CHAPTER NINETEEN
Tess
Monday morning, Tess sat in her office with her employee, Jasper. He had returned home the day before from the Weekend Warrior campout, and they were doing a debrief.
“And then he cried ,” Jasper said incredulously.
“I warned you they might,” Tess said. “You gotta understand, for these rich guys, going without their personal chef, luxury transportation, and a foam-topped Stearns & Foster, is a big adjustment.”
“Anyway.” Jasper waved it off. “Other than that, no issues. Got ’em all back safe and sound.”
“I’m glad,” Tess said. “Recruiting you to help me with these was one of my better ideas.”
“Well, I love ’em, and can use the extra cash. So I’ll take whatever you got.”
Tess knew she should be saving money in case things with her job didn’t work out. But she had to admit, it was a huge relief to pass off some of the summer campouts. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been able to go to Manchester with Logan this weekend.
Not that she was rearranging her life around him. But the date had been pretty spectacular. She kept having to remind herself that it was temporary and that he would leave. She’d keep things from getting too “deep,” but would also eke out every bit of fun before he went home.
About an hour later, Faith popped her head in. “Wanna get a coffee?”
“I shouldn’t,” Tess said, standing. “I barely got any work done last week. But yeah, let’s go. The caffeine will help.”
They walked the half-block to the Rise and Grind.
“Heard one of your employees has been camping at the store,” Faith said. “That’s hilarious.”
“Not really,” Tess said. “He had a dog with him, and it shed all over the place. I made him vacuum the entire store. Twice.”
“Hey, guys,” Hope greeted. “The usuals?”
Faith and Tess nodded.
“Juliet’s coming to town for lunch,” Faith said while they waited. “You in?”
“We haven’t even had breakfast, and you’re already planning lunch?” Tess teased. “When do you work, woman?”
“I get stuff done.” Faith smirked. “You in or not?”
“Actually, I’m meeting Logan.” Just saying his name caused an involuntary smile.
“Oh my gosh,” Faith said. “You really like him.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Your face.” Faith circled a finger in front of her. “Spill it. Does this have anything to do with your Manchester date? Did you…?” She waggled her eyebrows.
Tess hesitated for only a second. No sense trying to lie to Faith. She knew her too well.
“Yes,” Tess hissed. “But keep your voice down. I don’t need the whole town knowing I slept with him already.”
“Ha!” Faith clapped her hands together. “I knew it. You must really like him.”
They picked up their coffees and huddled in a back booth.
“It’s so weird, but I really do,” Tess confided. “We just hung out, and I already miss him. Is that weird? It seems weird.”
“Nope.” Faith sipped her coffee and smiled. “Not weird at all.” Her tone was smug, like she knew something Tess didn’t but wasn’t going to share.
“Well, it is for me,” Tess said. “I’m used to men being an easy come, easy go kind of thing.”
“Maybe Logan’s different.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Tess was a little uncomfortable with the new emotions. She wasn’t accustomed to such an effortless, compelling connection with a man. “Still, I’ll manage my expectations.”
“I would expect nothing less from you,” Faith said with a wink.
“Today’s the deadline to find out if the buyer will let Moody take The Outpost out of the deal. His attorneys could contact me anytime.”
“Does Logan know?”
“Nah,” Tess said. “I’m not gonna bring up money until I know more about his situation. If he’s super broke, I don’t want to rub it in his face that I’m trying to buy a business.”
Faith nodded. “Could be intimidating. Hey, I just thought of something.”
Tess raised both eyebrows.
“You should head over early and try to catch Logan while he’s still working. Could involve sweaty shirtlessness and a tool belt…”
Tess laughed. “Hmm. Good idea.”
They took their coffees to-go, and Tess headed back to The Outpost. She worked until noon and then drove to the inn to pick up Logan.
“Hey, Max,” she greeted. “How’s it goin’?”
“Really great,” Max said. “You here to see Logan?”
“Yeah. We’re meeting for lunch. He around?”
“He’s in the office taking care of some money stuff.”
Tess’s brows knit. Why would Max be letting Logan handle the finances? Not that he didn’t seem trustworthy, but they had only known him for a short time.
Not wanting to accuse Max of being naive, she trod carefully. “You must really trust him to give him access to your money.”
“My money?” He threw his head back and laughed. “Tess, I am completely broke.”
“You doing all the repairs on credit then?” That seemed risky, but again, she didn’t want to seem all up in his business.
“Sort of. Logan’s lending me the cash for the renovations. We’ve got a schedule worked out for me to repay him.”
“I thought he did construction.” What she really wanted to ask was, where the hell had Logan gotten that kind of money?
“He does,” Max said. “Or he did. But that’s not his real gig. He and his brother own some big business down in Houston. Real estate and franchises, I think he said.”
“So he’s not broke?” It came out a little blunter than she’d intended, but patience wasn’t her best virtue.
“I don’t think so.” Max shook his head. “In fact, I get the impression he’s pretty successful. Dropped half a mil into a bank account on a moment’s notice and acted like it was chump change.”
“But I thought he was living here, working for room and board, because he had to?”
“Well, he is staying rent-free.” Max shrugged. “But I’m not paying him an hourly wage or anything, if that’s what you mean.”
Tess was confused. On the campout, whenever anyone asked, Logan had been ambiguous about his job, but the underlying vibe was that he wasn’t one of the typical well-to-doers. Even at Alex’s wedding, when the topic came up, he’d been enigmatic about it.
If Max was right, and Logan did have money, then he’d deceived her. He may not have lied outright, but he hadn’t been entirely honest either. And whether or not it was technically a lie, it felt like one.
“Hey, before you go find Logan, you wanna come upstairs and see the progress we’ve made?” Max asked.
He was so enthusiastic, Tess couldn’t say no. It was the most animated she’d seen him since before Jenny’s death. “Sure, I’d love to.”
She followed him up the stairs and listened as he gave a detailed narrative of all they’d accomplished. He led her into a room that was completely finished and looked fantastic.
“This is the first one done,” he said. “What we’ll model the rest after.”
“It’s so pretty and bright,” she gushed. “But still cozy, like a cabin should be. I love it.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “We’ve redone everything, but just the new carpet and paint make such a difference.”
Most of the other rooms on the floor were in various stages of disarray—sheetrock torn up, no carpet, wallpaper half on. Huge bins of old drapes and ugly bedspreads lined the hall.
“Looks like it’s coming along,” she said. “I’m excited for you.”
“Logan’s been a real lifesaver.”
His smile warmed her heart, but in the back of her mind, she was still irritated with Logan. His deception wouldn’t seem like a big deal to Max, but the revelation had rubbed her the wrong way.
“Hey, I just remembered, I told Faith I’d meet her at Karla’s for lunch. Tell Logan I’m sorry?”
“Oh,” he said. “Sure.”
Tess wasn’t sure why the news of Logan having money bothered her, just that it did. Had he intentionally misled her? Or was it her fault for assuming? And really, what did it matter anyway? They were casually dating until he left. His net worth didn’t affect her in the slightest.
On the way back to town, she passed the Cold Cone Cave ice cream shop. A chocolate fudge something sounded good, so she flipped a U-turn and parked. Sorting nonsensical feelings was always done best à la mode.