The Rock Star's Christmas Reunion: contemporary holiday romance (A Charisma series novel, The Connollys Book 1)

by Heather Hiestand

  “You can stand up to him too, like you did with Remy. I think that’s good. You aren’t going to let him cheat on you and accept that.”

  Her stomach lurched. “Is he a cheater?”

  Haldana straightened her ponytail. “I know he wasn’t sleeping with Remy, and not for her lack of trying.”

  Yakima’s timer went off. “I have a lot to think about, but it’s time to set up for the party. I still have to run to Starbucks and get the coffee.”

  “I’ll finish packing everything up,” Haldana offered. “Why didn’t we do our own coffee? You bought the urns.”

  “They have their own urns at the community center,” Yakima said. “But the mayor loves his Starbucks. I’ll be back in twenty minutes or so and we can load up.”

  ~

  At five, the Santa and snowman trays were down to colorful crumbs. The coffee urns were almost empty and only half of one sugar cube remained in the bowl. The city council had gorged and chatted with city workers and everyone had left with a smile.

  Yakima had a smile too, because the fire chief had booked her, with a check for the deposit, for a New Year’s Day football party at his house. His wife had just announced she’d be out of town and unable to make food for his annual afternoon with his cronies.

  Not only that, the fire chief had told her about his son, who fostered abandoned animals on his property near Battlefield Lake. He encouraged her to go by and see what dogs were available for adoption. On her phone, she checked his son’s blog, which had updates on the dogs he was fostering.

  She and Haldana packed up and tidied, stacking trays, throwing out paper plates, washing mugs.

  “You’re awfully silent,” Haldana said.

  “Just gathering my mojo. I’m thinking about going to visit the rescue animals Chief Wright told me about.”

  “To see if you can cope with being around dogs?”

  “And maybe find one for Bax.”

  Haldana worked at her lower lip. “I don’t know. A dog is a man’s best friend. He should pick out his own.”

  “But maybe if I pick one out that I like, I won’t be scared of it.”

  Haldana shrugged. “I wouldn’t do it, but you like to be in charge.”

  Yakima nodded. While Haldana took the garbage out to the dumpster, she called Tony Wright, who said she could stop by any time.

  By six, she had dropped Haldana and their catering leftovers back at the commercial kitchen, and was driving the four miles out to Tony Wright’s property. She had never spent much time in the area around the lake. At this time of year, the narrow road spawned ice like it grew weeds along the sides in summer. The van skidded once. As she fought for control, the thought “the things we do for love” crossed her mind. But she forced the idea of loving Bax into the recesses of her mind, and focused on driving her old sedan. She rarely drove it anymore, since the catering van was her advertising vehicle, but if she took a dog, she couldn’t have it in the van.

  Love for Bax was a puppy love, born of her teen years, and fanned by his teen idol fame. She’d outgrown him, or so she’d thought. But he’d grown too, into a dangerously sexy man who cared about his family and wanted to come home again. He enticed her like crazy, but was it love?

  When she saw the sign for Wright Farm, she turned in through an opening gate with a wreath centered on the chain links. The barn was on the left. Tony Wright raised llamas or alpacas or something like that, for their wool. He also had an impressive kennel with a dog run, perfect for rescue animals.

  She stepped out of her sedan, glad to see animals weren’t running free. The scar on the back of her calf itched. She needed to get over it. One bad scare and a few nips over the years shouldn’t make her phobic. She was stronger than this.

  The front door of the low-slung house opened as she walked up the steps to the porch. “Yakima Wannassay?” called the man.

  “Happy Holidays,” she called back. “Tony?”

  “That’s me. I was in school with your brother Jay. I remember seeing you around the edges of a couple of birthday parties in grade school.”

  “Oh? My mother went through a phase of inviting the entire class to birthday parties, but she was over it by the time I was having parties.”

  “All those boys running around.” Tony laughed. He had a ruddy face, like his father, but none of the fire chief’s excess poundage. In fact, it looked like every inch of him was covered in muscle.

  “You’re the local weightlifting champ,” she suddenly recalled. “I saw a feature about you in the local paper.”

  “That’s me,” he said. “Long history of dying young in my family so I stay really fit.”

  “Good for you.” She recalled the way the chief was scarfing down the party cookies and hoped he didn’t always eat like that.

  He gave her a quick once-over. “You must work out. A thin caterer. That can’t be easy.”

  “I haven’t been a caterer for long,” she joked. “Check me out next year.”

  He tilted his head. “I might just do that. So, Jay’s little sister, seeing anyone?”

  “Oh, sort of,” she said, shocked by the question. “You know how it goes.”

  His smile drooped. “Hard to date in Battlefield. We have restaurants but no real gathering places.”

  She felt a little sorry for shutting him down, but her lack of interest in this attractive guy told her a lot about her feelings for Bax. She didn’t want anyone else. “It’s good to have a job where you meet people. I’m determined to shake hands with everyone in town, just like a politician, to get my business off the ground.”

  “Smart,” he said. “I tend to hermit out here. I was thinking I should have a party just after shearing season next year.”

  “When is that?”

  “June, just before the warm season really kicks in.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Her tone was encouraging. “You can invite anyone who’s interested in the business and do all your handshake deals.”

  “You’ll have to put me on your books.” He zipped up his down coat. “But for now, you were interested in Blue, the Australian Cattle dog, right?”

  “Yes, that’s the dog we spoke about. For my friend?”

  “The friend you are sort of dating?”

  She shifted from side to side. “It feels so high school to put a label on anything at this point. He’s an old friend.”

  “I heard Bax Connolly was back in town. My father was invited to a party he had. Did you cater that one?”

  She nodded.

  “He said the food was really good.”

  “He seemed to like my cookies today. I’m glad to hear I have a fan.”

  “Too bad my mother is such a good cook. I don’t think you’ll get any direct business from them, but maybe he’ll refer you.”

  “Whatever I can get,” she assured him. The sweat from working in the hot kitchen of the community center had gone from keeping her cool to making her shiver. She crossed her arms across her chest.

  “So, enough small talk,” he said, watching her. “Shall we?” He pointed to the kennel.

  “Tel me about Blue.” She trotted to keep up with his swift steps. Tony turned out to be much taller than she realized, and his long legs ate up the yard.

  “Well, he’s about two, and he’s neutered, housetrained, pretty active. Not the right pet for someone that wouldn’t want to take him on walks.”

  “Not a problem. This person likes walks.”

  They walked up the kennel. Part of it was wire fencing, but the other half had a roof and tarped walls. Tony unhooked the gate and ducked into the covered area. Yakima heard a bark then a good-sized dog with a black and white coat trotted into the uncovered area. He sat on his hind legs in front of her, and gave her a doggy smile.

  She stayed where she was, nervous, but making a real effort to sound friendly. “Hello, beautiful. You’re the size of a kindergartner, aren’t you?”

  Tony reappeared with a leash, and attached it to Blue�
�s collar. “I keep them in the run because of the road. We lost a dog to a speeding driver a couple of years ago.”

  When he offered her the leash through the open gate, she took it reluctantly.

  “You seem to be keeping your distance. Blue’s pretty friendly.”

  “I’ve had some bad experiences,” she admitted. “I chose Blue because your blog made him sound like a nice dog.”

  “He is.” He nodded. “So the standard way to meet a strange dog is not to look them in the eye. You want to stand to the side and offer them your closed fist. Then you can pat them on the back if they seem willing. Either stay upright or crouch down.”

  Gingerly, she let the leash slacken and came to Blue’s side, then held her fist near his snout.

  “See?” Tony said. “He sniffed.”

  Blue’s tail wagged.

  “So now I can pat him?”

  “You got it.”

  She patted his shoulder and his tail wagged more strongly. “He does seem sweet.”

  “I’m not sure they’d be a good dog to have around a daycare, but he’d be a great dog for a single guy.”

  “The street my friend lives on was just burglarized. He wants a friendly guard dog.”

  “Blue’s your guy,” Tony said instantly. “But he’s got another ten to twelve years of life. I can’t just have you do the paperwork for someone and take him. He needs a forever home.”

  “Can I borrow him? I can’t make the decision.”

  Tony shook his head. “I’ll drive him over if you like. I’d love to have him find a good home. Then I can take on a more problematic dog. I’m good at retraining, but Blue hasn’t needed any.”

  Yakima took out her phone and called Bax.

  He answered, sounding sleepy. “Hey. What’s going on, beautiful?”

  “I think I found you a dog,” she said. “Can I bring him over to meet you?”

  “Um, yeah. He isn’t a stray, is he?”

  “No, he’s being fostered. We could be there in like, ten, fifteen minutes.” Tony nodded when she glanced at him.

  “Are you busy?”

  “No, come over before the roads get any icier.”

  “Okay. See you in a bit.”

  “So was I right?” Tony asked as she disconnected her call. “Is it for Bax?”

  She nodded.

  “Cool,” he said enthusiastically. “I was curious to see when I’d run into him. Let me grab the paperwork so we can do it if he and Blue get along. I’ll just be a minute.”

  Tony stepped out of the run and shut the gate, then went toward the house, leaving her with the leashed dog.

  “Well, Blue,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. It’s what you call a Christmas miracle, me holding a dog’s leash. But my friend Bax wants a dog, and you’re the nicest one I know.”

  Blue moved away from her, sniffing something. She followed in his wake, holding the leash. Tony came out of his house five minutes later, a folder in one hand and a ten-pound bag of dog food in the other.

  “Time for dinner?”

  “Just in case Bax decides to take him. Does he have anything for a dog?”

  “There’s a dog house on the property,” she said. “I haven’t looked inside. I don’t know if he was planning on getting a dog before the burglaries started.”

  “It is almost Christmas. He’s going to stay around, I hope? Blue will need to settle in.”

  “I don’t think he’s going anywhere during the holidays.” If he could make things right with his family. At least Dare’s arrival had been a good start.

  Blue gave a little bark and strained at the leash. Tony dropped his bag of dog food on the passenger seat of his four-door truck and gave Blue a pat. “Think you hear an animal, do you?”

  “You transport him in that cage?” Yakima asked, looking into the back seat.

  “That’s how we do it. You don’t want a dog trying to crawl on your lap while you’re driving. C’mon, big guy, let’s get you situated.” He took the leash and guided Blue into the truck. “Just pull out to the front gate, Yakima, and I’ll follow you. I don’t know quite where I’m going.”

  “Fifth. The street that’s half housing development and half mansions.”

  “Oh, sure. The mayor used to live there.”

  Yakima waved and got into her sedan. She drove carefully to the main road, which was actually in worse condition than the side streets due to the covered areas. But she didn’t hit any ice patches and pulled up on Bax’s driveway in just ten minutes. Taking a deep breath, she admired the holiday lights and the snow globe on the lawn, hoping Bax would appreciate her offer of a dog in the way she meant it.

  For her, Blue meant she would make an effort to compromise on things Bax considered important. She knew she’d been rigid about Remy, who had never really been a threat to her. They could have been making love over at her house these past couple of weeks, instead of being mutually frustrated.

  Headlights behind her were blinding as Tony drove up behind her. The porch lights switched on as she exited her sedan. Just then, she realized Bax wouldn’t recognize it because she mostly drove the van. She hoped he didn’t think they were a home invasion team.

  Waving up at the house in case he was watching, she waited for Tony to get out of his truck and remove Blue from the kennel. He snapped on Blue’s leash and let the dog trot up to her. Careful not to make eye contact again, she held out her closed fist for him to sniff.

  “Good job,” Tony said, handing her the leash. “He’ll get used to you soon enough.”

  “Thanks.”

  He held up his file folder. “I’ll wait on the dog food. Don’t want to scare Bax if he’s less willing to adopt Blue than you think. Any consideration to adopting this big boy yourself if Bax isn’t interested?”

  “Not really,” Yakima admitted. “I don’t know much about dogs.”

  “Well, here goes nothing then,” Tony said. “I’d love to rescue a Husky that’s going to be euthanized tomorrow if I can’t take him.”

  “No pressure,” Yakima said as she and Blue went to the porch and rang Bax’s doorbell.

  Another, brighter light came on above her, then Bax opened the front door, still protected by a glass screen door that hadn’t been there before. He must have had it installed today.

  “Hey, you,” he said, a smile breaking out on his face. She drank in the sight of him in a black Henley and gray jeans. He wore candy striped socks on his long, narrow feet.

  “Hey, back.” She grinned, too. The holidays made it impossible to spend enough time over here. She missed him.

  “Who’s this pretty boy?”

  “I’m hoping he’s your new best friend,” Yakima said. “Meet Blue.”

  They stepped aside so that Bax could open the new glass door. He crouched down at Blue’s side and held out his fist. Blue sat back on his haunches and panted. Bax stroked his back, much more at ease than Yakima had been, then lifted his chin. “Who’s that?”

  She swiveled. “Sorry, that’s Fire Chief Wright’s son Tony. He fosters rescue animals and he’s hoping you’ll take Blue.”

  “Why?” Bax said.

  “Another dog I’d like to rescue,” Tony said haltingly. He pulled off his camouflage ball cap.

  “You were ahead of me in school, right?” Bax asked, standing again.

  “Two years,” Tony said, coming up the stairs.

  Bax offered his hand and shook Tony’s. “That’s a great thing to do, rescuing animals. I’m impressed. It’s a calling.”

  “There’s always too many,” Tony agreed. “But I do my best to help the special ones. I’ve got a kennel on my property.”

  “Well, c’mon in. If the paperwork isn’t too onerous, I can take this pretty boy off your hands. If Yakima likes him that’s good enough for me.” He pushed open the door and gestured them inside.

  “Yeah?” Tony brightened immediately. “I have enough food to get you by immediately, but you need a crate and food and water bo
wls.” He opened his folder and placed it on the chest in Bax’s entryway. “This is the vet I use, and a couple of local dog trainers who are good. And you’ll need to do more paperwork in the morning.”

  “I have the bowls but not a crate.”

  “Can he borrow the one in your truck for the night?” Yakima asked.

  “I was going to go pick up the Husky tonight,” Tony said hesitantly.

  “I’ll run over to Walmart,” Yakima said. “Get everything you need, Bax. No pressure.”

  He laughed. “What’s his background? Will my house survive the night?”

  “His first family was two parents, two young kids, two other dogs, but the parents broke up a couple of months ago and the mother couldn’t afford pets anymore,” Tony said. “I’ve had him for three weeks. I haven’t noticed any behavioral issues, but I’ve tried not to bond with him. Australian Cattle dogs tend to connect strongly to one person.”

  “So he is going to be my best friend,” Bax said. He glanced at Yakima. “This is what you want?”

  “I tried to find you the best dog possible.” Her heart didn’t seem to be moving blood through her system properly. Why was she lightheaded?

  “He’s a handsome fella,” Bax agreed. “Dealy would be so jealous if he was still in town.”

  “Should I run to Walmart?” Yakima asked. Maybe fresh air would help.

  Tony pulled a piece of paper from his folder and handed it to her. “This is the supply list for starting out.”

  Yakima took it. “On my way.”

  “Great. We’ll just get the paperwork done.” Tony still looked a little nervous and his coloring was very heightened, but he seemed to be handling himself well enough.

  Bax raised his eyebrows at Yakima. She sketched a wave. “See you in a little while.”

  “Wait.” He rustled through the top drawer of the beautiful antique chiffonier in the front hall and pulled out a rubber-banded stack of bills. “Take this.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “If there are thieves in the neighborhood, don’t you think your money should go somewhere safer?”

  “But then what do I use to pay the pizza guy?”

  “Bax,” she scolded.

  “You’re right.” He patted Blue’s shoulder. “This bad boy and I are going to be a lot smarter in the future.”