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If he called the office
every day and moved Chuck Stanley in as Kathy’s assistant, maybe she could keep
things going for that long. It seemed there was no other choice.
    Strangely, Daniel felt relieved.
    “But where am I going to find an island and a hammock?” he
mused aloud.
    “Galveston is an island,” Tess said, a slow grin breaking
across her face. “And I think there’s a hammock stashed somewhere in the
garage. You can stay with us.”
    His frown returned. “I can’t stay with you.”
    “And why not? We have lots of room. It’s perfect. Aunt
Martha will love it. She needs someone to fuss over.” Tess didn’t add that his
staying in Galveston would be the answer to her own prayers.
    Dan turned on his corporate persona full force. “It’s out of
the question. I’ll buy Gram a condo in Florida and she can fuss over me there.”
    “Silliest thing I ever heard.” Tess gave a dismissive wave
of her hand as someone tapped on the door.
    A head with a cap of white curls popped around the door.
Martha Craven, Dan’s short, slightly plump grandmother fluttered into the
hospital room and dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Why such a scowl, Danny? Aren’t
you feeling better? Dr. Ed said—”
    His scowl deepened. “I’m feeling fine, Gram.”
    “We were just discussing Dan’s staying in Galveston while he
recuperates,” Tess said. “I’ve told him we’d love to have him.”
    Martha clapped her hands together. “Oh, that’s a wonderful
idea. There’s plenty of room and we can all take care of you. And when you’re
feeling better, we can buy the RV—I’ve had my eye on a Winnebago—and you can go
treasure hunting with us.”
    Dan looked at her incredulously. “ Treasure hunting ?
Are you serious?”
    “Oops.” A blue-veined hand went to her mouth. “I’m not
supposed to talk about it—Olivia says we have to keep it quiet or someone will
try to beat us to it—but since you’re family, I’m sure it’s all right.” Her
voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s part of Jean Laffite’s booty. He once lived
on this very island. We have a map and all sorts of directions from an old
journal. They really belong to Olivia and Tess, but since I found them when I
was working on the genealogy, they’re insisting that I get a share. If we find
the treasure, Tess can have her house and Olivia and I can have our racehorse.”
She clapped her hands together. “Isn’t it a gas?”
    Daniel frowned. A gas ? Had his very proper
grandmother said “a gas”? Had the entire world gone crazy? If she wasn’t
senile, then something very peculiar was going on in that household. Treasure
hunts and racehorses and convicts and bizarre little cars named Buttercup. The
whole bunch of them was strange. Even if he was mightily attracted to Tess
Cameron, he had to admit that she was odd too. He’d feel better if his
grandmother were somewhere else. “How about Hawaii?”
    Martha looked puzzled. “What about Hawaii?”
    “Would you like a condo in Hawaii?”
    “Certainly not. I love Galveston. And you will too, Danny.”
She patted his hand. “You will too.”
    Daniel shook his head. It had been a hell of a day.
    Early the next afternoon, Tess and her passenger pulled away
from the hospital and headed toward the house on Broadway.
    “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Daniel said.
    “Of course it is. We have an empty guest cottage where you
can have all the privacy you want, and everybody is delighted to have someone
to fuss over. Aunt Olivia and your grandmother have dusted and plumped the
pillows three times already this morning. And Ivan, poor man, is convinced that
his shrimp puffs caused your attack, so he’s conferred with the hospital
dietitian and has been busy concocting gastronomic delights to tempt your
palate. How many people have an internationally-known chef prepare their ulcer
diets?”
    “Very few, I suspect. But I don’t want to be any trouble.”
    “Trouble? Are you kidding? You’re going to