CHAPTER FOUR
Tess looked down at her notebook, then at the sign on the cream brick building in front of her. Jay’s Book and Office Supply wasn’t far from Angel Wings Café. After shooing the last of the students out of the café, she’d locked the door and headed on foot to look for Connie.
“Wait for me.”
Tess turned around. Her heart beat fast when she saw the six-foot-five, seriously toned body heading toward her. But then being in the same room as Logan was enough to make her forget about her aversion to reporters. “You didn’t come in at lunchtime.”
“Didn’t want to make a nuisance of myself.”
Tess felt a smile work its way across her face. “That hasn’t worried you before.”
“It does now. Is this the first stationery store you’ve looked in?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I was hoping to be finished by now, but a group of teenage boys didn’t want to leave the café.”
“Could have something to do with the pretty blonde behind the counter.”
Tess frowned. Kate helped her in the afternoon. But Kate had deep chestnut colored hair. “You mean me?”
“Is there any other pretty blonde working with you that I don’t know about?”
Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You can’t go around calling me pretty.”
“Why not?”
“People will talk.”
Logan seemed to consider her words for longer than was strictly necessary. “My sister thinks you’re pretty. Is that more appropriate?”
“It’s better,” Tess muttered. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“I’ve come to help. Sally gave me the names of the stores you were visiting.”
Tess was confused. “But you didn’t want to help. Showing us where Connie and Dave lived was as much as you wanted to do.”
“I’ve been thinking about Molly’s idea. The one about documenting what you’re doing. I’d like to do a follow-up story. If Molly’s happy to provide photos, it would make a good weekend article.”
“You’re using us for a story?”
“I’m a reporter.”
Tess was sure the smile he was flashing her had won him more friends than enemies, but she wasn’t fooled. “You’ll have to check with everyone else. They might not want people knowing what we’re doing. And even if Molly, Sally, and Annie don’t mind, your readers might not be interested.”
“Are you kidding? This is one of those random acts of kindness stories that everyone loves.”
“It’s not award-winning journalism.”
The smile on Logan’s face dimmed. “My award days are over.”
Tess clamped her lips together. From her experience, reporters never gave up finding stories that would shock the world. But Logan looked sincere. Maybe she was projecting all of her trust issues on him, and maybe he didn’t deserve that.
“Okay,” she said. “You can come with me.”
Logan walked ahead of her and opened the door to the stationery store. “After you.”
At any other time, she would have been impressed with his manners. But his manners were attached to a story she didn’t want to share. “I’ll ask the lady at the sales counter if she knows Connie.”
Logan nodded and followed her across the room.
Tess smiled at the sales assistant and held her hand out. “I’m Tess Williams. Does Connie Thompson work here?”
The woman wasn’t much older than Tess. She frowned and looked at Logan. “Are you with the police or something?”
Logan held his hand out and smiled. The woman behind the counter almost melted on the spot. “I’m Logan Allen. I work for the Bozeman Chronicle. We’re trying to find Connie to do a follow-up story about her house burglary.”
The woman behind the desk looked as though she would have given him anything he asked for. Tess hoped that included Connie.
“I’m Jennifer Raynor. My friends call me Jen.” She leaned forward and shook Logan’s hand. “Connie doesn’t work here anymore, but I know where she’s gone. She started a new job last week at the Paper Palace on Lamme Street. Poor thing lost everything in that burglary. Who would do something like that?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping the Police will have a better idea of who the thieves are.”
“I hope you’re right,” Jen said. “Did you need anything else while you’re here?”
Logan didn’t seem to notice the provocative pause in her sentence. “We’re okay. Thanks for your help.”
“Anytime.” Jen flicked her hair back over her shoulder and looked through her long lashes at Logan. “I’ll see you around.”
Logan smiled and left the stationery store with Tess following closely behind.
“Do you always have that effect on women?”
Logan stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “What do you mean?”
He looked genuinely puzzled and Tess couldn’t hold back a smile. “You don’t know do you?”
Logan frowned. “’I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, but we need to get to the Paper Palace before they close. Do you want to come with me? My truck’s parked across the street.”
Tess watched him pull his keys out of his pocket. He looked distracted, as though his mind was already working through another set of problems. “We could call the store to see if Connie’s there.”
“Why would you do that?”
“You’ve got something on your mind.” Tess wondered if it had anything to do with why he’d come to Bozeman in the first place.
“It’s an occupational hazard.” He held Tess’ arm as they crossed the street. “If Connie isn’t working today, do you want to give her manager your home number or mine? She can call one of us to find out about the dresses.”
Tess put on her seatbelt. “She already knows you, so maybe your number would be better.”
Logan pulled out of his parking space and drove along Main Street. They stopped at the traffic lights outside the Bozeman Hotel and turned right. With its red brick exterior and arched windows, the hotel was one of the oldest buildings in Bozeman. Tess’ grandparents had taken her there most Sunday nights for their special family dinner. She’d loved being in the building, especially when her grandpa had taken her across to look at the old framed photos on the walls.
Logan didn’t say anything as they drove toward the Paper Palace. Tess had so many happy memories of Bozeman, that she wondered what Logan thought of their small town. His life here had to be the complete opposite of what he’d been used to.
If he was thinking about Afghanistan, she couldn’t blame him for being distracted. “How long did you work in Afghanistan for?”
Logan’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “About eleven months.”
Tess thought about the impact of working in a war-torn country and what that could do to a person. There was a whole lot more to him than she realized. “Why did you go to Afghanistan? I mean, you could have gone anywhere, but you chose to report on a war.”
“It was one of the most important stories in the world. I wanted to see for myself what was going on. I wanted everyone to know the truth about what was happening.” He glanced across the cab at her. “I was lucky. I could leave whenever I wanted to but, for the most part, the civilians were poor and had to stay.”
“Will you go back again?”
Logan shook his head. “No. I did what I needed to do and it was time to move on.” He took a deep breath and turned right. “We’re nearly there.” He pulled into a parking space and took his seatbelt off.
“After writing about Afghanistan, aren’t you bored with the stories you work on in Bozeman?”
“It took me a while to adjust, but I wouldn’t say what I write about is boring. If my editor and readers thought that, I wouldn’t have a job. And speaking about stories, I think it’s about time we found a happy ending for yours.” He opened his door and got out of the truck.
Tess followed him into the stationery store. She was still thinking abo
ut Afghanistan and what Logan must have seen when he disappeared down an aisle.
“Connie?”
A woman with brown hair stopped restocking the shelves. “Logan? What are you doing here?”
“If I told you I needed some pens and paper would you believe me?”
Connie smiled. “You’ve definitely come to the right store. Is this pure coincidence or did you come to see me?”
“We came to see you and buy stationery.” Logan turned toward Tess. “Connie, this is a friend of mine, Tess Williams.”
Tess shook Connie’s hand. “I’m sorry someone stole everything from your home.”
“So am I.” Connie put the last six folders she was holding on the shelf. “The only good thing was that we weren’t in the house when they broke in.”
Tess glanced at Logan. “I read the article Logan wrote and it said you’re getting married soon.”
“It’s less than two weeks away. I’m worried something else will happen.”
The bell on the front counter rang and Connie smiled at them. “I need to go and help serve. It was nice seeing you.”
Connie walked quickly along the aisle. She’d make a pretty bride, Tess thought as she watched her. She was younger than Tess, probably only twenty-two or twenty-three. She had a beautiful smile and the darkest blue eyes Tess had ever seen.
Logan picked up a box of colored pencils and a large sketch pad. “Do you need anything while we’re here?”
“You actually need stationery?”
“I want to restock my cupboards for when my niece comes to stay again. She loves drawing and cleans me out of supplies each time she visits.”
Connie finished serving one customer and another took their place. “I wonder how busy it gets in here.”
“Not as busy as your café.”
Tess took a closer look at the store. Everything was well stocked. The floors were clean and colorful posters hung on every available wall. The owners took pride in their business and it showed. “Online purchasing is killing stores like this one. People don’t want to come into town to buy an eraser or a pencil sharpener. They can go on the Internet and have it delivered the next day. It would be like someone opening an online café in town.”
“Your food is too good to be replaced by a web-based business. I’d drive twice the distance to sit in your café and smell your home baking.”
Tess felt a blush streak across her cheeks. “You’re biased because I taught you how to make pancakes.”
“And I’m coming back to give you a hand when the Groovy Grans are next in town.” Logan looked at the sales counter. “Looks as though Connie’s available now.”
Tess walked toward Connie. “Cross your fingers that she wants to consider taking the dresses.”
Tess looked around her. No one was waiting to be served so she had a few minutes to ask Connie about the bridesmaids’ dresses. She took Logan’s stationery out of his hands and left it on the counter.
“I’ll take these, please,” Tess said.
“I’m paying for them,” Logan said.
“No, you’re not. Put your wallet away and don’t argue.” Connie smiled at them both, then took the money Tess held out.
“Do you still need four bridesmaids’ dresses for your wedding?” Tess asked.
Connie sighed. “We do. My sister spent most of the day looking at hire dresses in Great Falls. There are some nice ones in their catalog, but most of them are already booked for the weekend we’re getting married. I’m beginning to think we’re not going to find anything.”
“I might have a solution for you.”
Connie raised her eyebrows.
“My friends and I have got a lot of bridesmaids’ dresses between us. None of them have been worn more than once and they’re all less than five years old. We’d be happy to let you have a look at them and take the ones you like the most.”
Connie’s face turned red. “That’s really nice of you, but Dave and I don’t have a lot of money. We weren’t insured and I can’t afford to buy them from you.”
“We don’t want anything for them,” Tess said. “They’d be yours to keep. For free.”
“You’re joking?”
“I couldn’t be more serious if I tried. Everyone is bringing their dresses to my apartment tonight. You could come and have a look tomorrow.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Connie bit her bottom lip. “Would it be okay if I brought one of my sisters with me? She knows what size dresses we need.”
“Sure. If any of them look as though they’d fit, you could take them home for your bridesmaids to try on.” Tess pulled a business card out of her wallet. “This is my phone number. I’ll be home after four o’clock.”
Connie looked down at the card. “I finish work at four o’clock, too. Could I see you soon after that?”
Tess smiled at the excitement on the bride-to-be’s face. “Sounds great.” She picked up the bag that held Logan’s pencils and paper. “It was nice meeting you, Connie.”
“It was nice meeting you, too. Thank you so much. I’m going to call my sister. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Logan smiled as Connie rushed across the store. “You’ve made someone happy.”
“I just hope she likes the dresses.” Tess opened the front door and took one last look around the store. “She seems like a nice person. They’re lucky to have her working here.”
Logan unlocked his truck and opened Tess’ door. “Are you ready to go home?”
“You bet,” Tess said with a smile. “I’ve got some texts to send. Molly, Sally, and Annie are going to be excited when I tell them we’ve found Connie.”
“I assume there’s going to be a celebration tonight.”
“You’d be assuming right. I might even make a chocolate cake to celebrate.” Tess knew the recipe for her favorite chocolate cake by heart. She’d made the recipe so many times that it almost felt as though it made itself.
“Did I tell you chocolate cake is one of my favorite desserts?”
Tess laughed at the big old eyes staring across the truck at her. “My cake is chocolaty rich, deliciously decadent and sinfully saucy.”
“Sounds exactly like the type of dessert a reporter with an incredible vocabulary might enjoy.”
“As long as you can put up with a lot of giggly females, you can join us.”
Logan started the truck and drove toward the café. “It’ll be hard, but I’m sure I’ll survive. What time are you meeting?”
“Anytime after six-thirty. If you arrive sooner, you’ll have to help dry my dinner dishes.” For some reason, the thought of Logan standing in her kitchen with an apron tied around his waist did funny things to her stomach.
But he was a reporter. She had a past life she was hiding. It didn’t matter what he was wearing because nothing was going to happen.