All of Me

  ***

  Tess couldn’t for the life of her remember why she’d agreed to go to the bowling alley with Annie. The weekend competition was in full swing. People were cheering from every available seat, bowling balls were flying down the lanes and pins were scattering everywhere.

  And Tess was sitting at the back of the room feeling miserable.

  “Cheer up. You’re supposed to be enjoying your day off work.” Molly sat beside her and passed her a bucket of popcorn. “There’s no better way to drown your sorrows than to munch your way through this lot of yummies.”

  Tess started eating the buttery popcorn and decided Molly might have found the cure for a broken heart. “When did you get to be so wise?”

  “About a year after my ex-husband left me. Popcorn’s much more forgiving than ice cream. Have you heard from Logan?”

  “He texted me from London. At least he’s alive.”

  “A text? What was the man thinking?”

  Tess had thought the same thing. “All he’d said was that he’d arrived safely and not to worry.”

  “Well that’s charming,” Molly huffed. “When is he coming home?”

  “I don’t know.” Tess went back to feeling miserable. The last twelve days hadn’t been great. She’d spoken to Logan twice and received a text from him two days ago.

  Molly nudged her arm. “It’s Annie’s turn.”

  They both watched Annie line up the next bowl, take five steps backward, then stalk toward the beginning of the lane, letting go of her bowling ball as gracefully as a ballerina. The ball shot along the wooden floor and knocked all of the pins down.

  Molly jumped in the air. “Another strike. She’s on a roll.”

  Tess left the bucket of popcorn on the floor and stood up and cheered. Annie was hoping to do well today so she could try out for the State Bowling Team. So far she was doing better than okay. Annie’s coach beamed from the sidelines, high-fiving Annie when she walked back to her seat.

  “Are you ladies willing to share that popcorn?”

  “Dylan? What are you doing here?” Molly sounded as surprised as Tess to see Dylan standing beside their seats.

  “Someone mentioned there was a bowling competition on this weekend. I thought I might come and have a look.”

  Molly shuffled along a seat and patted the chair she’d left. “Come and sit between us. You’ll get prime position on the bucket of popcorn.”

  Dylan looked gratefully at Molly. He didn’t mind being in a room full of noisy, excited people. But he did mind if anyone got too excited and decided to slap him on the back or hug him.

  He grabbed a handful of popcorn and looked down at Annie. “Who’s the guy talking to Annie?”

  Tess looked at the seats in front of the lane and smiled. “That’s Annie’s coach. I thought he’d be on the crusty side of seventy, but he’s about our age.”

  Dylan took his sunglasses off and stared at the intense conversation going on below them.

  “His name is Brad Johnson,” Molly said. “He’s a very nice man. Works at the local High School when he’s not representing Montana in bowling competitions around the country.”

  Dylan frowned and quickly glanced at Molly. “You’ve met him?”

  “Of course,” Molly said. “He brought some books into the café for Annie and I just happened to be there. We had a nice chat while Annie finished serving the last customers of the day.”

  If there’d been any hint of restfulness about Dylan before he’d seen Annie, there wasn’t now. He was watching Annie and her coach like a lion stalking its prey.

  Tess looked at Molly and they both looked at Dylan.

  “Is everything okay?” Molly asked.

  “Couldn’t be better.”

  Molly raised her eyebrows and Dylan avoided looking at her.

  “She’s getting ready for another turn.” Tess watched Annie collect her ball from the machine beside her. She lined her shot up and swung her arm back.

  “If she gets this she’ll win the game,” Molly whispered.

  Tess crossed her fingers. “She’ll get it. She’s done so well.”

  The ball shot down the lane and struck the front pin dead center.

  Molly started jumping up and down. “She did it,” she squealed. “Annie did it.”

  Tess yelled and clapped, waving frantically when Annie looked up at them. Coach Johnson tapped Annie on the shoulder then swung her in a circle.

  Dylan stayed where he was, watching what was going on with a cool detachment that was almost scary.

  Molly picked up her bag. “That’s her last game of the day. Annie’s in the finals. We’ll have to do something special for her tonight.”

  “We could have pizza at Antonio’s?” Tess said. “They don’t take too long and their food is out of this world.”

  Dylan held the popcorn bucket while Tess put on her jacket. “Before you go to dinner, I’ve got something I want to show you.”

  Molly hunted for her car keys. “You can come to dinner, too. It’ll be fun.”

  If Tess read Dylan’s expression correctly, he’d sooner have his teeth pulled out than go with them. Interesting.

  “Thanks, but I can’t make it. I heard you’re running out of room for the bridesmaids’ dresses.”

  “You can say that again,” Tess said. “If it wasn’t for the temporary rack you made for my living room we’d be stuck by now.”

  Dylan glanced down at Annie. Her coach had put her down and the rest of her bowling buddies were congratulating her. “I’ve found a solution to your storage problems.”

  “You have?” Tess had been looking for somewhere to store the dresses for the last week. But it had to be the right place. Women would be coming to look at the dresses and try them on. It had to be clean and tidy and not expensive.

  “I can show you now if you’ve got the time? Annie’s nearly done.”

  Tess looked down at Annie. Dylan was right. She was packing her ball into its bag and saying goodbye to her friends.

  “Let me call Sally,” Molly said. “She can meet us there. What’s the address?”

  Dylan glanced at Molly. “I talked to her a few hours ago. She’s going to meet us there.”

  Something odd was going on. First off, Dylan never looked unsure of anything, and secondly, it seemed weird that he’d turned up out of nowhere at the bowling alley.

  “What did you think?” Annie stopped on the step below them, beaming like she’d just won an Olympic gold medal.

  “You were awesome.” Molly stepped down and hugged Annie tight. “Well done.”

  Tess joined in the fun. “I’ve never seen anyone knock so many pins over in a row. Congratulations.”

  Annie looked at Dylan. He hadn’t moved from his seat, but Annie didn’t seem to mind. She grinned at him as if he’d just told her she was the best bowler in the world. “You can carry my bowling bag, if you like.”

  Dylan, with all his issues, blushed beet red and shyly picked up the bag.

  Molly and Tess looked at each other again. They’d been doing a lot of that today.

  “Well…” Molly said with a smile. “I’d say it was time Dylan showed us the mystery storage area he’s found for our bridesmaids’ dresses.”

  Annie looked at Dylan. “You have?”

  Dylan nodded and walked toward the exit.

  “I guess we follow the man holding the pink and silver bowling bag,” Tess said. “Does anyone know what’s going on here?”

  Molly shook her head. “Haven’t got a clue, but we’re about to find out.”

  Ten minutes later, two cars were following Dylan’s big black beast of a truck around the streets of Bozeman. And only one driver knew where he was going.