All of Me (The Bridesmaids Club Book 1) (32 page)

He needed to focus on what he was doing now. As he looked at the trees surrounding him, he thought about Tess and how he felt about her. He thought about the good things she’d brought into his life, and he thought about what he’d miss if she wasn’t there.

Dylan stretched his other leg. “Your face gets wrinkly when you’re thinking too much. Makes you look twenty years older.”

“Smart ass.” Logan puffed his chest out. “Age makes no difference. I have it on good authority from Tess that I’m a stud.”

Dylan lost his balance and landed on his butt. “That’s too much information.”

Logan started to put his hand out to pull Dylan to his feet, then stopped. “How’s the hunt for the perfect woman going?”

Dylan rolled to his feet. “It’d be fine if I didn’t mind touching people. Makes kissing a challenge.”

Even though he had a small smile on his face, Logan knew Dylan didn’t find anything funny in what he’d just said. Dylan’s parting gift from Afghanistan had pretty much stuffed his ability to tolerate the slightest touch from anyone. Even around Logan, he was hypersensitive to any form of affection. But Dylan did feel things, maybe deeper than most.

Logan looked closely at his friend. “I take it you’re still single then?”

“You could say that.”

“You need help finding someone?”

Dylan got a wary look in his eyes. “Who have you got in mind?”

Logan smiled. “I might know three single women who’d be perfect for you.”

“I’m not greedy. One would do.” He glanced at Logan, then frowned. “You’ve got to be kidding? You want to fix me up with someone in The Bridesmaids Club?”

“What’s wrong with that? They’re all hot, single women. The only person that’s off limits is Tess.”

“Forget it,” Dylan muttered. “They’re not my type.”

Logan had a feeling they were, but Dylan was too unsure of himself to try. “Okay, Romeo. What do you say we finish our run then have brunch at the café?”

“You sound like a city slicker. Last one back to the truck pays.” Dylan tore down the track with Logan hot on his heels.

They might not have cured the world’s troubles, but their run had made Logan even more determined to find out what had happened to Abiba. And after he’d given that some thought he’d concentrate on Dylan and Tess.

His friend was lonely and Logan knew from personal experience how soul destroying that could be. And then there was Tess…she took the darkness in Logan’s life away and made him appreciate each day. He loved her and he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it.

***

Tess leaned on the handle of the mop and frowned at the sparkling floors. There must be something wrong with her when she got a kick out of seeing the café looking so good. It didn’t matter how tired she was, she always helped make the floors clean and tidy for the next day.

“You missed a spot.” Logan was leaning against the doorframe, smiling across the room at her.

“I’ve missed a big spot.” Tess left the mop in the bucket and walked toward Logan. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close. “When did you get home?”

“Twenty minutes ago,” he murmured against her lips. “Flight was delayed.”

Tess wrapped her arms around his shoulders and brushed her mouth against his lips. “I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you, too.”

Tess leaned into his body and kissed him long and hard. For the last six days, Logan had been in Arlington and Las Vegas, searching for information about Abiba and the bomb that had destroyed so many people’s lives. He’d visited soldiers that had been with him in Afghanistan, met with explosive experts and people who specialized in terrorism.

She’d missed his early morning visits, the sound of his voice after a day at work. And she missed the feel of his body when he pulled her close, wrapping her in a cocoon of heat. It had been a long six days.

Logan kissed her nose. “How’s everything in your world?”

“Annie’s got a cold, Sally has gone on camp with her students and Molly’s busy working on her new book. Oh, and Senator Gibson is now behind bars awaiting trial.”

“An eventful week.”

“You could say that. Did you find what you were looking for?”

Logan looked away and for a split second Tess dreaded what he was about to say. Then she told herself not to be silly. He’d gone looking for answers and had come back. Everything he needed was here in Bozeman, including her, if he wanted to be part of her life.

Logan held her hand and took her through to the kitchen. “I talked to someone who works for the Department of Defense. The Army completed their investigation of the bombing of our school eight months ago. Abiba wasn’t a suicide bomber.”

Logan’s eyes filled with tears and Tess gave him a hug. “How did it happen?”

“Someone gave Abiba a box before she came into the school. One of the Sergeants who was helping that day, stopped her before she walked through the door. She said it was part of the shipment that had come from the States. We’d been waiting for more reading books and it was so heavy that she thought it must be them. The Sergeant offered to carry it for her, but she laughed. She wanted to be the first person to see the books. He left to help with the rest of the boxes. By the time he got to the truck the bomb had exploded.”

Tess could only imagine what it must have been like after the explosion. Horrific wouldn’t come near to describing what the families and soldiers must have gone through. “Has anyone told Abiba’s family she wasn’t a suicide bomber?”

“I don’t know.”

Tess looked into Logan’s eyes and she knew what was coming next. “You’re going back to Afghanistan, aren’t you?”

Logan nodded. “I need to. I feel responsible for what happened that day. I became friends with Abiba’s family. They’re good people. I need them to know that she didn’t betray them. She thought she was helping.”

Tess tried to think logically, to be supportive and understand why Logan needed to go to Afghanistan. But she couldn’t. “It’s too dangerous. You could get killed.”

Logan cupped her face in his hands. “I have to go. When I was in Afghanistan, I learned something that changed the way I thought about war. We were all there because we were fighting for what matters. I used words and pictures, the soldiers used weapons. Finding out the truth about Abiba matters. Telling her family and making sure the other children are okay matters as well.”

“What if you can’t find her family,” Tess said softly. “What will you do then?”

“I’ve talked to Elizabeth Connor, the nurse who’s working at the Orphanage in Nau Deh. Abiba’s family and some of the other children are still there.” Logan wiped the tears off Tess’ face. “I need to do this. It’s important.”

Tess took a deep, shuddery breath. She shouldn’t have been surprised by what Logan wanted to do. His deep sense of loyalty was part of what she loved about him. But the reality of that loyalty was taking him back to a country that was still at war. He could be killed or injured, or worse still, choose not to come back.

“I’ll be careful.”

“I know you will.” Tess kissed him and held him close. It didn’t matter how careful he was, someone could take his life in the blink of an eye. She didn’t want him risking his life, but she knew he had to go.

Logan’s arms tightened around her.

She kissed the side of his neck and sighed. “When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

And just like that, Tess’ world tilted on its side and she felt as though nothing would ever be the same again.

Chapter Thirteen

A week later, Tess and Sally were busy unpacking bridesmaids’ dresses from another big box that had arrived that afternoon.

“Look at this one.” Sally held a gorgeous silk gown against her waist.

It was the most amazing aqua blue color Tess had ever seen. “It looks wonderful with your hair and eyes.”

“It’s a pity no one’s getting married, otherwise I’d be tempted to borrow it for the wedding. That’s if I get asked to be a bridesmaid again.”

Annie’s head appeared from under the table. She’d been looking for a button that had popped off a dress. “Tess is closer than any of us to saying, ‘I do.’ Just don’t mention Logan’s name. He’s not in her good books at the moment.”

“Why not?” Sally asked.

Annie wiggled out from under the table. “He hasn’t called her for four days,” she whispered. “She’s worried about him.”

Tess pulled another dress out of the box. This one was the same color as the dress in Sally’s hands, but a different style. “He’s gone back to the village where Abiba and the children and soldiers died.” She tried to sound as though it wasn’t a big deal, but it was. Logan had been told that the Taliban had left the village. Some people had moved back home, others hadn’t.

What worried her the most was what the Taliban might have left behind. She’d read terrible stories on the Internet about crudely constructed bombs they planted in the ground. They’d killed and badly injured a lot of people and Tess didn’t want Logan to be one of them.

Sally hung her dress on a hanger and put it on the metal bar Dylan had rigged in Tess’ living room. “You’re running out of space.”

Tess stared at the dresses hanging in color-coordinated groups in the room. If it wasn’t her living room, it would have been a pretty sight. The rainbow of silk and satin glistened in the sunlight streaming through the big picture windows. It was theatrical, exotic and so much of everything they’d wanted to do for Connie and other brides.

Over the last few nights when she couldn’t sleep, Tess had sat in her living room, surrounded by the dresses. Each one represented someone’s hopes and dreams for a wonderful future. A future two people had chosen to live together. She imagined all of the happy vibes, the love and excitement that had gone into making each of their weddings special.

It made her feel proud of what she’d achieved with Sally, Annie, and Molly. It made the absence of Logan easier to bear. But this week, with no phone calls from him, it had been impossible to find comfort in anything.

She’d been grumpy and moody and so worried that she didn’t know how she was going to get through the next few days.

Annie gave her a hug. “Logan will be okay.”

“I hope so,” she sighed.

Sally opened the next box and smiled. “We’ll be able to diversify. Look at this…” she pulled a white organza and satin dress out of the box. The skirt puffed out like the kind of dress a princess might wear. With its beaded bodice and short, lacy sleeves, it was super cute and way too big for the space they had available.

“How many brides’ dresses does that make?” Sally asked.

Annie looked at the inventory list she had in her hands. “Six. We’ve got ten veils and eleven tiaras as well.”

“What are we going to do with all of this?” Sally laid the dress over the back of the sofa. “That’s another eight dresses that Molly has to photograph.”

Annie lifted a box of letters onto the coffee table. “It’s time to make a lot of brides’ dreams come true.”

“How are we going to do this?” Tess asked.

Sally looked at the envelopes. “We need to give a lot of dresses away. What if we randomly pick one letter each? When Molly arrives, she can choose one too. That will be four potential bridal parties taken care of in one go.”

Annie nodded. “Sounds like a good idea to me. What do you think, Tess?”

“Makes sense to me. Who’s going first?”

All three girls looked at each other. Sally was the first to step forward. “I’ll do it. There’s got to be some perks to being the shortest in the room.” She looked in the box and moved the envelopes around.

“Don’t take all night,” Annie groaned. “Just pick one.”

Sally frowned at the envelopes. “This is serious business. Some of the people have taken a lot of time to make their letters look pretty. Look at this one.” She pulled a big red envelope out of the box. Someone had stuck little pink love hearts on the outside. Glittery jewels had been clumped together like flowers and a picture of a big yellow sun sat behind fluffy white clouds. “Isn’t this sweet. I bet you a little girl sent this. Look at the handwriting. She’s got to be no more than eight years old.”

“And you thought being a school teacher wouldn’t be an advantage in The Bridesmaids Club?” Annie moved across to the box. “So that’s your choice?”

Sally shook her head. “I was just pointing out the pretty envelope.” She bit her bottom lip and ran her hand over the other letters.

Annie sat down on the sofa. “This is going to be a long night.”

Sally dipped her hand into the box and spent another few minutes looking at the envelopes.

“This is painful to watch,” Annie muttered. “Can’t you go faster? I’ve got bowling practice in half an hour.

Sally rolled her eyes. “Impulsive and impatient. You’ve got all of the ‘i’ words covered nicely.”

“I’d prefer to be irresistible and awesome. Are you sure you can’t go any slower?”

“Awesome doesn’t start with the letter ‘i’.” Sally kept dipping her hand in the pile of letters.