an hour later when she joined them and he felt like he'd worn out
his welcome. "I guess I better say goodnight. I got everything moved over
from my parents' house this afternoon, so I'm ready to start work first thing
in the morning."

Dirk nodded. "Sounds good, son. Come to the
house at six for breakfast, then I'll get you lined out and introduce you to
the other hands. You've already met Flatfoot. He's my foreman and lives on the
property in a cottage down by the river. The other four men live either nearby
or in town. We usually meet up in your barn at seven. I've got a good team and I
think you'll get along great with them. We'll tell them mums the word about
your identity and I know they'll respect that."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. But I don't want
you thinking you have to furnish my meals. I can–"

Dirk interrupted, "Comes with the job, son.
If I wasn't feeding you, it would be whoever got the job. You're not getting
any special treatment if that's what you're worried about."

Sean nodded and glanced at Tessa. "Well,
goodnight, Tessa."

"Good night," she politely replied,
saying nothing more.

Candi grinned and reached for her stack of
signed glossies. "Night, Sean. Thank you for signing all these. I promise
I won't let anyone know you're here."

Monica said, "I cook a mean breakfast, so
be ready to stuff yourself."

"Thank you, ma'am. I look forward to
it."