On stage she is Leather, a Rock'n'Roll fantasy. Her music dominates the
charts, while the "Queen of Flash" struts across the concert stages. She
is a tease, a shameless flirt--and a glittering illusion. Kate Costello
has had enough of the music scene. She takes off for New Mexico in
search of the anonymity she'd bargained away for fame. Jake Callahan is a single father. A decade ago his wife left the farm, leaving him to raise his daughter. He spent his savings bailing out his wild twin brother and is now facing cash-flow problems. Renting out the empty house on his property seems like an ideal solution until he sees the woman who answers the advertisement. Jake doesn't want the reclusive millionaire renting the house on his farm. But he has a teenager to deal with and bills to pay.
And now--a sexy tenant he can't seem to ignore.
Sparks fly between the cowboy and the rocker who believe they have nothing in common except a menagerie of goodhearted matchmakers determined to prove they'll make beautiful music together.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
The audience went wild. Screaming teens
stood on the seats and waved their arms, in a desperate attempt to catch the
attention of their idol. Electricity charged the arena. The loud music didn't
seem to bother the adoring fans that had come to see Leather.
She performed onstage for two hours without
stopping for a break. Beads of perspiration formed on her olive skin, giving
off a luminous shine as the hot white lights followed her across the stage.
Clad in a skintight black leather miniskirt and a clinging metallic gold top,
she prowled across the stage with feline grace. She played to the audience the
way most singers wish they could. She was a tease, a shameless flirt.
Every young man wanted to have her, every
young girl wanted to be her. She inspired many a fantasy with her long mane of
raven ringlets cascading down her back and china blue eyes that could melt the
coldest of hearts. She stood center stage and held the microphone with two
hands, inches from her bright red lips. The audience watched spellbound while
she sang. She swayed her body invitingly. Her husky voice echoed the passion of
the words.
As the tempo picked up, she pranced around
the stage. She moved with pure kinetic energy. Uninhibited, seductive, she
offered with her dance a promise of things to come.
When Leather left the stage, the excited
audience stamped their feet and flicked their lighters, demanding her return
for an encore. Letting the tension build, she waited in the wings. After a few
minutes of deafening applause, she returned to the stage without the backup
band, carrying only an acoustic guitar. The large stadium went silent while she
sang a haunting ballad with such pain that it brought tears to the most cynical
among them. "Betrayal”, Leather's trademark song, ended every concert.
She thanked the audience and left the stage.
There was no second encore. The fans demanded, but Leather never responded.
"Always leave them wanting more," her agent once told her. The advice
had proved to be invaluable, for it kept her at the top for five years.
She’d just ended her six-month road tour,
so she spent a few minutes talking with the band and the stage crew. The moment
polite manners permitted, she proceeded to her dressing room to shower and
unwind. The warm water caressed her body. Her tension slipped down the drain
along with the black temporary hair rinse and mousse that held the ringlets in
her otherwise straight brown hair. Using the cold cream generously, she removed
the heavy layers of stage makeup. She could wash away the illusion, but not the
confusion that had plagued her the past few weeks.
It's almost over, she reminded herself.
She wrapped the towel around her body and
went to the sink to remove the contact lenses that made her topaz eyes a vivid
shade of blue. Finally dressed in her jeans and a white front-button shirt, she
checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure that all traces of the makeup
had been removed.
Kate Costello fiercely guarded her privacy.
Offstage, few people knew her as the sultry singer who had graced the stage
just one hour earlier. While on tour, she made herself available for interviews
regularly so the press didn't hound her, but otherwise she avoided the
spotlight. For two hours on any given night, Leather belonged to the fans. She
owed them the best show she could give and an occasional autograph. Her soul
belonged to no one.
"Kate?"
Kate glanced up. Her half sister stood by
the door. Kate's elder by three years, Nikki was the only person Kate truly
trusted. Jealousy over her success had brought a period of distance between
them. Nikki soon realized that money and fame didn't necessarily equal
happiness, and her envy had evaporated.
"Bill's waiting. He's a little nervous
that you haven't signed the new contract yet. He said he can't set up any
future bookings until it's settled."
Kate shook her head and groaned. "I
don't want him to set up another tour right now. Doesn't he listen when I talk?
I told him I needed some time off. I'm exhausted."
She’d planned this day for two years. The
road tour ended. All her obligations with the recording studio had been
fulfilled. Even her agent's contract expired. March fifteenth become her
personal independence day. The ides of March came ominously to mind, but she
quickly dismissed the superstition. For the first time in ten years, she didn't
have to answer to anyone. More important, no one could answer for her.
She desperately needed a break. Her
grueling schedule tested the last shreds of her sanity. The double life made
her paranoid. She understood why so many of her peers got involved with drugs.
If she didn't get away, she might fall into the trap herself.
"Should I tell Bill you don't want to
see him right now?" Nikki asked.
Kate massaged her fatigued legs. "No.
Send him in. I want to get this settled tonight so that I can leave in the
morning."
"Have you decided where you're
going?"
"My first decision is that I'm not
going to make any decisions. I'm going to get in the car and drive wherever the
spirit moves me." Kate felt the warm glow of freedom spread through her
body. She hadn't felt this alive since before Kelly had . . . No! She refused
to think about that now. She hadn't come to terms with her grief. After three
years, the pain still tore her apart.
Determined to cast the sorrowful memories
from her mind, she slipped her feet into a pair of slippers and opened the
door. "Come in, Bill."
William Harris stepped into the room and
closed the door behind Nikki as she left. Dressed impeccably in a three-piece
pinstripe suit, he possessed a commanding presence. For many years, Kate had
found her agent intimidating, but not tonight.
"Kate," he greeted her, placing a
friendly kiss on her cheek. "You were magnificent, as always."
She rolled her eyes back and laughed.
"Who are you kidding? I blew two numbers."
"And covered it like a professional.
No one noticed," he said in his ever-patronizing way. As her agent, he
excelled at his job. As a liar, he needed to fine-tune his performance. "I
brought the new contract with me. I'm sure it was just an oversight that you haven't
come into the office to sign it. After we clear this up, we can discuss the
plans for the upcoming year."
Bill placed his briefcase on the table and
flipped the locks. Before he opened the lid, Kate laid her hand on top.
"Don't bother, Bill. I'm not signing tonight. I told you I wanted some
time off. No tours. No recording sessions."
His gray eyes darkened perceptibly. He
cupped his hands on her shoulders, but removed them immediately when she glared
at him. For ten years he'd tied her to an unbreakable contract, and he‘d called
all the shots. That was over, and they both knew it.
"Katie. I understand. Take some time.
A month or so to get it out of your system. In the meantime, I'll set up a
contract for your new album, and we can schedule a tour for the winter. You're
hot now. You have to go with it."
Kate let out an exasperated sigh. She knew
he spoke English. Why didn't he understand her? "I'm more than hot, Bill.
I'm burned-out. I don't want a month or so. I want a year. One full year."
"A year?" he bellowed, slamming
his fist down on the briefcase. "A year will blow your entire
career."
Kate remained cool. Bill excelled at the
art of manipulation. She couldn't let him get to her or he'd have her signing
those papers before she realized what she’s done. "Other singers have done
it."
"If your mother was here-"
She sucked in a deep breath. Just the
mention-just the memory-of her mother made her tremble with rage. "Don't
you dare bring my mother's name into this conversation, Bill. I was sixteen
years old when the two of you tied me to a ten-year contract. I honored it to
the letter in spite of everything she did, but that time is over."
"We made you a very wealthy young
woman, Kate. How many other women from your old neighborhood in Jersey City
ended up millionaires before they were twenty-five?"
She’d wondered how long it would take
before he brought that up. As if the money made up for the hell her mother put
her through. "No, Bill. I made you a wealthy man. You got a cut of
everything I ever made, and I know how often you've cashed in on my name."
Color flooded his face. "Keep in mind,
Kate, the fans are a fickle lot with short attention spans. As it is, you're
publicity-shy. If you don't keep Leather in the spotlight, you might find
yourself singing in malls again. Or worse, doing those dreadful rock and roll
revivals for has-been singers trying to recapture the glory."
Kate shrugged. He would never understand.
Keep Leather in the spotlight. He spoke as if Leather were another person.
Leather was a character- a stage persona who didn't exist outside a concert
hall or stadium. "I'll take the chance. If you feel you don't want to
represent me any longer when I get back, I'll understand."
Bill tucked his briefcase under his arm.
"I hope you know what you're doing."
She smiled. She’d stood her ground and won.
"Leave the contract, Bill. If I realize I've made a mistake in a couple of
days, I'll sign it and have it expressed to you."
He grinned and handed her the papers on his
way out the door. He seemed a little too sure that she would reconsider when
she had time to think rationally.
Minutes later, Nikki returned to the room.
She eyed Kate carefully, as if to gauge her mood, which of late had been bearable,
at best. "What happened?"
Kate tossed her hands in the air, and tiny
bits of confetti floated around the room. "It's Independence Day."
Nikki laughed. "What's that?"
"My contract." Kate rose from the
chair and led Nikki in the direction of the door. "Let's go. I don't need
anything here."
Copyright (C) 2012 Kat Attalla
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