All of Me: A Small Town Romance (The Bridesmaids Club Book 1)

Chapter 20

Dylan opened the cooler and left three wrapped sandwiches on the blanket he'd pulled out of the truck. Next came juice, pie, muffins and a sweet apricot bar. "I have bottled water if anyone wants it?"

Logan's mom looked at the food. "Were you planning on staying for the week?"

Tess had learned very quickly that Kathy Allen had a great sense of humor. Their tour of Yellowstone National Park had been more fun than hard work. After checking at the visitor center to see when Old Faithful was next due to erupt, they'd hiked to the top of Observation Point to get a bird's-eye view of the geyser.

They'd seen elk and bison along the trail, taken more than one photo of each other enjoying the scenery, and laughed with other tourists doing the same thing.

Old Faithful's eruption hadn't been as spectacular as the last time Tess had been in the park, but she still enjoyed watching the steam and water shoot out of the ground.

Dylan picked up a sandwich and started reading the brochure they'd been given at the Yellowstone Lodge. "Eat up, ladies. Once we've finished lunch we'll walk around the Geyser Basin. There's a hot spring in there that I've heard about."

Tess picked up a slice of vegetarian pie. "You can't go skinny dipping."

Dylan almost smiled. "I'd scare everyone away if they saw me rising buck naked out of a hot spring."

Kathy and Tess looked at each other, trying hard not to laugh.

"You'd start a social media stampede," Kathy said. "Every woman under the age of ninety would be clicking on your link to see you."

Dylan didn't look impressed with the thought. "I'll keep my clothes on, then."

Tess smiled. "Wise man."

Kathy opened a bottle of water and glanced at Tess. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I was wondering what happened today? You didn't seem all that happy to come with us."

Tess finished what she was eating and wiped her mouth. "Logan didn't tell you?"

Kathy shook her head. "All he said was that a big story was about to hit the papers and he wanted you away from Bozeman for the day. What's happened?"

Tess looked at Dylan. His blank expression wasn't giving anything away about what he knew. "I was a model. Before I retired three years ago, a friend died from a drug overdose. A senator was supplying her with cocaine. I tried to do something about it, but no one believed me. Logan found evidence that could put the senator in prison. He wrote a story about it and it's in today's paper."

Kathy's bottle of water landed on the blanket. "What does Logan think he's doing?"

Tess hadn't expected her to be so upset. She thought she'd be supportive of Logan's story, even a little confused that Tess wasn't feeling as positive.

"He'll get himself killed on American soil this time."

Dylan watched them both with steady eyes. "It's okay, Mrs. Allen. Logan's being careful. He knows the risks."

Kathy wasn't buying any of Dylan's reassuring words. "I watched my son go off to Afghanistan full of high ideals. He came back broken. I don't want him involved in political games and drug rings over here."

"Logan's spoken to a lawyer. He knows what he's doing."

"He told me the same thing before he went to Afghanistan." Kathy looked at Tess. "Have you seen the story he wrote?"

Tess shook her head. "It might spoil my day, so I'll read it tonight."

"Would you mind if I bought a copy and read it now?"