Sure, they were both lies of omission—that would probably be Logan’s defense—but while the first was more or less harmless and didn’t affect Tess,thislie would have an immense impact on her. And he would be well aware of that.
She obviously couldn’t stay employed at The Outpost. No way she was staying on as Logan’s employee! That meant she had at most a month to figure out her next move.
She picked up her car at the ice cream shop and stopped for a pizza on the way home. Even the comfort of warm, gooey cheese couldn’t ease her trepidation. She slammed the lid and shoved the whole thing into the refrigerator.
Losing her job would suck, but losing Logan—even though she’d only “had” him for a short time—hurt more than she would have thought possible. Which was a foreign feeling for Tess. She prided herself on not getting all mushy when it came to relationships. But Logan had snuck in undetected and penetrated her tough-gal exterior.
He’d sucked her in with his sweet, sincere guise. The way he’d stepped up to help Max. His thoughtful gifts on her birthday. The modesty about being wealthy. She kicked herself for being so naive. After what happened with Seth, she should have known better than to trust a man.
Logan, thinking she was still at the hospital, texted and offered to bring burgers, but she ignored him.
Unless he covertly slunk back to Texas in shame, she’d eventually have to talk to him. The town was too small to avoid anyone for very long. There would be a confrontation. She just prayed she’d be able to keep her cool for it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Tess
Now that Tess knew she’d be leaving The Outpost, showing up for work held no allure. So, the next morning, she called in late and stopped at Karla’s for pancakes—partly because she hadn’t eaten dinner the night before and was starving, and partly because she wanted to avoid Logan as long as possible, and the store would be the first place he’d look. Assuming he cared enough to seek her out.
When he showed up at the diner ten minutes later, she had to give him credit for tenacity.
“There you are,” he said, sliding into the seat across from her. “I’ve been trying to reach you all night.”
And just like that, even Karla’s pancakes didn’t sound good. He read her mood instantly. “Something’s wrong. What happened? Is it your mom?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She gave him her best death stare. “Could it be that I just found out the man I thought liked me is only using me to get information on a business he’s buying? The businessIspent the last five years building. The businessIwanted to buy.”
Logan froze and closed his eyes.
“Yeah. I found out.” Tess pulled out her wallet, dropped a ten-dollar bill on the table, and stalked out. Without looking, she felt Logan hot on her heels.
“I wouldn’t follow me if I were you,” she bit out once they were on the sidewalk. “I’m pretty pissed.”
“Tess, wait.” He reached for her arm. “Let me explain.”
“Admit it.” She whirled on him. “You only came to Green Valley Falls to scope out The Outpost. The question is, why did you stay? Why did you ask me out? Why not just get what you wanted and leave? Are you some kind of sadist?”
She was spinning out of control, an emotion she did not care for. She thought she’d calmed down overnight, but seeing his stupid, handsome face caused all the anger and hurt feelings to rush back tenfold.
He sighed, clearly busted. “Okay. Yes.At first, I came to town just to check out the business. But—”
“We’re. Done.” Tess ground out the words before storming to her car, getting in, and driving off.
In no mood to go to work now, she made a pit stop at home to grab her laptop, and drove to Windy River State Park.
Window down and radio off, she meandered deep into the park, giving nature a chance to do her thing. Eventually, she parked in a small lot far from the visitor center. No one would find her here.
After a few minutes of deep breathing—Faith would be so proud—she got a hold of herself and opened her laptop. There was no internet out here, but she didn’t need it. She clicked into a years-old document that hadn’t been touched since college—“Business Plan.”
So completely enthralled, it was lunchtime before she even looked up. Her back had knotted into a painful kink, and her stomach growled fiercely. Good thing she was always prepared.
She popped open the glove box, fished out a protein bar and a bottle of water, and stepped out to stretch her legs while she ate.
A quick loop through the woods had her feeling refreshed. But, in the interest of saving her back, she headed home to continue her work on a desktop computer and the squishy comfort of her office chair. Also, she could hear that pizza in the fridge screaming her name from here.
As she cleared the park exit, cell coverage returned, and her phone pinged with notifications—Faith calling an emergency team meeting at Page Turners. The pizza would have to wait.
When Tess arrived at the bookstore, Faith, Juliet, and Alex were already there. Grim expressions and a dozen donuts on the desk told her this was not a good news situation.
