All of Me by Leeanna Morgan (book recommendations for teens TXT) 📕

“That’s the only style there are four of,” Tess said as the timer on the oven started beeping. “I need to check the cookies. If you’ve got any questions, just ask Molly or Logan.”

Connie pulled another dress out of the closet and sighed. “They’re all so pretty.”

Tess smiled as she hurried out of the room. What they were doing for Connie made her feel just as happy as the smell coming from the kitchen. She opened the oven door and pulled the baking sheet out. The cookies were golden brown and filled with gooey chocolate.

“Are they okay?” Logan leaned against the counter and watched her move the cookies onto a plate.

“They’re fine. Do you want to try one?”

Logan grinned. “I’m going to be ten pounds heavier by the end of the week if I keep eating your baking.” He took a cookie off the plate and took a bite. “Delicious.”

Tess laughed. “You don’t seem too distraught about gaining weight.”

“I’ll run an extra mile tomorrow morning.”

“You can’t run an extra mile. You’re already running too much.”

Logan looked at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Are you worried about me?”

She was, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. “I’m worried about me. If you start running any earlier, I’m going to have to start baking at three o’clock in the morning to get your muffins ready.”

“You don’t have to do that. I mean…I like it when I find the muffins, but you don’t need to do it.”

“Someone has to look after you.”

Logan leaned over the counter and tapped the end of her nose. “That’s what moms are for.”

Tess supposed he was right. But she’d never had a mom that cared, so the concept was foreign to her. “If I were your mom, Logan Allen, I’d be visiting Montana to keep an eye on you.”

“She is.”

Tess stared at him. “Your mom’s coming to Bozeman? When?”

“Next week.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your sister’s phone call to her, would it?”

Logan shook his head. “I cleared that up. Jacqui and Mom know you’re not my girlfriend.”

“Good.” It was good, Tess thought. Very good. “Are you going to take your mom on a sightseeing tour?”

“She visited me a few months ago, so we’ve covered most sights around Bozeman. We didn’t get to see Old Faithful last time, so I thought we’d head to Yellowstone National Park.”

“There are some pretty waterfalls not far from Old Faithful. Your mom might like to see those as well.”

“I was wondering…you know…if you’d like to meet her. I’ve told her all about The Bridesmaids Club and she thinks it’s a great idea.”

Tess wasn’t sure meeting Logan’s mom was a good idea. “What exactly did you tell your mom about me?”

“I told her you own the best café in town, you feed people who need a helping hand, and take pity on hungry runners. Was that okay?”

“You know about our after-hours café?” Tess thought Pastor Steven, his wife, and Annie were the only people who knew about her other job. She was beginning to appreciate just how hard it was to keep a secret in Bozeman. Which made her even more worried about her past.

“I’ve helped serve dinner once or twice at Pastor Steven’s church. I recognized some of the dishes. You’re not giving them leftovers are you?”

Tess turned the oven off and poured herself a glass of water. “I started giving the Lighthouse Café the food we didn’t sell during the day. And then I saw how much everyone appreciated what I was doing. So I started making extra food. It evolved from there.”

“How many people do you make meals for?”

Tess looked down at the counter. She didn’t like talking about what she did. It wasn’t as if it was such a big deal. She liked helping people.

“How many, Tess?”

“In between serving our customers, Annie and I make enough food for about thirty dinners each night. We freeze what isn’t needed and use it on the nights when the Lighthouse is bursting at the seams.”

“It’s no wonder you’re exhausted,” Logan scowled at her.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to the people you’re helping. What else do you do?”

Tess crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Tess looked around the kitchen. She had enough dough left over for another batch of cookies. She took a baking sheet out of a cupboard and started rolling the dough into balls.

“I’ll find out sooner or later. I’m a reporter, remember. I have my sources.”

“Pastor Steven and his wife won’t talk, so you’ll have to dig a lot deeper to get anywhere near the truth.”

Logan had a gleam in his eyes that didn’t look good for Tess. He saw her as a challenge, a rock to flip over and look under. Except there wasn’t anything remotely interesting under her rock that needed exploring. She’d found what made her happy and that’s all that mattered.

“Why do you do it?” he asked.

Tess wondered if Connie and her sister were done choosing their dresses. She needed to be there, show solidarity toward their cause. “I’ll go and see how Connie’s doing.” She smiled sweetly at Logan and hoped he got the point.

He smiled back. He’d gotten the point all right, and he was going to ignore it. “I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

“You can sleep in the spare bedroom. There’s an extra duvet in the hall closet.” She walked across the living room, ignoring the grin plastered across his face.

“I snore.”

Tess turned around. He still looked as though he had no intention of leaving her apartment. “I’m sure you’ve got worse flaws than a snoring problem.”

“Aren’t you lucky? You’ll be able to experience them first hand.”

Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. Logan did. She walked into her spare bedroom and saw Connie’s sister. Denise was wearing one of the red dresses.

“You look beautiful,” Tess said. “Do you like it?”

Denise turned in front of the full-length mirror Tess had found in a store in Paris. “It’s elegant and pretty. I’ve checked the sizes of the other dresses and I think they’ll fit.” She glanced at Connie. “What do you think?”

Connie’s eyes filled with tears. “I think it’s incredible. The dress you’re wearing looks even prettier than the ones we bought.”

Molly snapped more pictures. “You’ll be the belle of the bridal season. It’s a fine dress for a bridesmaid.”

“It sounds like we have a winner.” Tess watched Connie’s face.

“We do.” Connie wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to use the four red dresses.”

Tess hugged Connie’s shoulders. “Of course it’s okay. I’m glad you found something you like.”

Denise picked up her T-shirt and jeans. “They’re all beautiful. Connie and I were talking on the way over. We’d like you and Molly and your two other friends to come to our wedding. Logan’s invited too.”

“It won’t be as big as we first planned,” Connie said. “But there’ll be lots of music and the barbecue will be fun. I know it’s short notice, but it’s our way of saying thank you.”

Tess looked at Molly and they both nodded.

“We’d like that very much,” Molly said. “We’ll let you know if we can all make it.”

Denise dropped her clothes on the spare bed and gave Tess and Molly a hug. “You’ve made my sister very happy. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Tess said. “You can take the dresses home with you.”

“Thank you,” Connie said. “I can’t wait to show them to the other bridesmaids. They’re going to love them as much as we do.”

Tess didn’t doubt they would. The dresses were beautiful, but Connie’s happiness was even more touching to see. With the dresses all sorted, there was only one thing left to do.

Logan needed to leave with everyone else. Unless she told him about the scholarships she funded, Tess didn’t have a clue how to make that happen.