Wagging his curly tail, the puppy sniffed the air excitedly before answering with a yip.
After pulling out the container holding the leftovers, his father opened the kitchen cabinet door next to the fridge and peered inside. “And maybe some minute rice?” He grabbed the box of rice and handed it over to Tim.
Tim shook his head resignedly. “This is still going to take more than a minute. You do know that, Dad. Right?”
“He looks like he was being starved, anyway,” his father growled. “I should probably start him out with only a little bit of food right now, otherwise he might throw it up.” His dad was pulling a chunk from the pot roast and breaking it up with his fingers. Grabbing a couple of small plastic bowls from inside the cabinet, he dropped the meat into one and zapped it inside of the microwave for a couple of seconds while filling the other bowl with water.
Soon, he had the puppy lapping up a good long drink, and when he laid the bowl holding the mashed meat on the floor, Tim and Jack both had smiles on their faces as they watched the puppy gobble down the food.
“Get that rice going for me anyway, will you Tim? We can give it to him later.”
Tim found himself doing as his dad said. Didn’t he always? he suddenly thought as he filled a casserole bowl with rice and water. Shoving it into the microwave, he set the power on low for twenty minutes, pressing the start button. “Dad?”
His father turned and stilled. “Yes?” his voice was gruff.
“We need to talk.”
Looking resigned, his father answered, “To tell you the truth, I’ve been expecting you say to something like that for a while now. I know how unhappy you’ve been here in Crystal Rock these last few years since you graduated from high school. And with everything that’s happened between you and Lucy, it’s gotta be even more difficult now.”
“Aw, Dad. You were lonesome after losing Mom, and it’s just been the two of us for so long. But I think I need to get away from Crystal Rock for a while.”
His father nodded toward the kitchen table. “Sit down, Son.”
Tim dropped into his seat and after pouring himself a cup of coffee, Dad settled across from him at the table.
His father looked him in the eye. “Despite what you might think, I don’t expect you to spend the rest of your life operating my service station,” he announced.
Tim started. “But, Dad...I thought...?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to say something to me about what you wanted for yourself. College, maybe? I can afford to send you, you know.”
Tim nodded dumbly. “As a matter of fact, I have been thinking about something. Not college though.”
His father blinked, and Tim could see the tears in his eyes.
Dad grimaced. “You know how much I’ll miss you? But I don’t want to hold you back.”
“I’ll, uh, show you what I’ve been ssethinking about.” Tim stood up from the table and raced through the kitchen and up the stairs to his bedroom. Opening the drawer of the nightstand, he pulled out the printout he’d saved from his search online.
Returning downstairs to the kitchen, Tim hesitated before handing the information over to his dad.
His father stilled, appearing concerned as he stared at the writing on the first page. “The military?” Pulling his reading glasses out from his breast pocket and slipping them on, he began glancing through the pages. “Ah. Training service dogs?” Laying down the information on the table, his dad looked at Tim, holding his gaze. “I will admit, this makes me really nervous Tim, since you’ll probably end up shipping overseas.”
Tim said nothing but nodded his agreement.
His father cleared his throat. “But I’m proud of you Son. And I think this idea you have about training service dogs is sound. You’ve always had a way with animals.” His dad began thumbing through the pages again. “It says you have to have a certain amount of military training in before you can actually be recommended for working with the dogs though. Any idea about how long that could be?”
“Maybe two or three years? I checked a few other sites online.”
Dad nodded, appearing thoughtful. “Well, I’m behind you all the way. Let me know when you want to get this rolling, so we can hire a new manager at the station.”
Tim grinned. “Well—about that? I’ve got a good idea who you can replace me with. Sam Morgan’s been filling in for me on my days off. He’s doing a great job.”
His dad’s smile was resigned. “Alright. I guess all you need to do is decide which branch of the military you prefer.”
“Air Force, I think.”
His dad rolled his eyes. “Just how long have you been thinking about this?”
Tim hesitated. “Around a year.”
“Since Lucy began seeing Gabe Giordano?”
Tim was sheepish when he nodded his head up and down.
His father sighed. “Well, at least I know you’re not rushing into this decision.” As his dad stood up from the table, the puppy, who’d been dozing contentedly near the food bowl, jumped up on his feet and scrambled towards him. When Dad picked him up, the pup began chomping at his fingers. “At least I’ll have a little bit of company while you’re gone.”
Tim began to laugh. “I knew you were going to keep him from the moment I carried him into the kitchen.”
“Hmm. But there’s one thing you’ll probably need to know if you’re planning on training dogs, Tim.”
“What’s that, Dad?”
His father smiled widely. “How to tell the difference between a male and female. This puppy’s a she.”
Tim laughed harder.
Chapter Two
Emily Richardson made her way into the suite where she and her mother, along with Emily’s manager, Ben Bartlett, were staying through the weekend of the wedding.
Located on the upper level, the suite was huge, with four bedrooms and baths and even had a small kitchen with a dining room. A vaulted ceiling soared above the living room; which featured a built in hot tub near French doors leading out onto a terrace overlooking the lake.
What a relief, Emily thought, glancing around as she walked into the kitchen. No one appeared to be here. Knowing her mom, she was probably trying to book an appointment with the owner of the inn for Emily to get hired to entertain in the bar or something similar. Her mother’s talent of persuasion had Emily performing at concerts in the park and county fairs as well as weddings and receptions.
Although she had a successful career as a model, her mother’s ultimate goal was for Emily to make a name for herself as a country vocalist. Since winning The Next American Star eight years ago, her singing career hadn’t taken off as well as her mother had expected it to, so she’d recently decided to push Emily’s vocal talent by hiring Ben Bartlett, manager to the stars.
Emily would be singing at the wedding of her friend’s sister tomorrow. She’d met Kelly Callahan years ago while working the modeling circuit. At fifteen, Kelly was three years younger than Emily, but she’d always been mature for her age.
The only reason her mother was allowing Emily to perform at this weekend’s wedding far away from California was because former model and Emmy winning vocalist Danielle Reardon Loughlin, who co-owned the Dragonfly Pointe Inn along with her husband Jake, still had great connections in the entertainment industry, and her mom was hoping Danielle would take an interest in Emily.
At that moment stepping in through the doorway of the suite and entering the kitchen, Emily’s mother cringed when her gaze fell upon her. “What in the world happened Em? Your hair!” Her mother shook her head in dismay. “I swear, I can’t leave you on your own for even a few hours. Let me see if I can book an appointment in the salon downstairs.”
Emily flinched at her mother’s words and tone of voice. She should’ve been used to it by now. The constant criticism was nearly an everyday thing.
Emily laid a hand over her hair and grimaced. It was a mess from her plunge into the lake. Of course if her mother hadn’t in
sisted she keep her hair so long, it wouldn’t be such a hassle brushing out the tangles.
“It’s booked, and they won’t be able to get you in before your scheduled appointment tomorrow morning. Now what are we going to do?” Her mother was nearly screaming when she slammed down the hotel phone.
Emily heard the door leading into the suite open and close.
“Hello? Where is everyone?” Ben Bartlett walked into the kitchen through the doorway. Apparently hearing her mother’s scolding, he stepped up to Constance and wrapped an arm over her shoulders before giving Emily a quizzical look.
Emily liked Ben. He was the only person that seemed to be able to calm her mother down during one of her crisis’.
Ben grinned at Emily. “Fall into the lake?”
Emily grimaced, nodding yes.
“I take it something needs to be done about your hair?”
As much as Emily hated to admit it, her hair was too much to handle on her own due to its length. “Yes. Even if I try to condition it, it’d take me forever to detangle myself.”
“What about your friend Kelly? Doesn’t her mom travel along with her and style her hair during the modeling sessions?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Emily answered. “But Mrs. Callahan is probably in the midst of wedding plans right now, since Kelly’s sister’s getting married tomorrow.”
“Wait a minute,” her mom said suddenly, reaching for her purse. Pulling out a day-planner, she searched for a number and picked up the phone.
She punched in the numbers. “May I speak with Jennifer Callahan please?” she asked, when someone apparently answered.
Constance covered the receiver, speaking with Ben and ignoring Emily as usual. “Jenny gave me her number at one of Emily’s sessions. I just remembered she owns a salon here in town.”
Her mom uncovered the receiver. “Jenny? Hi, this is Connie Richardson. Emily’s had a little accident in the lake, and I wondered if she might be able to get into your salon sometime this evening? Her hair is an absolute mess.”
A few minutes later, her mom was hanging up the phone. “Hop in the shower and get ready,” she said to Emily. “You have fifteen minutes. The appointment is in forty-five. Now we have to figure a way to get you away from the inn without being seen.”
“There’s a back door located along the lakefront that leads inside through a breezeway, so I didn’t have to walk through the lobby when I came in from outside,” Emily answered quietly.
Her mother stared at her approvingly for once. “At least you had enough sense to stay away from the lobby where you might have been recognized.”
All this time Ben had been gazing at her mom with a worried look on his face. Something strange was going on between them, but Emily wasn’t quite certain what was happening. She’d heard a few arguments between them recently, but they’d become quiet when Emily entered the room.
At thirty-six, her mom had a great figure because she’d always exercised and taken care of herself. She was an extremely attractive woman for her age with her with big blue eyes in a classically lovely face with flawless skin. She was much more beautiful than Emily would ever be.
Emily was pretty sure Ben was in love with her mom, which was probably why he was always so understanding about her mood swings.
Just then, Emily noticed her mother had a brow raised and was staring at her impatiently.
Emily grimaced. “Alright. I’ll hurry,” she said, rushing through the kitchen toward her bedroom.
* * *
Emily had forgotten how nice Kelly’s mother was. The salon was packed, but Jenny Callahan had personally arrived to make sure Emily was taken care of. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that Connie Richardson was such a difficult person for others to get along with, and most of the customers being waited on in Jenny’s salon right now were probably getting ready for her daughter’s wedding tomorrow.
The first thing Jenny did was lead her mother down the hallway and into the spa, where she was being offered a free massage and facial cleansing treatment. Turning back momentarily, Jenny gave Emily a wink before following her mother into the chamber.
Emily began to laugh. Jenny knew exactly how to handle her mom. She’d been around her enough during Kelly and Emily’s numerous modeling sessions. In fact, Jenny had probably spent more time with her mother than Emily had.
Poor Jenny. Emily grimaced.
Despite the criticism and putdowns, Emily did love her mom. Aunt Trish had explained to her once that her mom had been a totally different person before Emily’s father had abandoned them. Even though her mom never showed her the affection she’d been craving her entire life, Emily knew that deep down her mother had to love her too, but was afraid to show it after being hurt so badly by her father.
Emily had never once met her dad. Supposedly, he was some rich billionaire living somewhere in Europe. And as long as he continued ignoring her, as he had for her entire life, Emily wasn’t the least bit curious about knowing anything more about him.
She sat back quietly as her hair was shampooed by two different girls who’d taken on the huge chore of detangling her hair, and were discussing how best to approach the task.
Tim Atkinson. It’d nearly floored her today, seeing him again after eight years. How many times had she thought about him since then? Hundreds probably. She’d literally met hundreds of guys through the years, but for some reason Tim had been the only one who’d ever managed to stick in her brain.
She stared at herself in the mirror and grimaced. What a mess she’d been today, with her hair tangled and no makeup covering her face. She’d been wearing her worn and wet jogging clothes to boot, so Tim had definitely seen her at her worst.
But she’d be seeing him again tomorrow. Suddenly, she smiled at herself in the mirror. “Hey, you guys? Lisa, is it? And Beth?”
Both girls stopped talking and looked at Emily as she stared at their reflections in the mirror. “Can you possibly style my hair too, when you’re finished? I’m supposed to get a quick brush out in the inn’s salon tomorrow, but I think I’d like to try something different other than letting it hang loose.”
Lisa grinned. “What have you got in mind?”
“Where did I put my purse?”
Beth picked up Emily’s purse from a nearby salon chair, and handed it over.
Emily dug inside and pulled out a notebook. Thumbing through the pages, she showed the girls a picture she’d clipped from a magazine and folded inside.
Beth nodded approvingly, looking at Lisa. “I think we can handle a style like this.”
“This’ll look great on you.” Lisa said. “With all that hair, nobody gets to see your pretty face. You have the most beautiful color eyes.”
Emily blinked, and then stared at herself in the mirror somewhat doubtingly. “Uh, thanks.”
Lisa smiled as she went to work on Emily’s hair, while Beth continued studying the hairstyle in the picture.
Emily grimaced, thinking about what her mother’s reaction to her change in hairstyle might be. Emily would sure love to forego the drama. “Um. I hate to ask this, but is there a way we can keep my hair covered so that my mom can’t see it once you’re finished?”
Glancing up from the picture, Beth began to laugh. “I think we can figure something out. If worst comes to worst, maybe Jenny can drive you back to the inn and we can hold up your mom with an offer of more free beauty treatments?”
Emily began laughing too. “You know, that’d probably work,” she answered dryly.
* * *
Once the girls had finished styling Emily’s hair, Jenny Callahan had taken Emily over to her house where she’d visited with Kelly and had supper with the Callahan family. Jenny’s husband Cal had driven her back to the inn and Kelly had come along for the ride.
Somehow, Emily had managed to stay out of her mother’s way the rest of the evening. Ben and her mom had gone out for dinner when her mother had returned to the inn a few minutes
after Emily. Emily had hidden away in her room with a book for the rest of the evening, which hadn’t been too difficult since it was after ten o’clock anyway.
It was nearing eight o’clock the following morning, and Emily was getting ready to go downstairs to have her hair touched up at the salon. Kelly had raved about her hair last night, so Emily knew it looked great pulled away from her face and piled high on top of her head.
Emily had just turned eighteen years old. Since this country girl teenager thing her mom had going on for her was getting on her nerves, she’d decided to try and find another gown to wear for the wedding in the inn’s boutique located right next door. It’s not that the pink dress she was supposed to wear wasn’t pretty, but its cut and style made Emily look like she was going to a high school dance. For once, she wanted to look her best. Not only would she be performing at the wedding ceremony, she’d also be singing at the reception afterwards as well.
She knew her mother would’ve had a fit if she’d seen her hair. So, playing it safe, Emily had snuck out of the suite long before her mother would have usually awoken. Her mother really didn’t have a reason to be suspicious anyway, since Emily had been keeping appointments like this on her own since age thirteen.
Awaiting her stylist, Emily was sitting in the salon chair admiring her reflection in the mirror when a slightly familiar woman approached and stood behind her chair.
The beautiful woman smiled. “Emily? I wanted to introduce myself since Lucy Callahan is one of my best friends and you’ll be singing at her wedding today. I’m Danielle Loughlin.”
Emily smiled. “It’s great to finally meet you. I would’ve known you anywhere. I’ve been listening to your music since I was five years old.”
Danielle smiled at Emily’s reflection in the mirror. “I love the hair.”
“I had it done in town.”
Danielle suddenly seemed to be scoping her surroundings furtively. “Don’t tell anyone, but I think that Jenny’s girls do an even better job than the stylists we have working here,” she whispered, half covering her mouth with a hand.
A Kiss Upon A Star Page 3