“She’s worried about her boss.”
Dylan coughed. “I’m not that bad,” he choked out.
“Just saying.”
He leaned forward. “What else did Tess say?”
“I don’t know if I should tell you. It could be confidential information.”
“Tess wouldn’t have told you if it was confidential.”
Logan shook his head. “You have so much to learn. Annie was peeved that you didn’t tell her how much money you had. I take it from the texts that you sorted out a few issues last night?”
Dylan kept his face neutral. “You could say that.”
Logan frowned. “You like her. Annie’s texting you, so I’d say she likes you. How do you feel about that?”
“You sound like Pastor Steven.”
“Someone’s got to keep an eye on you.”
Logan and Pastor Steven were the only people in Bozeman who knew what had happened in Afghanistan. Logan knew what a big step it was for Dylan to let someone into his life. If he knew how far Annie had come he’d be even more worried.
“Annie’s my friend. We like each other’s company.”
Logan bit into his panini. “I hope so.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dylan waited for Logan to finish what he was eating before pushing him further. “You can like someone without anything else happening,” he muttered.
“Do you want anything else to happen?”
In between his normal run of the mill nightmares, it was the ‘anything else’ things that had been keeping him awake at night. A week ago he wouldn’t have said he’d ever be able to hug anyone. And now look at him. He’d practically plastered himself to Annie’s chest for all of two seconds. But he’d take it. He’d take his first step toward being close to someone. Close to Annie.
Logan sat back in his seat. “If you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks.”
“I mean it. Women can be fickle.”
Tess stopped beside Logan and raised her eyebrows. “I hope you’re not including that pearl of wisdom in your wedding speech?”
Logan grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Tess smiled sweetly. “We might be fickle, but we’re usually right. How’s lunch?”
Dylan filled his mouth with pie. He wasn’t getting between the evil gleam in Tess’ eyes and Logan’s smart mouth.
Logan grinned at his fiancée. “Lunch was amazing, as usual. I love you, Theresa Williams.”
Tess kissed him quickly on the lips. “It’s not only women who are fickle. If you need more coffee let me know.”
Dylan watched Tess walk behind the counter and serve another customer. He didn’t know if Logan knew how special what he had was. Looking at the dopey grin on his best friend’s face, he’d say he did. “Lucky save.”
Logan sighed. “There’s no luck involved. It all boils down to love.”
Dylan thought about Annie. That’s what he was counting on, too.
***
“Are you sure you’re not trying to kill me?” Annie swerved around a mound of doggy poop and kept peddling.
She heard Dylan laugh from in front of her. “Keep going. We’re nearly at the end of the trail.”
“But then we have to turn around and go back to your truck.” She rung her little red bell and said hello as she passed another runner. The runner waved his hand and Annie smiled.
She hadn’t expected to enjoy herself so much. Between watching Dylan’s awesome body and riding through some of the prettiest scenery in Bozeman, she’d been having a great time.
“I’m getting hungry,” she yelled.
“You told me that ten minutes ago. Didn’t you have breakfast?”
Annie added more muscle to her peddling and caught up with Dylan. “My Fruit Loops disappeared half an hour ago.”
“You need to take a serious look at your diet.”
“And I suppose you have a power shake with seaweed, spinach, and yogurt?”
Dylan smiled. “Something like that.”
“All I can say is, yuck.” Annie slowed down and moved behind Dylan when a group of walkers rounded the next bend. She didn’t know so many people got out of bed early to exercise. Especially on a Sunday. Didn’t they know about sleep-ins and relaxing weekends?
Annie moved across to the right-hand side of the dirt trail. The female walkers smiled at Dylan and gave Annie a half-hearted wave. “You’re a babe magnet,” she yelled.
Dylan stumbled. “Warn me when you’re going to say things like that.”
“Okay. Here’s another one. You’ve got tight buns.” Annie burst out laughing when Dylan grabbed his butt.
“I’m blushing,” he said.
Annie sped up and took a quick look at his face. “No, you’re not. You’re secretly pleased that someone thinks you’re yummy.”
“You’d better be careful. I might hug you again.”
“Promises, promises. You’ll have to catch me first.” Annie zoomed ahead of Dylan, powering along the trail before he realized what she was doing. When she got to the end of the dirt path she stopped and waited for him.
She left her bike leaning against a tree and stared at the view. The Bozeman Creek Trail used to be an old logging road. A forest of spruce and fir trees had surrounded them for most of their way up the mountain. They’d gradually been climbing and now she could see just how far they’d come. The view of the meadow that filled the shallow valley to the north of Mystic Lake was beautiful.
A couple of weeks ago she’d read a story in the local newspaper about wildflowers. A plant expert had said there were more than two hundred species of wildflowers, plants, and grasses growing around Bozeman. Looking at the meadow in front of her, she could believe it.
Flowers in all shades of yellow, purple and pink dotted the pasture. It was so pretty. As she looked around, Annie felt like the luckiest person alive. Some days she felt like pinching herself. If she hadn’t packed her bags, left everything and everyone behind, she’d still be in Idaho, working in a dead-end job and making excuses for herself.
But not anymore. Annie didn’t believe in excuses. Excuses stopped you from doing what you were meant to do. Excuses kept you married to a man for fourteen months when you knew in your heart it was a terrible mistake. And those same excuses kept you awake at night, wondering what you could have done differently to protect the most precious thing in your life.
She blinked the tears out of her eyes and looked over her shoulder. Dylan was still a little way away, so she unzipped her backpack and took her water bottle out. The cold water hit her throat, filled her empty tummy and pushed her sad thoughts away.
She focused on the sound of the birds in the trees and the occasional dog yapping. It was peaceful, idyllic and suddenly very hot.
“Aargh! Get off me. You’re all sweaty.” Dylan had snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
He laughed as he stepped back. “Six seconds. A world record for the yummy runner.”
Annie reached for her backpack and handed him his water bottle. “Drink this. It’ll give you something more productive to do with your hands.”
“You don’t like my hugs?”
Dylan didn’t look particularly worried, but Annie knew how deceptive his looks could be. “I like your hugs. Don’t you have to stretch or something in case you seize up?”
“I’m not stopping for long. Are you ready to head back?”
Annie unzipped another pocket in her backpack. “In a minute.” She wiggled her fingers inside the pocket and smiled. “I brought snacks.” A chocolate nut bar appeared in her hand and Dylan groaned.
Annie reached into the pocket again. “Or if you’re a health food junkie I also brought the low fat, no sugar, nut, and cranberry alternative.” She dangled option B in front of his nose. “Are you allowed to eat these?”
Dylan plucked the healthy bar out of her hand. “You’re bad for me.”
Annie tore the foil wrapper of
f the chocolate bar and smiled. “I know. Aren’t you lucky?”
Dylan grunted. “How’s your bike holding out?”
Annie looked at her trusty green two-wheeler and smiled. “It was a bit shaky going over some of the trail, but she’s doing okay for a ‘girly’ bike.” Dylan didn’t seem surprised by how well her bike had performed. “You knew it would be okay on this trail, didn’t you?”
“I brought one of my sisters up here a couple of months ago. She borrowed a friend’s bike and it worked out okay. But we’re not going down to the Lake. That part of the trail is off limits today. It’s too rocky and steep.”
“What if we took a short-cut across the meadow?”
Dylan shook his head. “Not with this bike.”
“Okay.” Annie didn’t mind where they went. It was great to be out in the fresh air, enjoying the beautiful scenery. She swallowed another mouthful of her chocolate bar. “We’ve got another group of bridesmaids coming to Logan’s house this afternoon.”
“How many dresses do they need?”
“Three.”
Dylan nodded and ate the rest of his bar. “Did you sort out the dresses for the big wedding?”
“Holly’s?”
“Is that the one with six bridesmaids?”
Annie nodded. “I’m impressed you remembered.”
“Logan told me about the avalanche of women who arrived at his place to choose dresses. He thought he’d been invaded.”
Annie smiled. “It was kind of like that. Even the big loft felt small. Holly’s getting married next Saturday. She’s invited Sally, Molly, Tess and me to her wedding.”
“That was nice of her.” Dylan took a long drink from his water bottle and snapped the lid back on. “Are you ready?”
Annie opened her backpack and Dylan dropped his bottle inside. “So, I was wondering, you know…if you aren’t doing anything…would you like to come to Holly’s wedding with me? Logan’s coming with Tess, so you’d have someone to talk to.”
“I can’t talk to you?”
Annie frowned. “Of course you can, but you know, you might want to have a man conversation.”
Dylan frowned. “Man conversation?”
She walked across to her bike and jumped on the seat. Asking Dylan to Holly’s wedding had been a mistake. He thought the Fruit Loops had gone to her brain. “It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t a date or anything. It was just an…an opportunity. I’ll meet you back at the truck.”
“Annie…wait…”
Annie didn’t wait. She pedaled down the trail as fast as her legs could take her. She felt like an idiot. An idiot who liked dancing. And as much as she never wanted to get married again, she did like weddings. Especially weddings with lots of family and friends making the day extra special.
By the time she got back to Dylan’s truck she was out of breath and even more hungry. She wheeled her bike across the grass and left it on the ground. If she’d focused more on the exercise part of the morning and less on the talking, she’d still be biking behind Dylan, enjoying the scenery.
She opened her backpack and pulled out the rest of the snacks she’d packed. Two chocolate nut bars, an orange, and two bananas stared back at her. Forsaking the goodness of fresh fruit, she tore open one of the chocolate bars and bit into the gooey center. If she couldn’t be wise, she could at least be happy.
And maybe while she was chewing she’d figure out what she was going to say to Dylan when he got back.
***
Dylan slowed down as he got closer to his truck. He could see Annie sitting on the grass, staring across the field. He didn’t know what had happened or why she’d taken off in such a hurry. Sometimes he didn’t understand women, and this was one of those times.
He unlocked his truck and grabbed a towel and another drink out of his bag. Annie glanced up when the security lights on his truck blinked on. He walked across to her and sat on the grass.
“You’d better do your stretches,” she said softly. “I’ve been reading about high-performance athletes. Stretching is important.”
Dylan was intrigued. He had no idea why Annie was reading books about athletes. “What else did you learn?”
Annie watched as he stretched his calf muscles. “I learned ten things you shouldn’t ask a triathlete.”
“Like what?”
Annie picked up a banana and passed it to him. “Top of the list was that it’s rude to say, ‘All you ever do is train. Don’t you have a life?’”
He left the banana on the grass beside him. “Do you want me to answer that?”
“You must enjoy what you’re doing, otherwise you wouldn’t do it?”
Dylan changed position and stretched his hamstrings. “I enjoy it most of the time. Training in the middle of winter isn’t as easy as days like this.” He did a few more stretches before peeling his banana.
“How long have you been training for the Ironman competition?”
“Ever since I got here. So about eight months.”
“That’s a long time.”
Dylan shrugged. “In a couple of weeks I’ll be running, cycling and swimming with a lot of fit people. I need to be ready. Why did you bike back so quickly?” He saw Annie tense, felt the air shift around them as she thought about her answer.
“I was embarrassed. I shouldn’t have asked you to come to Holly’s wedding. You’ve got a lot of things to do.”
He bit into his banana and stared at her. “I’m not all that good around crowds of people, but I could come with you.”
Annie frowned. “You could?”
“What time is the wedding?”
“Three o’clock. It’s not very formal, so you won’t need to rent a tux or anything.”
Dylan took another bite of his banana and watched Annie. She had something else to ask him. He’d never met anyone with such an expressive face. Her forehead was creased into a frown, and her eyes were wary.
She finished her chocolate bar and stuffed the foil wrapper in her backpack. “Do you like dancing?”
“Depends on what type of dancing you’re talking about.”
“Old fashioned dances, like the waltz and foxtrot. Maybe some rock and roll.” Annie pulled a small plastic bag out of her backpack and held it open for him.
“Trash?” he asked. She nodded and he dropped his banana skin inside. He hadn’t danced in so long that he doubted he’d be much good. “Mom taught me how to dance for my Senior Prom. That was a few years ago.”
Annie smiled. “It’s like riding a bike. Once you know how, you never forget.”
“You want me to dance with you?”
The smile on Annie’s face dimmed. “That’s what you normally do at weddings.”
“Not the ones I go to,” Dylan muttered. The last wedding he’d been to had been Connie and Dave’s, a couple The Bridesmaids Club had helped. Tess had organized a surprise wedding reception in Angel Wings Café. He thought he’d be saved from dancing by the lack of room inside the café. He’d been wrong.
He looked at Annie. “You know how to dance?”
Annie nodded. “I’m not a dancing queen or anything, but I know the basics.”
He ran his hand around the back of his neck. “You like dancing?”
“I love dancing.”
Oh, Jeez. He was in trouble now. He could tell Annie he’d come to the wedding, but not dance. But then he could tell her a lot of things and it wouldn’t change what she’d sooner be doing, and that was dancing. “What if I promised to have three waltzy type dances with you?”
“Does that mean you’ll dance most of the non-touching dances with me, too?”
“I’ll do my best.” His best seemed good enough for Annie. The grin she sent him made him feel as though he’d just offered her a million dollars. “We need a practice run, though. Just in case I don’t remember the steps.”
“What about this Wednesday at six o’clock? I could make us dinner?”
Dylan wiped his face on his towel. “I’m not going t
o be here. I’m leaving for New York today and won’t be back until Thursday morning. But I could do Thursday night?”
“What are you doing in New York?”
Dylan had asked himself the same question last night. Todd, his friend and one of the guys in their support group, was in trouble. And that meant Dylan had a flight to catch in four hours, heading into whatever mess Todd had created.
He glanced at Annie. She’d understand more than most what Todd was going through, but it wasn’t his life to share. “A friend needs my help.”
“Oh. You don’t look too happy about it?”
“I’m not sure what I’ll be walking into.”
The frown on Annie’s face returned. “Is it dangerous?”
“I don’t know.” But knowing Todd, it would be. The man had a death wish. He was dragging Dylan to New York because he didn’t have a choice, and that was the worse reason to become involved in anything.
Annie picked up her backpack and swung it over her shoulder. “Thursday night will be fine for dinner and dancing practice. What time do you leave today?”
“I have to be at the airport at twelve o’clock for a one o’clock flight.”
Annie glanced at her watch. “We’d better head back into town, otherwise you won’t have time to get ready.”
Dylan took the backpack off Annie’s shoulder and started walking toward his truck. He wouldn’t need to take much to New York. If this visit was anything like the last time he’d helped Todd, a bulletproof vest and a gun or two would be the first things going into his bag.
***
Annie didn’t know much about the bride and the three bridesmaids standing in the living room of The Bridesmaids Club headquarters. Tess had taken a phone call from one of the bridesmaids last week and they’d made an appointment to meet this afternoon.
Carolyn Hutchings was the bride. She was getting married in two months’ time and was a little embarrassed that her sister had contacted Tess.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Carolyn said. “Stacey can be a little dramatic sometimes.”
“She’s a drama queen,” another sister added.
Stacey stared daggers at her two sisters. “I am not. Tess said she’s got lots of dresses for us to look at. We don’t have much money, so it seemed like the perfect match.”
Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) Page 11
